Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign Wednesday after former President Donald Trump dominated the GOP primary on Super Tuesday.
“I am filled with … gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country,” Haley said at a press conference in South Carolina. “But the time has now come [to] just suspend my campaign.”
Trump won 14 of the 15 states that held primaries Tuesday, with his lone loss to Haley being Vermont. Haley did not comment on whether she would endorse Trump but encouraged the former president to win over her followers.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him,” Haley said at the press conference. “And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away.”
Haley was Trump’s last competitive opponent in the GOP presidential primary. The former president is roughly 200 delegates short of the nomination.
Trump mocked Haley on Truth Social as her press conference began.
“Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion, despite the fact that Democrats, for reasons unknown, are allowed to vote in Vermont, and various other Republican Primaries. Much of her money came from Radical Left Democrats, as did many of her voters, almost 50%, according to the polls,” Trump wrote.
“At this point, I hope she stays in the ‘race’ and fights it out until the end! I’d like to thank my family, friends, and the Great Republican Party for helping me to produce, by far, the most successful Super Tuesday in HISTORY, and would further like to invite all of the Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation. BIDEN IS THE ENEMY, HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he continued.
Trump defeated Haley in convincing fashion in the 14 states he won Tuesday, with winning margins as high as 76% in Alaska and 70% in Alabama. His smallest margin of victory was by 15% in Utah. Haley came within 50% behind Trump in five states he won and defeated him in Vermont by 4%.
President Joe Biden issued a statement praising Haley and encouraging her to join his campaign.
“It takes a lot of courage to run for President – that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump. Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin,” the president wrote.
“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. 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,” he continued.