Former presidential hopeful Nikki Haley said Wednesday she will vote for Donald Trump in the US election, but said her one-time bitter rival would have to work to win over her moderate support base as he faces President Joe Biden in November.
The former South Carolina governor, 52, abandoned her White House ambitions in March after suffering several heavy defeats in primary contests — and had not previously indicated whether she would support the man who referred to her repeatedly as “birdbrain.”
Despite having made withering criticism of the scandal-plagued ex-president, Haley said at an event for the Washington-based Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank, that she was urging Trump to make nice with her support base.
“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. And I genuinely hope he does that,” she said.