OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, who is Donald Trump’s last remaining serious 2024 primary contender, claimed during a CNN interview on Monday she will “beat” him and win the Republican nomination later this year.
“So obviously, you’re running in South Carolina, and you’ve told me that you plan to be around. Well, obviously, you want to be the nominee and then the president, but you’re going to be around at least until Super Tuesday,” host Jake Tapper said. “If the unthinkable happens in your view and you do not win, will it be difficult to support Trump as the Republican Party’s nominee, given what you think about him quite obviously?”
“Well, first, I think that you need to know that I am going to beat President Trump. But you should ask him if it’ll be difficult for him to support me?” Haley said in response.
“He didn’t sign the GOP pledge in 2016. I don’t think — and he certainly [is] not signing it now. So I am I’m sure he would say no. But I guess you’re not going to commit to voting for him if he becomes the nominee?” Tapper asked.
Haley said: “What I’m saying is what I said from the very beginning when there were 14 candidates on the stage, that any one of the 14 would be better than Joe Biden.”
That said, a growing chorus of influential conservatives are calling on Haley, also a former South Carolina governor, to end what appears to be a hopeless quest for the 2024 GOP nomination and unite around Trump.
The calls come as Haley has gone 0-4 in the first series of primaries, and she is trailing Trump by a wide margin in her own home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor.
“A group of 12 prominent conservatives, including a former governor, media executives, and a former U.S. attorney general,” are calling on her to quit the race, the Washington Examiner reported, though she is continuing to raise money and has vowed to stay in the race until the end.
“While you have waged a spirited campaign for the 2024 Republican Party nomination, it is clear you cannot win the GOP nomination,” a letter to her reads. “We applaud your efforts, but your candidacy is over.”
The group went on to accuse her of harming the GOP by staying in the race.
The Washington Examiner noted:
The group consists of former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore, former Ohio Rep. Bob McEwen, Conservative Action Project Chairman Kenneth Blackwell, Conservative Leadership PAC Chairman Morton Blackwell, Media Research Center President Brent Bozell, Counterpoint Institute President Dr. Shea Bradley-Farrell, Tea Party Patriots Chairwoman Jenny Beth Martin, American Lands Council President Myron Ebell, ConservativeHQ.com Chairman Richard Viguerie, presidential historian Craig Shirley, American Spectator Publisher R. Emmett Tyrrell, and former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese.
The group cited a past example of how a prolonged and pointless candidacy within the GOP caused long-term damage to both the party and the candidate himself.
“In 1964, then-[New York] Governor Nelson Rockefeller stayed in the race against [Arizona] Sen. Barry Goldwater too long, even when it was apparent he had lost the nomination,” it reads. “As a result, Rockefeller ended up hated by the rank and file of the GOP. Do you really want to become the Nelson Rockefeller of the 21st century?”
The group also lashed out at Haley’s criticisms of Trump, which they said would hurt his chances against President Joe Biden in November.
“Please withdraw from the race now, endorse Donald Trump, and another year will beckon,” the letter concludes. “This action by you would be the better part of valor.”
During an interview on “Fox News @ Night” last week, Haley declared that the U.S. will have a female president, whether it’s her or Kamala Harris, claiming that Trump cannot win the general election.
“This is about the fact that we are going to have a female President of the United States. It will either be me or it will be Kamala Harris. I voted for Trump twice. I was proud to serve in his administration, but chaos follows him. We can’t be a country in disarray in a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it,” Haley said.
