Nikki Haley says that she is willing to step-up to help Donald Trump if he wants to tap her assistance despite their up-and-down past.
Haley was the final woman standing against Trump in the 2024 primary election with a crowded field of Republicans seeking to oust the former president for a chance at the White House. She often spoke out against Trump and aired her grievances and disagreements.
But before that, Haley served for nearly two years as Trump’s Ambassador to the United Nations from January 2017 through December 2018.
‘He knows I’m on standby,’ Haley sad of Trump when asked if she is going to go on the road to campaign for the Republican nominee.
‘I talked to him back in June,’ she told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. ‘He’s aware that I’m ready if he ever needs me to do that.’
Haley said she was not asked to hit the general election trail when pressed on if Trump reached out.
‘That’s his choice. He can, you know, whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that,’ she said. ‘But when I called him back in June, I told him I was supportive.’
‘I think the teams have talked to each other a little bit, but there hasn’t been an ask as of yet,’ the former South Carolina Governor noted. ‘But you know, should he ask, I’m happy to be helpful.
Haley released her delegates to Trump after she dropped out of the primary race following sweeping losses on Super Tuesday. By winning the primaries in Washington, D.C. and Vermont – both very blue areas where even Republicans are more left-leaning – Haley became the first woman to win a state or territorial GOP primary contest.
She endorsed Trump and in May said she would vote for the former president in November.
At the Republican National Convention in July, Haley had a speaking slot along with fellow former GOP primary contenders Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
She issued a ‘strong endorsement’ of Trump and urged Republicans to come together behind the 2024 Republican ticket.
Haley and Trump have a rocky past despite her serving in his administration.
More than two years after exiting her White House role – and after Trump ended his first term – Haley said in February 2021 that ‘friends is a loose term’ when asked whether the former president was her friend.
She was critical of his alleged role in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot and said she was ‘angry’ that he didn’t take any action to defend his Vice President Mike Pence.