Nikki Haley says she will vote for Donald Trump in US prez polls

Despite previous criticisms, the former Republican presidential contender now highlights Trump's advantage over Joe Biden in handling national security issues.

Nikki Haley speaks at the Hudson Institute in Washington on May.22. / Screengrab/New India Abroad

Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley announced that she will be voting for Donald Trump in the upcoming US presidential elections. She made the remarks at a Hudson Institute event in Washington on May.22.

However, Haley also said Trump would need to garner support from people who voted for her during the course of the primary campaign.

“I will be voting for Trump," Haley said at the event, while adding “Having said that, 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."
Haley dropped her bid for the Republican presidential nomination in March.

Commenting on several national security issues affecting the US in the recent past, Haley said former president Trump, despite not having been perfect himself, would be in a better position to handle them than current US President Joe Biden.

"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,” she said. “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.”

Biden has been “a catastrophe”, she added.

"America needs to be smart enough to say, let's get in front of this. And the only way that will happen is when America grows a spine again. If we grow a spine, all of this will start to fix itself," added Haley.

Haley made several such remarks in her speech at the Hudson Institute, including references to Ukraine, Israel and also Biden's handling of the US-Mexico border situation.

Interestingly, Haley had earlier accused Trump of chaos and disregarding US alliances abroad, along with questioning if the 77-year-old was too old to be president again. In response, Trump referred to Haley with the nickname "birdbrain".

However, the tussle between Haley and Trump had reduced once Trump secured enough delegates in March 2024 to become the presumptive Republican nominee.