Haley Releases Delegates, Urges Them to Back Trump Ahead of RNC Convention

(Left) Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a Super Tuesday election night watch party at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 5, 2024. (Right) Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally in Portland, Maine, on March 3, 2024. Chandan Khanna, Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley announced on July 9 that she is releasing her 97 delegates and urging them to support former President Donald Trump.

The move comes days before the Republican National Convention when the 45th president is set to be nominated as the party’s 2024 presidential candidate.

“The nominating convention is a time for Republican unity,” said Ms. Haley in a statement.

“We need a president who will hold our enemies to account, secure our border, cut our debt, and get our economy back on track,” said the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Ms. Haley went on to call on her delegates to back former President Trump at the Republican National Convention, which will be held July 15–18 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Politico first reported the news.

The former candidate will not be attending the convention.

“She was not invited, and she’s fine with that,” Ms. Haley’s spokesperson, Chaney Denton, told The Epoch Times.

“Trump deserves the convention he wants,” Ms. Denton said. “She’s made it clear she’s voting for him and wishes him the best.”

In May, a few months after suspending her presidential campaign, Ms. Haley announced she will be voting for former President Trump.

She said that she wants a “president who would support capitalism and freedom. A president who understands we need less debt, not more debt.” While former President Trump “has not been perfect on these policies,” she said, he is preferable to President Joe Biden.

Ms. Haley also urged the GOP frontrunner 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.”

After dropping out of the race in March, Ms. Haley continued to receive a notable share of votes in Republican primaries around the country. She notched 20 percent of the vote in the primaries in Maryland, 18 percent in Nebraska, and 22 percent in Indiana.

Following Ms. Haley’s endorsement, former President Trump suggested Ms. Haley would be on his team “in some form.” He previously ruled her out as a potential running mate.

“I appreciated what she said. You know, we had a nasty campaign, it was pretty nasty. But she’s a very capable person, and I’m sure she’s going to be on our team in some form, absolutely,” former President Trump said after a campaign rally in New York.

Ms. Haley recently told the Wall Street Journal that she spoke with former President Trump in June in what she called a “good conversation,” but there was no talk of any role in his campaign.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.