When Nikki Haley withdrew from the race for the Republican presidential nomination earlier this week, she made it clear she would continue to speak out.
Haley announced on Wednesday that she was suspending her White House campaign after former President Donald Trump won 14 out of 15 Republicans, saying, “Although I am no longer a candidate, I am a candidate for what I believe in.” I have no intention of stopping using my voice for the sake of this.” Super Tuesday nomination contest.
Haley also clarified this week that no third party is expected to run on No Labels’ presidential ticket.
“What I want to tell you is that I’m a conservative Republican. I’ve said many times that I’m not running as an independent. I’m a Republican, so I’m not running as a no-label, and I’ve always thought that,”’ she reiterated in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”
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Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaks in Charleston, South Carolina, on March 6, 2024, announcing that she is suspending her campaign. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
But how much voice she has within the Republican Party and what kind of future she has within it will depend largely on Trump, who has dominated the party since he first won the White House eight years ago. be done.
The former two-term South Carolina governor who then became ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration 13 months ago is the first major candidate to challenge Trump in the 2024 nomination race. And she was her last rival before she was eliminated.
Haley, who has been increasingly critical of the former president over the past six weeks, withdrew from the race and refused to endorse Trump.
Haley won’t support Trump canceling 2024 bid
And Haley, who won 43% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary in late January and more than a quarter to a third of the vote in a handful of Republican races, said, It’s up to Donald Trump whether he can get that.” People inside and outside the party did not support him and I hope he will.”
“The best thing about politics is bringing people to your cause, not pushing them away, and our conservative cause desperately needs more people. Now it’s his time to make a choice,” Haley said.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, former two-term South Carolina governor and later ambassador to the United Nations, greets supporters after speaking in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 20, 2024. (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Haley’s support in the primary highlighted Trump’s weakness among moderate and suburban voters. But even before he finished Wednesday’s speech, he made it clear that Trump would not be extending an olive branch to his former rival.
“Nikki Haley was arrested last night in record-breaking fashion,” Trump wrote in a social media post slamming her.
Haley will have to make a big decision in the coming days and weeks: whether to oppose Trump or support the former president.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican Trump critic who supported Haley and was one of her top surrogates, supported the former president in several interviews Friday, but reiterated his past criticisms. said he supports it.
Much of Ms. Haley’s future fate rests with President Trump, who on Friday installed a powerful ally to run the Republican National Committee.
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks at the Super Tuesday election night party at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
“She needs to take a step back and look at the situation and pay attention to what President Trump is saying and doing,” longtime Republican strategist David Kochel told Fox News.
Kochel, a veteran of numerous Republican presidential campaigns, said much will depend on the outcome of November’s presidential election.
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On the campaign trail, Haley repeatedly argued that the Republican Party with Trump at the top faces challenges in November and that she would be a more effective standard-bearer against President Biden.
Koch said, “If Trump loses in November, Haley will be vindicated,” but if the former president wins, it is likely to pose difficulties for Haley’s future as a Republican. said.
Ms. Haley ran in a party transformed by Mr. Trump and his populist America First movement, a Reagan Republican on many fronts, from pushing for a strong foreign policy to advocating fiscal restraint.
Republican presidential candidate and former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks to supporters during an event at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum with the aircraft carrier Yorktown in the background, Friday, February 23, 2024, in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. (AP Photo/Mike Smith)
This transformation of the Republican Party and her vocal criticism of Trump could make Haley’s future administration very complicated.
“Haley is an old-school conservative,” said Ryan Williams, a longtime Republican strategist and communicator. “As the party continues to move further to the right, even if Trump is not the candidate in the future, we will see more candidates who look like Trump running for national office.”
Williams said, “This puts Nikki Haley in a position that is outside the party’s direction…This indicates that she may not have a future as a Republican national candidate.” “There is,” he predicted.
Kocher agreed that “the party will not go back.”
“It’s definitely a different party. It’s more populist. It’s anti-establishment, anti-elite,” he said. “But I think it remains to be seen what the party will look like.”
Kocher then emphasized, “Trump is unique. I don’t think there can be another Trump.”
He said the party could take another sharp turn.
“If you can go from Mitt Romney. [the senator from Utah and 2012 GOP presidential nominee] “If you become Donald Trump in four years, you can be something completely different from Donald Trump,” Kochel argued.
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