Nikki Haley expressed her support for Donald Trump in a speech in DC on Wednesday, dramatically revealing that she will vote for her former rival who derided her as “bird-brained.”
He did so at a question-and-answer session at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, where he came to deliver a speech on foreign policy.
‘As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who will support our allies and hold our enemies accountable. Who would secure the border? No more excuses,” he said at the Hudson Institute.
‘Trump has not been perfect in these policies, I have made that clear many, many times. But Biden has been a catastrophe. So I’ll vote for Trump,” he said.
He also mentioned “support for capitalism and freedom” and said we need a president “who understands that we need less debt, not more debt.”
Voting for Trump: Nikki Haley announced that she will vote for Donald Trump in November
“That being said, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech,” Haley said. “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 will simply be with him,” she warned. “And I really hope so,” she said.
Haley was the last Republican standing after a brutal primary campaign. He ended it by escalating her attacks on Trump, who derided her as “bird-brained” and repeatedly mocked her.
On Wednesday, he again asked Trump to respect his supporters, following multiple statements by Trump that he did not need them.
His comments come as Trump has surrounded himself with loyal supporters, leading many to his secret money trial in Manhattan, with fewer signs of publicly courting his former rival.
Haley also had a warning for Trump when he ended his campaign after Super Tuesday in March after losing his home state.
‘Now it is up to Donald Trump to win the votes of those inside and outside our party who did not support him. And I hope you do,’ he said. ‘At its best, politics is about attracting people to your cause, not rejecting them. And our conservative cause urgently needs more people.
Haley had senior staff members in the audience for her speech, where she used a teleprompter for formal remarks. She didn’t talk about the campaign until interviewer Peter Rough asked her about it.
Haley’s endorsement comes after a number of former primary rivals endorsed Trump, who was in court this week for Stormy Daniels’ money trial in Manhattan.
Campaign manager Betsy Ankney, who was there, did not say whether Haley would participate in other campaign activities when asked by DailyMail.com.
“I’ll let his comments speak for themselves,” he said.
Trump, who leads Biden in national polls and in key swing states, has remained silent on potential vice presidential prospects.
One challenger, Doug Burgum, attended Manhattan Criminal Court with Trump. Others reportedly on his list, including Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, have been defending Trump against criminal prosecution.
Trump has publicly rejected the idea that he needs to court Haley’s supporters, even as voters have continued to cast ‘zombie’ votes for Haley even after she was out of the race.
“He got very few voters,” Scripps told television days ago. ‘And all those voters are coming to me, and there may be a lot of Democrats there because they have a very complicated little system. But those voters come to me.
Haley is one of a long line of politicians who have backed a rival despite past verbal attacks, but clashes between her and Trump became increasingly personal as Trump began to view her as his primary threat.
She went after her husband, Michael, who was with Haley in DC and who she said was home from his deployment to Djibouti.
Trump mocked her because her husband was not with her during the election campaign.
Haley called the comments “disgusting” and “unhinged” during an appearance on CNN.
‘If they don’t respect our military, how should we think they are going to respect them when it comes to times of war, and prevent war and prevent it from continuing?’ Haley said. “If they have no respect for our military and our veterans, God help us all if that’s the case.”
“The most damage you’ve ever suffered is if a golf ball hits you in a golf cart,” he said on the road in South Carolina. “And you’re going to go make fun of our men and women in the military?”
His comments Wednesday came after he didn’t even mention Trump in his prepared remarks, in which he attacked Biden and House Republicans who voted against emergency funding for Ukraine and Israel.
Rough asked Haley about national security issues, who she thought would do a better job in the White House, Biden or Trump.
