RNC Chair on why Haley isn’t stumping for Trump: ‘You’d have to take that up with her’
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley did not directly address why former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is not campaigning for former President Trump, with just days left before the election, when asked during a Wednesday interview.
Whatley said, however, that the RNC would “welcome” her support on the campaign trail.
“Well, look, we certainly welcome Nikki Haley and her support and appreciate the fact that she is out there messaging right now," Whatley said in an interview on “The Hill” on NewsNation when asked why Haley is not on the road campaigning for Trump.
Moderator Blake Burman noted the significant gender gap between Trump and Vice President Harris, with women heavily favoring Harris.
“She is talking about the issues that women voters, but every voter really, truly cares about,” Whatley continued, referring to Haley. “People care about inflation. They care about grocery prices, gasoline prices, housing prices, and whether or not their communities are safe. So these are issue sets that everybody is out, and we welcome Nikki Haley being out there and supporting President Trump.”
Burman pressed again on why Haley isn’t campaigning for Trump, saying her support could potentially move even a few thousand, so, “Shouldn’t she be out there for Donald Trump at this point? And why isn't she?”
“You know what? You'd have to take that up with her. Like I said at this point in time, we certainly welcome her support, like we welcome the support of Tulsi Gabbard, of Elon Musk, of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, and Republicans across the spectrum."
Whatley said the Republican party is united going into next week’s Election Day.
“The Republican Party is more unified than we have been in generations, and that's one of the main reasons that we're in a really strong position, where we're leading in the national polls. We're leading in every battleground state, and we're leading in every issue poll is because we do have that united front, and we're pressing forward,” he said.
Haley — Trump’s former UN ambassador and the former governor of South Carolina — was the last candidate standing against Trump in what became a bitter primary match in 2024 that ultimately landed Trump the GOP nomination.
Haley said last month that she had not been asked to campaign with Trump.
“They’re very aware that we’re on standby. They know that we would be there to help. I’ve helped with some fundraising letters and text messages and those types of things, so we’ve done that,” Haley said. “It is their campaign’s decision on what he needs, and these last final days, it does not bother me at all.”
The Hill has reached out to Haley’s team for comment.
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