Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has thrown her support behind former President Donald Trump, calling him “clearly the better choice” for the upcoming election in an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday. Though Haley once challenged Trump for the Republican nomination and has critiqued him in the past, she described her endorsement as “an easy call.”
“I don’t agree with Mr. Trump 100% of the time. But I do agree with him most of the time, and I disagree with Ms. Harris nearly all the time,” Haley wrote, underscoring that voters should weigh their quality of life under Trump against the last four years of the Biden-Harris administration. She noted that issues such as the cost of living, the national debt, and national security all worsened under Biden’s leadership.
Haley acknowledged Trump’s presidency wasn’t without faults but said, “I agree with Mr. Trump that we need to keep taxes low and cut them further. I agree that we need to roll back trillions of dollars in special-interest handouts. I agree that we need to expand American energy to empower our families and job creators while making us less dependent on foreign energy.”
For Haley, the essential question for voters is not whether they align with Trump on every issue but whether they believe his policies would serve them better than the alternative. “No politician gets everything right,” she remarked. “For those of us clear-eyed enough to see Mr. Trump’s flaws and honest enough to acknowledge them, the question is whether we’re better off with his policies or his opponent’s. On taxes, spending, inflation, immigration, energy, and national security, the candidates are miles apart. And Mr. Trump is clearly the better choice.”
Haley’s endorsement marks a notable shift from her previous criticisms, including her vocal disapproval of Trump’s actions surrounding January 6, 2021. Her backing of Trump, initially declared at the Republican National Convention in July, reflects a desire to bridge the gaps from their primary battles and unite the party behind a common goal.