Nikki Haley Responds To Reports of Criticism Over Endorsing Trump

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who served as the UN ambassador during President Donald Trump’s first term and emerged as a strong contender for the 2024 Republican nomination, addressed reports of criticism over her eventual endorsement of Trump's latest White House bid.

Haley expressed unequivocal support for Trump during her speech at the recent Republican National Convention, particularly lauding his foreign policy achievements. In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper this week, Haley responded to criticism for her endorsement, noting that she had not received “much pushback” from Republicans so far.

“When you announced that you were going to vote for Donald Trump, you got a lot of pushback from Republicans who supported you. What do you say to them? What do you say to them when they say that they were with you?” Tapper asked. “They agree that Donald Trump is bad for the Republican Party, bad for the country. And they thought that you agreed with them, and they feel like you sold out.”

“I didn’t get a lot of pushback from Republicans,” Haley replied. “What I will tell you is I have great respect for those who stood with me. I am incredibly grateful. These were people who saw that our border was out of control, that debt was out of control, and that our kids are going to pay for it. They wanted national security that would keep America safe. They believed in mental competency tests, they believed in term limits, and they wanted Americans to have a choice for someone they could be proud of. That was what we fought for. That’s what we did. And millions joined us.

“So I wanted what they wanted. We were in it together, and I loved the fight we had together. But we’ve been given a choice. It’s Trump or it’s Harris. And so what I did was say, this is who I will be voting for,” she continued.

“I also said, I don’t agree with Trump 100% of the time, and I don’t expect them to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. But I wanted them to think about it through my eyes and how I thought about it,” she added. “Since then, we’ve heard from a lot of people who appreciated my making the case for it. And, you know, I’m going to continue to be true to myself and true to what I fought for, and I’m going to continue to fight for that regardless of whether it’s in a position or not. I’m always going to fight for the country that we all love.”

In her RNC speech, Haley firmly endorsed the former president.

“My fellow Republicans,” Haley began amid roaring cheers from the crowd. “President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity. It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept. I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period.”

“Our country is at a critical moment. We have a choice to make. For more than a year, I said, a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris. After seeing the debate, everyone knows it’s true,” Haley continued.

“If we have four more years of Biden or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump. But there’s more to it than that. We should acknowledge that there are some Americans who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time. I happen to know some of them. And I want to speak to them tonight. My message to them is simple. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me. I haven’t always agreed with President Trump, but we agree more often than we disagree,” Haley added.