- Nikki Haley was the final contender against Donald Trump in the Republican Party primaries
- She served as his ambassador to the UN for nearly two years during his first term.
Nikki Haley says she’s willing to help Donald Trump if he wants to take advantage of her assistance despite his checkered past.
Haley was the latest woman to face Trump in the 2024 primary, in a crowded field of Republicans seeking to unseat the former president for a shot at the White House. She often spoke out against Trump and voiced her grievances and disagreements.
But before that, Haley served for nearly two years as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, from January 2017 to December 2018.
“He knows I’m on hold,” Haley said of Trump when asked if she’ll be out campaigning for the Republican nominee.
“I talked to him in June,” she told CBS’s Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. “He knows I’m ready if he ever needs me to.”
Nikki Haley is ‘on hold’ if Donald Trump ‘needs me’ to campaign
Haley said she was not asked to participate in the general election campaign when pressed about whether Trump approached her.
“It’s his choice. He can do whatever he wants with his campaign,” she said. “But when I called him in June, I told him I supported him.”
“I think the teams have talked a little bit with each other, but they haven’t asked for anything yet,” the former South Carolina governor said. “But, you know, if someone asks, I’d be happy to be of assistance.”
Haley handed over her delegates to Trump after he dropped out of the primary race following crushing Super Tuesday losses. By winning primaries in Washington, D.C., and Vermont — both heavily Democratic areas where even Republicans are more left-leaning — Haley became the first woman to win a state or territorial GOP primary.
She supported Trump and in May said she would vote for the former president in November.
Haley served for nearly two years as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations before running against him in the 2024 Republican primary.
At the Republican National Convention in July, Haley was given a speaking slot alongside other former GOP primary contenders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
He issued a “strong endorsement” of Trump and urged Republicans to unite behind the 2024 Republican ticket.
Haley and Trump have a complicated past despite her serving in his administration.
More than two years after leaving her post at the White House, and after Trump finished his first term, Haley said in February 2021 that “friends is a vague term” when asked if the former president was her friend.
She criticized his alleged role in the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, and said she was “angry” that he took no action to defend her Vice President Mike Pence.