Nikki Haley drops out of 2024 presidential race, clearing path for Trump
Nikki Haley ended her 2024 presidential election bid, saying she has “no regrets” about her time on the campaign trail. (Getty)
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley officially ended her 2024 presidential election campaign, clearing the way for Donald Trump to run on the Republican ticket.
Speaking from her home state of South Carolina Wednesday (6 March) morning, Haley said she’s “filled with gratitude” for those who supported her and had “no regrets” about running.
“Although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe,” she added.
Her decision to run was “grounded in [her] love for our country”, and she felt that she accomplished her goal of having Americans be “heard”.
Nikki Haley acknowledged Trump would, more than likely, become the Republican nominee as he’s the only remaining candidate in the Republican race for the White House.
She said it’s up to Trump to earn the votes of those in the Republican party and others going to the voting booth this November.
“At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away,” she said.
“Our Conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”
Haley won only two primaries – Washington DC and Vermont – during her months-long campaign to become the Republican Party’s presidential nominee.
Her efforts have been thoroughly trounced at almost every turn by Trump, who maintained a large lead over her and other candidates who’ve since dropped out of the race. This trend continued on Super Tuesday with Trump sweeping a majority of the primary contests.
Nikki Haley dropping out of the 2024 presidential election means Trump is almost certainly going into another showdown with president Joe Biden, who has taken unofficial command of the Democrat party in the primary season.
Since the onset of her campaign, Haley had little hope of keeping pace with Trump in the Republican race. The former president remained extremely popular with voters despite his ongoing legal issues.
Still, Haley tried to gain right-wing support by repeatedly attacking the trans community in debates and rallies.
She misgendered trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, falsely connected trans visibility to teenage suicide ideation and claimed trans people are “erasing” women.
On gender-affirming healthcare, Nikki Haley said such vital healthcare shouldn’t be available to trans youth “until the age of 18 when they are an adult and they can make that decision”.
Haley also attacked LGBTQ+ inclusive education in US schools, claiming Florida’s reviled ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law didn’t “go far enough”.
Nikki Haley held tight to her anti-abortion views but urged Republicans to avoid demonising such medical care while on the campaign trail. She’s called for a “consensus” on reproductive rights at the federal level.
