Nikki Haley Releases Delegates & Urges Them To Vote For Trump At RNC

Nikki Haley released her delegates from this year’s Republican primaries, urging them to support former President Donald Trump at next week’s Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and Trump’s previous ambassador to the United Nations, released the 97 delegates she won across a dozen primaries and caucuses earlier this year to solidify GOP support around the party’s presumptive nominee.

“The nominating convention is a time for Republican unity,” said Haley in a statement. “Joe Biden is not competent to serve a second term and Kamala Harris would be a disaster for America.”

“We need a president who will hold our enemies to account, secure our border, cut our debt, and get our economy back on track. I encourage my delegates to support Donald Trump next week in Milwaukee,” she added.

While Haley’s release of her delegates is largely symbolic and won’t impact the convention, as Trump has already secured the 1,215 delegates needed to become the presumptive Republican nominee, it marks the end of her bid for the Republican presidential nomination.

Haley, the last rival to Trump, bowed out of the race in March and initially declined to endorse Trump, stating he had to “earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him.”

However, in May, despite her intense criticism during the Republican primaries, she announced in a speech that she would vote for Trump. She acknowledged Trump “has not been perfect,” but concluded he was a far better choice than Biden.

In May, at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., Haley urged Trump not to ignore her supporters.

“Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me, and not assume that they’re just going to be with him,” she said. “And I genuinely hope he does that.”

While Trump has yet to reach out to Haley or her supporters, the Biden campaign has targeted them with television and digital ads, reminding them of Trump’s past insults toward Haley.

However, it remains unclear how many voters who backed Haley during the primary did so as a temporary protest against Trump or were open to supporting Biden.

Haley’s spokesperson, Chaney Denton, confirmed that Haley will not attend next week’s convention.

“She was not invited, and she’s fine with that. Trump deserves the convention he wants. She’s made it clear she’s voting for him and wishes him the best,” said Denton in a statement.

Ron DeSantis, another prominent rival of Trump’s in the Republican primary, will also not be speaking at the convention.

This contrasts with 2016 when Trump accepted the party’s nomination for the first time, and the second and third highest delegate recipients in that campaign, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida), both addressed the convention.

Aides have confirmed that Haley and Trump’s feud has ended, yet the decision not to invite Haley to the convention highlights Trump’s focus on showcasing himself, rather than allowing former rivals to share the spotlight.