Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has officially endorsed Donald Trump for reelection this November.
Haley, who ran against Trump in a contentious primary season, gave her endorsement of Trump during Tuesday's Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.
"President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity," Haley addressed the crowd. "It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept."
"I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period," she said.
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Haley reiterated a previous warning that a vote for President Joe Biden was a vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been speculated to assume Biden's position amidst concerns over the president's ailing health.
"After seeing the debate, everyone knows it's true," she said in reference to last month's debate between Trump and Biden. "If we have four more years of Biden, or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off."
Haley then declared: "For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump."
The former presidential candidate then offered a message to her own supporters, who largely have taken issue with Trump's personality and electability throughout the primary season.
"You don't have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him," Haley said. "Take it from me. I haven't always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree."
Haley then called on Republicans to not only "unify" but "expand" the party.
"We are so much better when we are bigger," she said. "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."
Haley, along with fellow former Republican presidential candidates Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, notably did not endorse the former president after suspending her own campaign earlier this year. Upon suspending her campaign, the former presidential candidate said Trump needed to put in effort to sway detractors in the Republican Party towards supporting him.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said in April. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
Haley went on to join the Hudson Institute as the organization's Walter P. Sterns Chair later that month.
The Hudson Institute was founded in 1961 as a research organization that develops strategic recommendations regarding “foreign and domestic policy, national security, economics, and international relations.” The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C and relies on an “interdisciplinary study in defense, international relations, economics, energy, technology, culture, and law.”
