May 22 (UPI) — Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, who suspended her campaign in March, said Wednesday she “will be voting for Trump” in his 2024 rematch with President Joe Biden.
Haley revealed her vote for former President Donald Trump during a question-and-answer session about America’s national security issues at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.
“Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I have made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So, I will be voting for Trump,” the former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor said.
“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 added.
Haley suspended her campaign in March after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday. She called on her Republican rival to “earn the votes” of her supporters.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it, who did not support him,” Haley said.
“And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
Haley, who continues to pick up primary support despite leaving the race, was the last Trump challenger to drop out and the last to show support. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum quickly endorsed the former president after suspending their campaigns.
While Haley has not officially endorsed Trump, she blasted the Biden administration on numerous issues during Wednesday’s speech, including the decision to pause shipments of heavy bombs to Israel.
“I can hardly imagine a more foolish move than Joe Biden withholding weapons from one of our closes allies. And it comes after more and more Democrats have turned on Israel,” Haley said. “Joe Biden’s legacy is already clear. He will go down in history as the commander-in-chief who refused to stop our enemies.”
Haley also slammed Republicans in Congress saying, “just a few weeks before Biden threw Israel to the wolves, many Republicans in Congress tried to push Ukraine off a cliff. All told, 112 House Republicans voted against military aid to Ukraine.”
As of Wednesday evening, Trump had not responded to Haley’s announcement as the Biden campaign released a statement.
“Nothing has changed for the millions of Republican voters who continue to cast their ballots against Donald Trump in the primaries and 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.”