Former presidential rival Nikki Haley says she will vote for Trump despite his 'imperfect policies'

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has finally admitted that she would vote for the former US President in the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Elections. The so-called endorsement came months after Haley emerged as the most enduring rival of Trump during the Republican primary elections.

The Former US ambassador to the UN’s proclamation came while she was speaking at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington on Wednesday, The Guardian reported. This was her first public appearance after she opted out of the presidential race in March. Haley was asked whether Joe Biden or Trump would do a better job on national security issues, to which she responded that her vote would go to Trump.

“Trump has not been perfect on these policies,” Haley said. “I have made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will be voting for Trump," she said.

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“Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech. Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they’re just going to be with him. And I genuinely hope he does that," the 52-year-old conservative leader averred.

Haley’s U-turn garners backlash

With the recent remarks, Haley joined US Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, the former attorney general William Barr and Chris Sununu, the New Hampshire governor, who have publicly criticised Trump but mentioned that they will support him in the polls since he is the party nominee.

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During her presidential campaign, Haley claimed that Trump had “lost any sort of political viability”, showed “moral weakness” and was “thin-skinned and easily distracted”. She even argued that the United States should move away from “chaos” and choose a young leader.

Hence, the U-turn made by the former South Carolina governor provoked a major backlash. “So when Nikki Haley said ‘It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him’,” Sarah Longwell, a political strategist and publisher of the conservative Bulwark website wrote on X, formally known as Twitter.

So when Nikki Haley said “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him.” She really meant, he can treat me and my voters like garbage and I’ll still fall in line and support him.

— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) May 22, 2024

“This isn’t complicated: Nikki Haley believes Trump is unfit. And she believes he should never be back in the White House," Joe Walsh, an ex-Republican congressman wrote on X. “But if she said that publicly, her career as a Republican would be over. So, as expected, she decided to not be truthful. To keep her career as a Republican,” he added.

While Haley had already dropped out of the primaries in early March, she still continued to draw up to 20 per cent in the contests. In the past, Trump has dismissed the idea of appealing to Haley supporters. However, US President Joe Biden maintained this weekend: “Let me say, there’s always going to be a place for Haley voters in my campaign.”

It is important to note that Trump has been endorsed by Republican primary opponents including Doug Burgum, the North Dakota governor, Vivek Ramaswamy, a bio entrepreneur, and the South Carolina senator Tim Scott.