Haley Won’t Commit To Backing Trump
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) said that she would not promise to support former President Donald Trump if he receives the Republican nomination. The change came months after Haley pledged to support whoever won the Republican nomination and after a string of primary election defeats.
Haley was asked about her earlier pledge during an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press this weekend. Host Kristen Welker asked about whether Haley would endorse Trump.
The former governor responded “if you talk about an endorsement, you’re talking about a loss. I don’t think like that. When you’re in a race, you don’t think about losing.”
“You think about continuing to go forward. What I can tell you is, I don’t think Donald Trump or Joe Biden should be president. I don’t think we need two candidates in their 80s,” she said.
Haley suggests she’s no longer bound by RNC pledge to back eventual nominee https://t.co/tf1fV7CCNI pic.twitter.com/8Ny3eq2YzS
— New York Post (@nypost) March 3, 2024
Welker then asked about Haley’s pledge to the Republican National Committee (RNC) to support the eventual nominee. The host asked if she still felt “bound” to the pledge.
Haley said that she “always said that I have serious concerns about Donald Trump.”
“The RNC pledge, I mean, at the time of the debate, we had to take it to where would you support the nominee, in order to get on that debate stage, you said yes. The RNC is now not the same RNC. Now it’s Trump’s daughter-in-law,” Haley said.
When pressed further, Haley said that she would “make what decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about.”
Haley’s comments came as the former governor is behind Trump in every national poll. She also trails the former president in each statewide Republican primary poll.
The former governor has also lost every contest against Trump, including three over the weekend. Trump carried large margins in the Idaho and Missouri state caucuses Saturday, as well as the Michigan state Republican convention. Trump won a large victory in that state’s primary in February.
The comments also came as Trump edged closer to securing the majority of delegates needed to win the GOP nomination.
