Former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks on stage on the second day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 16, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Delegates, politicians, and the Republican faithful are in Milwaukee for the annual convention, concluding with former President Donald Trump accepting his party’s presidential nomination. The RNC takes place from July 15-18. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley fully endorsed President Donald Trump in a speech designed to show unity among Republicans and explain why Americans who don’t always agree with him — like her — should support him too.
“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period!” she said to start her 11-minute speech Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention.
“For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump!” she said after the crowd got on its feet in applause.
However, she continued, “We should acknowledge that there are Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time. I happen to know some of them,” she said with a grin, “and I want to speak to them tonight.
“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him,” she continued. “Take it from me: I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree.”
Haley, who worked for Trump as his first ambassador to the United Nations, had avoided formally endorsing the former president for months after dropping out of the GOP presidential primary.
Trump’s last major challenger, Haley wished Trump well as she exited the race following Super Tuesday in early March. But she specifically declined to endorse him, saying he needed to earn the votes of her supporters.
On Tuesday night, Haley said the stakes are too high not to support him.
“I’m here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential to saving her,” she said to chants of “U-S-A!”
She reiterated a line she used during the primary, that a vote for President Joe Biden would be a vote for Kamala Harris, the vice president, to replace him as commander in chief.
“After seeing the debate, everyone knows it’s true,” she said, referring to Biden’s performance during the presidential debate with Trump last month.
Haley listed specific areas where she backs Trump, particularly on foreign policy and the border. She accused Biden of being weak on the world stage, blaming him for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Iran being able to fund Hamas in its attack on Israel last October.
“A strong president doesn’t start wars. A strong president prevents wars,” she said.
“Between Israel and Hamas, Donald Trump is clear on who is our friend and who is our enemy,” she said.
Haley was initially not even invited to attend the RNC. On Sunday, though, she was announced as a speaker.
The invitation followed the shooting of Trump Saturday at a rally in Pennsylvania, when a would-be assassin’s bullet hit the former president’s right ear just as he turned his head. One rally attendee was killed and at least two other people were injured before authorities killed the shooter.
Haley began by saying Trump asked her to speak at the RNC “in the name of unity.” Now, she said, not only did the party need to unify behind Trump, but it needed to expand as well and invite new members.
“Our foreign enemies win when they see Americans hate each other,” Haley said. “They see that today, whether it’s on college campuses or in a field in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
“Let us come together as a people, as one country strong and proud,” she concluded. “Let’s show the world that even on our worst day, we’re blessed to live in America.”
Haley’s message of unity was a pivot from an often-harsh primary.
Before she dropped out in early March, Haley questioned the mental competency of both Biden and Trump and called the former president a chicken for refusing to debate her. Trump called her “birdbrain” and questioned the whereabouts of her husband, who was deployed in Africa with the South Carolina National Guard at the time.
Trump also took a shot at Haley’s experience by saying the only reason he appointed her to the United Nations was to enable then-Lt. Gov. Henry McMaster to ascend to governor. McMaster was the first statewide elected official in the nation to back Trump for president. He’s been a staunch supporter ever since.
While she fell far short of being the GOP nominee, the South Carolina-born daughter of Indian immigrants made history as the first woman to win a GOP presidential primary. She ultimately won two contests: Washington, D.C., and Vermont.
Haley spent three terms in the state Legislature before voters elected her South Carolina’s first minority and first female governor in 2010. She was halfway through her second term as governor when Trump nominated her to be ambassador for the UN. She held that role until 2018, when she resigned.
A month after leaving the primary Haley joined the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. In a speech for the Institute in May, Haley said she would be voting for Trump in November but stopped short of wholeheartedly supporting him.
The next day, Trump told a reporter he appreciated what she said, adding she’d be “on our team in some form.”
It’s not the first time Haley has been critical of Trump before backing him.
In the runup to the 2016 election, Haley initially backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, then — after he dropped out — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, while criticizing Trump as irresponsible and everything governors don’t want in a president. As Trump wrapped up the nomination, however, Haley endorsed him.
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