She made the announcement in her home state of South Carolina.
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA — Nikki Haley announced Wednesday she is suspending her presidential campaign, though she stopped short of endorsing Donald Trump.
“I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country,” Haley said in brief remarks delivered in her home state. “But the time has now come to suspend my campaign.”
“I said I wanted Americans to have their voice. I have done that,” she continued. “I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe.”
Her decision, which comes after resounding losses across the country on Super Tuesday, leaves Trump as the last major candidate for the 2024 Republican nomination.
Haley acknowledged in her brief remarks that Trump, whom she has roundly criticized, is now all but certain be the GOP nominee after the party’s convention in July.
“I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s president,” she said. “Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.”
She didn’t explicitly endorse him, however, saying: “I have always been a conservative Republican and always supported the Republican nominee. But on this question, as she did on so many others, Margaret Thatcher provided some good advice when she said, ‘Never just follow the crap. Always make up your own mind.'”
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it, who did not support it,” she added. “And I hope he does that. At its best politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
Haley, calling back to her campaign’s launch last February, cited the Book of Joshua in closing out her candidacy.
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for God will be with you wherever you go,” she said.
Trump’s campaign didn’t waste any time in fundraising off of Haley’s announcement.
“It was a hard-fought race, but now it’s time for us TO UNITE AS A PARTY AND DEFEAT JOE BIDEN!” a fundraising email sent out Wednesday morning read.
Haley’s exit paves the way for a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. Both candidates issued statements urging Haley’s supporters to back their campaigns.
“Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said. “I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.”
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called Trump the “presumptive nominee.”
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory! I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary contest,” she said in a statement.
Source: ABC News
