Ex-White House hopeful Nikki Haley says she’ll vote for Donald Trump
- Nikki Haley calls US President Joe Biden a ‘catastrophe’ as she backs Donald Trump in his White House bid
- Haley said Trump should not assume he has the support of her voters, regardless of her personal decision
Former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said on Wednesday she will vote for Donald Trump in the US election, but said her one-time bitter rival would have to work to win over her moderate support base as he faces US President Joe Biden in November.
The former South Carolina governor, 52, abandoned her White House ambitions in March after suffering several heavy defeats in primary contests – and had not previously indicated whether she would support the man who referred to her repeatedly as “birdbrain”.
Despite having made withering criticism of the scandal-plagued ex-president, Haley said at an event for the Washington-based Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, that she was urging Trump to make nice with her support base.
“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,” she said.
More than two months after ending her White House campaign, Haley has continued to scoop a significant chunk of votes in presidential primary contests – underlining a persistent refusal among a sizeable bloc of Republicans to get behind Trump.
