Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has officially announced her decision to vote for former President Donald Trump over incumbent President Joe Biden in the upcoming fall election. Speaking at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, Haley highlighted her reasons based on key policy priorities.
“As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who’s going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border—no more excuses,” Haley stated. “A president who would support capitalism and freedom, a president who understands we need less debt, not more debt.”
While acknowledging Trump’s imperfections, Haley emphasized her dissatisfaction with Biden’s administration. “Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I’ve made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So, I will be voting for Trump,” she declared.
Haley’s endorsement is significant given her previous competition with Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. She was the last candidate standing before suspending her campaign in March, maintaining a strong influence within the Republican primaries.
“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,” Haley added. “And I genuinely hope he does that.”
Haley’s impact on the Republican primary results is evident. She secured 20 percent of the vote in Maryland’s GOP primary last week and 18 percent in Nebraska. In Indiana, she received nearly 22 percent of the vote. Earlier this year, Haley received over 100,000 votes in the key battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
Despite these significant numbers, Trump has downplayed their importance, expressing confidence that Haley’s supporters will ultimately back him in the general election against Biden. “She got very few voters,” Trump said earlier this month. “And those voters are all coming to me, and you may have a lot of Democrats in there because they have a very tricky little system. But those voters are coming to me.”
On the other side, Biden’s campaign is actively courting Haley’s supporters who may be disillusioned with Trump. “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters,” Biden remarked in March. Addressing a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said that Israel is under attack because the United States has shown “great weakness” that “is unbelievable”.
Michael Tyler, Biden-Harris communications director, echoed this sentiment following Haley’s announcement. He emphasized the stark differences between the candidates, particularly in terms of unity and governance. Tyler stated, “nothing has changed” for Republican voters who continue to cast primary protest votes and who “care deeply about the future of our democracy, standing strong with our allies against foreign adversaries, and working across the aisle to get things done for the American people—while also rejecting the chaos, division, and violence that Donald Trump embodies.”
As the election approaches, the battle for votes intensifies, with both Trump and Biden aiming to consolidate their bases and appeal to undecided voters. Haley’s decision adds a notable dynamic to this evolving political landscape.
