Former presidential candidate Nikki Haley officially threw her support behind presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday, revealing she will vote for him in November after months of staying silent on where she stands.
“I will be voting for Trump. Having said that, I stand behind what I said in my suspension speech,” Haley said at the Hudson Institute, where she took a job after dropping out of the 2024 race shortly after Super Tuesday.
“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 added.
The former UN ambassador had shared a similar sentiment during her suspension speech about calling for Trump to court her voters, but had not said who she would be voting for at the time.
Following her first speech at the Hudson Institute Wednesday, she explained her reasoning for voting for Trump as looking for a president who would secure the border, back American allies, reduce the debt and support “capitalism and freedom.”
“Trump has not been perfect on these policies. I have made that clear many, many times,” Haley said.
“But Biden has been a catastrophe.”
Haley has continued to get double-digit support in primary elections despite dropping out of the race, capturing nearly 22% of the vote in Indiana and over 16% in Pennsylvania.
The Trump team has made no public overture towards Haley voters despite the numbers. Trump campaign officials have emphasized polls showing the former president would defeat President Biden.
In March, a rep for the Republican National Committee told reporters they weren’t “really worried” about winning back Haley voters.
“The share … that are Republicans, we have no doubt that we’re going to get them back because they’re facing a choice between, you know, continue to slide downhill from an economic standpoint, from a security standpoint, from a border security standpoint, and more of the same, so an actual fundamental change,” the staffer said at the time.
“So we’re not really worried about that. Our door’s always open. Always has been.”
