“When you all ask Donald Trump if he would support me, then I will talk about that.”
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) admitted on NBC's “Meet the Press” on Sunday that although she signed an RNC pledge to endorse former President Donald Trump, she may not actually do so.
“Have you moved to a place where you're no longer planning to endorse him?,” moderator Kristen Welker asked.
“Well, I think, first of all, if you talk about an endorsement, you're talking about a loss. I don't think like that,” Haley began. “When you're in a race, you don't think about losing. You think about continuing to go forward. What I can tell you is, I don't think Donald Trump or Joe Biden should be president. I don't think we need two candidates in their 80s.” (RELATED: Trump Delivers Ultimatum To Nikki Haley Supporters)
Trump emerged victorious in the Missouri, Michigan and Idaho caucuses on Saturday. Meanwhile, Haley picked up two Senate endorsements, Republicans Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine).
“Let me try it this way,” Welker continued prodding.”You did sign a pledge, an RNC pledge, to support the eventual nominee. Do you still feel bound by that pledge?”
“I have always said that I have serious concerns about Donald Trump,” Haley maintained.
“The RNC pledge, I mean, at the time of the debate, we had to take it to where would you support the nominee, in order to get on that debate stage, you said yes. The RNC is now not the same RNC. Now it's Trump's daughter-in-law,” she added. (RELATED: Biden's Dem Challenger Open To Being Haley's VP)
NBC News continues, with Super Tuesday fast approaching:
Pressed further about whether voters who will head to the polls in the GOP presidential primary on Tuesday deserve to know where she stands on endorsing Trump, Haley continued to dodge the question, saying, “When you all ask Donald Trump if he would support me, then I will talk about that. But right now, my focus is, ‘How do we touch as many voters? How do we win?'”
The statement is an apparent shift from her previous attitude toward a potential endorsement. Asked in July whether she would support Trump if he wins, Haley told Fox News, “I would support him because I'm not going to have a President Kamala Harris,” referring to the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris would become president if anything were to happen to President Joe Biden in a second term.
In order to participate in primary debates hosted by the Republican National Committee last fall, every candidate signed a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. Haley signed that pledge.
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The RNC is still chaired by Ronna McDaniel, who was chair at the time of the debates, but Trump has endorsed Michael Whatley, the North Carolina GOP chair, and Lara Trump, his daughter-in-law, to take over as chair and co-chair of the group.
Haley has vowed to stay in the race “as long as she's competitive.”
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