US

Nikki Haley, who appeared as Donald Trump’s most enduring rival and incisive critic during the Republican primary elections, has said she plans to vote for the former US president in November.

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While speaking at the Hudson Institute thinktank in Washington on Wednesday (May 22), Haley, made her first public appearance since dropping out of the race in March.

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When asked whether Joe Biden or Trump would do a better job on national security issues, she replied, “Donald Trump has not been perfect in foreign policies but Joe Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will be voting for Trump.”

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Nikki Haley, a former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor, outlined her criteria for choosing a president, backing allies, punishing enemies, promoting capitalism and freedom, and reducing the national debt.

Haley further added, “Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech on March 6, it is now up to Trump to earn the votes of those in our party who did not support him, and I hope he does."

Nikki Haley joins the US Senate minority leader, Mitch McConnell, the former attorney general William Barr and Chris Sununu, the New Hampshire governor, in the ranks of onetime Trump foes who will nevertheless support him as the party nominee.

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During a contentious primary campaign, she criticised Trump for having "lost any sort of political viability, exhibiting moral weakness, and being thin-skinned and easily distracted." She asserted that America needs to move beyond his chaos. In response, Trump dismissed the idea of considering Haley as his running mate.

Haley’s U-turn provoked a swift backlash. Sarah Longwell, a political strategist and publisher of the conservative Bulwark website, took to social media and tweeted, “So when Nikki Haley said ‘It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him.’ She really meant, he can treat me and my voters like garbage and I’ll still fall in line and support him.”

Joe Walsh, an ex-Republican congressman, added, “This isn’t complicated, Nikki Haley believes Trump is unfit. And she believes he should never be back in the White House. But if she said that publicly, her career as a Republican would be over. So, as expected, she decided to not be truthful. To keep her career as a Republican.”

However, she dropped out of the primaries in early March, Haley has continued to draw up to 20% in the contests, a clear warning sign for Trump’s campaign.

Although Trump has dismissed the idea of trying to appeal to Haley’s voters, where Biden said in Atlanta recently, “Let me say, there’s always going to be a place for Haley voters in my campaign.”

Trump has also received endorsements from former Republican primary opponents, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

Earlier in the event, Haley was fiercely critical of far right Republicans who favour “America first” isolationism, without mentioning Trump by name.

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“A growing number of Democrats and Republicans have forgotten what makes America safe,” she said. “A loud part of each party wants us to ditch our allies, make peace with our enemies and focus only on the problems we have at home.

“They believe that if we ignore the world, the world will ignore us. They claim that disregarding global chaos will somehow make our country safer. It will not. This perspective has already put America in great danger, and the threat is growing daily,” Haley added.

(With inputs from agencies)