“Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.”
Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley pledged her support on Tuesday for the former president at the Republican National Convention (RNC) while pushing for party unity.
Former Ambassador Nikki Haley speaking on the second day of the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Haley—the daughter of immigrants from India, was also the first female governor of South Carolina and the country’s first female governor of Indian descent—and the last major rival against Trump in this year’s primary contest. She waited two months after dropping out in March to say she would vote for him. Then last week, she announced she would instruct her convention delegates to vote for Trump.
“Our country is at a critical moment,” Haley said. “We have a choice to make. For more than a year, I said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris. After seeing the debate, everyone knows it’s true. If we have four more years of Biden or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump.”
Haley also spoke directly to those who may not agree with Trump.
“My message to them is simple. You don’t have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me, I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree,” she said. “We agree on keeping America strong. We agree on keeping America safe.”
Before closing, Haley talked about serving on Trump’s cabinet as the ambassador to the United Nations, and how he welcomed input from others, even those who disagreed with him.
The second night of the RNC in Milwaukee also featured Trump supporter and former rival Vivek Ramaswamy. He used his speech to speak to various groups, including “legal immigrants.”
“You’re like my parents,” Ramaswamy said. “You deserve the opportunity to secure a better life for your children in America.”
To “illegal immigrants,” Ramaswamy said, “we will return you to your country of origin, not because you’re all bad people, but because you broke the law. And the United States of America was founded on the rule of law.”
The 2024 presidential campaign has seen three politicians of South Asian descent vying for the White House: Haley and Ramaswamy both competed during the Republican primaries, while Vice President Kamala Harris is running for a second term with President Joe Biden.
As Usha Vance—the wife of Trump’s running mate—joins the campaign, Asian American political activists from both parties say they hope the increase in representation will correspond with a push to connect with a voting bloc that has long been overlooked.