Washington — Nikki Haley endorsed former President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday as the party tries to spread the message of unity and court voters beyond his base.
"I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear," she said. "Donald Trump has my strong endorsement."
Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador under Trump and is the former governor of South Carolina, was not originally expected to be at the convention. Her spokesperson said last week that she had not been invited. Ahead of the convention Haley released her delegates and encouraged them to vote for Trump.
When Haley dropped out of the primary race against Trump in March, she declined to endorse him, saying he needed to earn the votes of the people who did not support him. In May, she said she would vote for him, despite her intense criticism of him throughout the campaign.
On Tuesday, she said Trump asked her to speak at the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, "in the name of unity."
"It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept it," she said.
Seeking to bring voters into the Republican Party, she said the party must acknowledge that there are Americans who don't always agree with the former president.
"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," Haley said.
Haley said the U.S. is at a critical moment and for the country's sake, "we have to go with Donald Trump." She praised his national security policies and said he "appreciated advice and input."
"Americans were well served by his presidency, even if they didn't agree with them on all things," she said. "Now to my fellow Republicans, we must not only be a unified party, we must also expand our party. We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences."
Republicans are trying to take advantage of a groundswell of support during the convention, which comes on the heels of an assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday.
Trump arrived in the convention arena shortly before the speeches of Haley and some of his other former rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
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