Nikki Haley, a former U.S. Republican presidential candidate, said Wednesday she will vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 general election, but warned the presumptive nominee not to take the support of those who backed her for granted.
Haley’s announcement at a conservative think tank in Washington could be a blow for President Joe Biden, who polls indicate is locked in a neck-and-neck race with Trump.
Haley, the last Trump rival to pull out of the race for the Republican nomination ahead of the Nov. 5 election, continues to win a notable share of votes against him in states around the country despite bowing out in March. Biden’s campaign has been counting on support from anti-Trump Republicans to give the incumbent an edge.
“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 said at the Hudson Institute, in her first public appearance since dropping out of the Republican primary.
Haley said she is also in favor of a president who will support “capitalism and freedom” and who understands that the country needs “less debt not more debt.”
“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,” Haley said during an event to discuss foreign affairs at the institute.
The 52-year-old former South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador under Trump, however, went on to say, “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.”
Before ending her 2024 campaign, she repeatedly made the case that Trump and Biden are equally bad for the future of the United States and urged Republican voters to choose a younger leader.
Polls have shown that large numbers of U.S. voters are unhappy with the prospect of a rematch between Biden and Trump. A number of polls have Trump, despite the slew of criminal charges he faces, with a narrow lead over Biden in key states.
BY: The Times Union
