Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley offers her “strong endorsement” to Donald Trump

Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley, whose presidential election campaign came to an end in March 2024, has given her “strong endorsement” to former US president and current Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Posting on Instagram yesterday, with a photo of the Republican National Convention (RNC) 2024 in Milwaukee, the former candidate wrote: “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. 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 [Biden-Trump] debate, everyone knows it’s true.”

Haley, 52, had 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 RNC as she called for unity in the party.

The Instagram post by Haley yesterday contained the first words of her RNC speech on Tuesday.

Trump, always the forerunner, now officially gets the Republican presidential nomination at the RNC 2024.

The only Republican leader to have seriously challenged Trump during the bruising campaign primaries, Haley told thousands of delegates and party leaders that Trump was the best bet for the country and that the Republicans were united to defeat incumbent US President and Democrat nominee 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 Haley, former South Carolina governor and US Ambassador to the United Nations.

As Trump watched from the convention centre’s VIP suite, 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 per cent of the time,” she said. “My message to them is simple: you don’t have to agree with Trump 100 per cent of the time to vote for him.”

Referring to President Biden, she 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.”

US President Joe Biden has come under pressure to withdraw his bid for 2024 re-election following the presidential candidates’ debate, in which he did not fare well against Trump. There is a belief in many circles that Vice-President Kamala Harris is the obvious choice to replace him as the Democrat nominee. A Democrat win, then, would make her President Harris.

At the RNC 2024, Trump and his running mate Senator JD Vance gave a standing ovation to Haley when she endorsed him.

Alluding to the recent shooting at Donald Trump during his Pennsylvania rally, Haley said, “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 added, “Our fellow Americans are fearful right now. Families are suffering from inflation and wages that don’t keep up with prices. Young people are being indoctrinated to think our country is racist and evil. The Jewish community is facing an obscene rise in anti-Semitism. Too many minorities are trapped in communities devastated by crime.”

No president could fix all the problems alone, said Haley. “We have to do this together. America has an amazing ability to self-correct. At this moment, we have a chance to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and strengthens our country,” she said.

“We must not only be a unified party. We must also expand our party. We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences. And right now, we need to be strong, to save America. This is a defining moment, not only for our party but for our country,” said the Indian-American leader.

—With inputs from CtoI News Desk