Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley wouldn’t say would back former President Donald Trump should he clinch the GOP nomination – despite a pledge she took last year.
“I’m running against him because I don’t think he should be president,” Haley told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. “I don’t think he’s the right person at the right time.
“The last thing on my mind is who I’m going to support,” she added. The only thing on my mind is how we’re going to win this.”
She was adamant that based on the polling, Trump “will not win” the general election and that she is “gonna win” the primary.
In the past, Haley, 52, repeatedly committed to backing the eventual Republican nominee, including in a pledge she took in order to participate in the GOP debates. Last year, she also publicly stated she would back Trump if he clinches the nomination.
However, in recent weeks, she has aggressively ratcheted up her offensive against Trump, starkly warning Republican voters about the consequences of selecting him as the standard bearer.
Host Jonathan Karl pressed Haley again on to affirm whether she could back Trump.
Haley chided that Karl could “ask him if he’s going to support me when I’m the nominee,” before conceding she “highly” doubts that Trump would.
Throughout the interview, Haley rattled off a handful of her concerns about Trump, including fears that he could threaten to upend the NATO alliance.
“I’m worried about a lot of things that Trump is reelected. That is one of them,” she bluntly told Karl, when asked about NATO.
Earlier this month, Trump raised eyebrows during a rally in Conway, South Carolina where he suggested to his supporters that he wouldn’t defend NATO members that don’t fulfill their obligations.
She dinged Trump over those remarks, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “feeling more emboldened than he ever has.”
“All [Trump] did in that one moment, was empower Putin,” Haley chided. “He sided with a guy that killed his political opponent. He sided with a thug that arrests American journalists and holds them hostage.”
Haley, who served as Trump’s US ambassador to the UN from 2017 to 2018, countered that the US should be “doubling down” and working to bolster foreign alliances.
She also zinged Trump for endorsing his daughter-in-law Lara Trump to serve as a co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
“The part I worry about is the RNC is now going to be the piggy bank for Trump’s legal fees. The RNC is almost broke already,” she said.
“I voted for Donald Trump twice. I was proud to serve America in his administration, but we have got to right the ship in this country,” she said.
So far, Haley has failed to win any Republican contests in her battle against Trump who has 63 delegates to her 17.
The next stop in the GOP nominating calendar is South Carolina, Haley’s home state where she served as governor from 2011 to 2017.
Haley is trailing Trump in every poll there. The contest is slated for Feb. 24.