Former Republican challenger Haley endorses Trump

July 17, 2024 10:13

Indian-American Republican leader Nikky Haley has endorsed her former boss Donald Trump as the party's candidate for the presidential election, delivering the message of unity after their bitter rivalry during the presidential primary.

Haley, 52, unsuccessfully challenged Trump, 78, for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and spent months sparring with the former president.

But last week, she instructed her 97 delegates to vote for Trump at the convention as she called for unity in the party. "I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement," Haley said in her address to the Republican National Convention here in this city which is hosting the once-in-four-year convention which has nominated Trump as its presidential candidate.

Trump will deliver his acceptance speech on Thursday. Haley, who was the only Republican leader to have seriously challenged Trump during the primaries, told thousands of delegates and party leaders that Trump is the best bet for the country and that the Republicans are united to defeat incumbent President Joe Biden.

"Let us join together as a party. Let us come together as a people -- as one country strong and proud. Let us show our children and the world that even on our worst day, we are blessed to live in America," said the former South Carolina governor and the US Ambassador to the United Nations.

Haley used her speech to defend the former president's foreign policy record and speak directly to voters who disagree with him on certain issues. "There are some Americans who don't agree with Donald Trump 100% of the time, she said. My message to them is simple: You don't have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Our country is at a critical moment. We have a choice to make. For more than a year, I said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris. After seeing the debate, everyone knows it's true," Haley said. "If we have four more years of Biden . . . or a single day of Harris . . . our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump," Haley said.

Trump was present at the convention centre when she spoke. Trump and his running mate Senator J D Vance gave a standing ovation to Haley when she started her speech and endorsed him. "Our foreign enemies win when they see Americans hate each other. They see that today, whether it's on college campuses or in a field in Butler, Pennsylvania. But we can conquer those fears with strength and unity," she said.

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