Nikki Haley, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s last remaining challenger for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, suspended her campaign on Wednesday after he defeated her decisively in Super Tuesday primary elections across the country.
Haley, Trump’s one-time United Nations ambassador, congratulated Trump but did not endorse him. But she acknowledged the almost certain likelihood that he will be the Republican standard bearer in the November 5 election against President Joe Biden, who also swept to victories over token opposition in Tuesday’s Democratic party primaries.
Haley said she wished Trump well but said it was up to him “to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him.”
She often won a quarter to more than 40% of the vote in party primaries against Trump but captured only two contests since voting started in January, in Washington, D.C., last weekend, and in the small northeastern state of Vermont on Tuesday.
Trump, on his social media site, said “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion, despite the fact that Democrats, for reasons unknown, are allowed to vote in Vermont, and various other Republican Primaries.”
Biden, already looking to grab some of Haley’s votes in the national election eight months from now, said in a statement, “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign.
“I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.”
Comments are closed.