One day after former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley he said he would vote for former President Donald Trump in November, Trump on Thursday addressed Haley's remarks after a rally in the Bronx, her first major campaign event in New York City since 2016.
“I think he's going to be on our team because we have a lot of the same ideas, the same thoughts,” Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, told News 12 New York. “I appreciated what he said. You know, we had a nasty campaign, it was pretty nasty. But he's a very capable person, and I'm sure he'll be part of our team, absolutely.”
During an event Wednesday at the Hudson Institute in Washington, DC, his first since then suspend his presidential campaign in March, Haley said she would “vote for Trump.”
His statement came despite intense criticism of his former opponent during his presidential run, when he often referred to Trump as “bewildered.”
And in her speech announcing she was abandoning her presidential bid, Haley said “now it's up to Donald Trump to win the votes of those in our party and beyond who don't support him.”
The former South Carolina governor served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.
In a May 11 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote that Haley is “not under consideration” to be his vice presidential nominee. Although on Thursday, Trump appeared to dodge the question when asked if he was considering her as a possible running mate, instead listing the names of other prominent Republicans who he said were doing a “fantastic job.” , including Sens. Marco Rubio and Rep. JD Vance. . Elise Stefanik and Dr. Ben Carson.
“You could take people like Ben Carson, you could take people like Marco Rubio, JD Vance, I mean there are so many. Elise is doing a fantastic job,” Trump said. “We have a lot of people who would do a really great job.”
Asked about a timeline for a decision, Trump said it would likely come “at some point in the convention.”
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for July 15-18 in Milwaukee.
Trump has spent the last few weeks in a Manhattan courtroom attending his ongoing criminal trial for “hush money”.. His defense rested its case on Tuesday, with closing arguments set to take place next week.
— Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.
