Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s criticisms of former President Donald Trump during her presidential run were pointed. She called him "totally unhinged" and decried his thirst for “revenge.” She warned that he is “declining” cognitively and that he “surrounds himself in chaos.” She took aim at one of his most overtly authoritarian rhetorical tactics and said America doesn’t “rig elections.” She denounced his threats against opponents and his use of campaign funds to fund lawyers' fees.
But in her first public appearance since dropping out of the presidential race, Haley said she’ll be “voting for Trump.”
If you were somehow still clinging to the illusion that Haley is a moderate at heart, allow her promise to vote for Trump in November disabuse you of that notion.
Haley’s explanation for why she’ll vote for Trump illustrates how flimsy her commitment is to at least some of her stated ideals. Asked on Wednesday at the Hudson Institute, a right-wing think tank in Washington, who would do a better job in the White House, Haley said:
As a voter, I’d put my priorities on a president who is going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account; who would secure the border, no more excuses; a president who would support capitalism and freedom; a president who understands we need less debt, not more debt; Trump has not been perfect on these policies — I have made that clear many, many times — but Biden has been a catastrophe. So I will be voting for Trump.
The idea that Trump is the superior alternative to Biden based on those criteria has some flaws. On the issue of allies and enemies, Haley recently pointed out the danger of Trump actively encouraging Russia to attack NATO allies. Having served as an ambassador to the United Nations under Trump, Haley is intimately aware of the rifts Trump caused with allies not just over NATO but also on issues that include his unilateral withdrawal from multilateral agreements like the Paris Agreement on climate and the Iran nuclear deal. He was also dovish on Russia and North Korea, geopolitical adversaries Haley is hawkish on. Meanwhile Biden has a far more conventional outlook on approaching longtime U.S. allies and adversaries. Regarding some of Haley's other stated issues of concern, it’s not clear how Biden is catastrophic compared to Trump. If Haley is a debt hawk, then why would she favor Trump, given his exceptional record on accumulating debt? Haley’s apparent commitment to free market capitalism should probably cause her to question why the trade war-loving Trump is clearly better than Biden.
But Haley’s political trajectory makes clear that she wants to be a major player in GOP politics, and her future within the party would be imperiled if she didn’t pledge to support the most powerful and popular Republican ahead of the election. A promise not to vote for Trump could have nudged the millions of Republicans who voted for her to sit out Election Day or defect to another party. And Haley is far from a Never Trumper. She served in his administration and ran a campaign heavily influenced by MAGA ideology. Despite some substantial criticism of Trump, Haley declined to confront him head-on the way former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did (albeit ineffectively). Haley’s rancorous rivalry with Trump during the presidential primaries makes it doubtful he would invite her back into his Cabinet if he’s elected, but Haley is likely contemplating how she can position herself for a 2028 run.
Haley’s even-keeled temperament, her sometimes spirited criticism of Trump and her strategically vague calls for “consensus” on abortion policy led some Republicans and liberals to see her as a moderate alternative to Trump, and maybe even a part of “the resistance” against him. But Haley has repeatedly made it clear that she wants to adapt to the new GOP. The deal-breaker for her isn’t a presidential candidate advocating openly for dictatorship. It’s any candidate running as a Democrat.