Former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said Wednesday that she will be voting for former President Donald Trump in November.
Speaking at an event for conservative think tank Hudson Institute, Haley said Trump has not been “perfect” but that President Joe Biden has been a “catastrophe.”
“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,” the former South Carolina governor stated. “A president who would support capitalism and freedom, a president who understands we need 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.
“Having said that,” Haley continued, “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. And I genuinely hope he does that.”
Her comments at the Hudson Institute were her first public remarks since she suspended her campaign in early March.
At the time, she did not endorse Trump, but wished the presumptive GOP nominee well, saying, “It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party, and beyond it, who did not support him. And I hope he does that.”
In February, before she had suspended her campaign, Haley told the Deseret News that she did not believe Trump could win the election.
“Republicans and Americans need to look at the fact that maybe if we keep losing, maybe Donald Trump is the reason we keep losing,” she said. “I have said this, and I truly believe it, there will be a female president of the United States — it will either be me, or it will be Kamala Harris. And if Donald Trump is the nominee, we can all welcome the president, Kamala Harris.”
Noting that even though she had voted for Trump twice, Haley emphasized, “Reality is, he will not win a general election. That’s a fact.”
Despite dropping out months ago, Haley continues to pick up “protest votes” in Republican presidential primaries from voters who refuse to vote for Trump, The Hill reports. Last week, Haley got 20% and 18% of the vote in Maryland’s and Nebraska’s GOP primaries, respectively.