Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley reacts whereas talking about her husband, Maj. Michael Haley, who’s presently deployed with the South Carolina Nationwide Guard, throughout a marketing campaign cease on the Clemson College at Greenville ONE constructing forward of the Republican presidential main election in Greenville, South Carolina, U.S. February 20, 2024.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will drop out of the 2024 presidential race Wednesday after dropping each state however one — Vermont — in Tremendous Tuesday’s main contests, a supply accustomed to Haley’s plans confirmed to NBC Information, ceding the Republican nomination to former President Donald Trump.
Haley’s transfer will kick off the final election, with Trump and President Joe Biden taking unofficial command of their events early in main season after a string of victories.
Haley, a hand-picked member of Trump’s Cupboard from 2017 to 2018, was the primary main Republican to launch a problem in opposition to the previous president in Feb. 2023. Her marketing campaign had a sluggish begin, however she gained momentum after a number of robust debate performances final summer season and fall. In the end, her measured criticism of Trump — she stated Jan. 6 was a “horrible day” and criticized Trump’s conduct throughout the Capitol riot and at different instances whereas he was president, however she additionally stated she’d pardon him if he was convicted of federal crimes — earned her growing assist amongst extra anti-Trump Republicans and independents, particularly in New Hampshire.
That criticism grew extra strident because the race narrowed and Haley moved into one-on-one fight with Trump on the marketing campaign path. Haley advised NBC earlier this month that the previous president was “diminished” and “unhinged,” explaining away her previous assist for Trump by bluntly saying “he’s not the identical particular person he was in 2016.”
“We’ve to see this for what it’s,” Haley stated. “This can be a truth: He’s now saying issues that do not make sense.”
However whereas Haley’s Trump criticism tapped right into a slice of on-line donors who fueled her marketing campaign, and her assist rose, she was unable to drag inside even single digits of Trump in virtually all of the Republican nominating contests.
