Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she plans to vote for Donald Trump, her rival and former boss, in the 2024 US presidential election.
Ms. Haley, who served as Mr. Trump’s United Nations ambassador, was the last of his major opponents to drop out of the party’s primary race in early March.
At the time, she did not endorse him but urged him to win the votes of the millions of people who supported her.
On Wednesday, in her first public speech since leaving the race, she said Trump was “not perfect” but President Joe Biden “is a disaster.”
Anti-Trump Republican voters largely united behind Haley’s presidential campaign earlier this year.
In fact, more than two months after leaving the race, she won more than 20% of the vote in the Maryland primary held last week.
Biden’s campaign has sought to appeal to Ms. Haley’s fellow Republicans, pushing a message of inclusivity and arguing that Mr. Trump has repeatedly “made it clear that he doesn’t want” voters support her.
Speaking Wednesday before a meeting at the conservative Hudson Institute think tank in Washington DC, Ms. Haley maintained her criticism of both sides.
But she reserved most of her opposition for the Democratic incumbent.
Mr. Biden, she said, “threw Israel to the wolves,” “did nothing to stop the invasion” of Ukraine and “gave Iran nothing but cash and time.”
While the former South Carolina governor said she would support Mr. Trump’s run for the White House, she did not urge her supporters to do the same.
“I stand by what I said in my suspension speech,” she said.
“Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me, and not assume they will side with him and I really hope he does that.”
This is an evolving story. More updates to follow.
