Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis — who opposed former President Donald Trump in the primary races — threw their support behind Trump in back-to-back, rousing Republican National Convention speeches Tuesday night.
Haley — who stayed in the primaries the longest against Trump — told the RNC crowd she wanted to make “one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period!” The audience loved the moment and showered her with cheers and applause.
‘Donald Trump stands in their way and stands up for us,’ DeSantis said before adding that the former president ‘nearly lost his life’ battling the left and battling for America. ‘We cannot let him down or America down.’
The former South Carolina governor — who also served as United Nations Ambassador under Trump for part of his term in office — added that America is “at a critical moment” and “will be badly worse off” if Democrat President Joe Biden is reelected — and Americans must vote for Trump “for the sake of our nation.”
The Associated Press, citing Haley spokesperson Chaney Denton, reported that Haley hadn’t been invited to the convention. But the AP said that changed when Haley was added to the list of speakers Sunday — one day after Trump survived an attempted assassination during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Indeed, Haley said at the RNC that Trump asked her to speak “in the name of unity.”
Haley emphasized that Americans “don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him” and added that while she also hasn’t always agreed with Trump, “we agree more often than we disagree.”
Haley added that she and Trump both believe in “keeping America strong, keeping America safe,” and that they both agree that Democrats have “moved so far to the left that they’re putting our freedom in danger.”
She also told the crowd that Trump’s national security policies need to return, and that the likes of Russian President Vladimir Putin “knew Donald Trump was tough,” which was why Putin didn’t start the war with Ukraine while Trump was in office. Haley added that Iran “knew Trump meant business, and they were afraid” of him, which also resulted in fewer problems in the Middle East when Trump was in the White House. She also pointed to the debacle at the border with Mexico, calling it the “single biggest threat Americans face” as migrants pour into the United States with few obstacles. With that, Haley excoriated Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris, telling the RNC audience to imagine Harris in charge of an entire country when she can’t even handle her border duties.
“This is a defining moment,” Haley warned the RNC.
DeSantis — the Republican governor of Florida — followed Haley’s address and gave a shorter, louder, and faster-paced speech peppered with anti-left truth-telling that inspired frequent bursts of applause.
DeSantis told the RNC that life was “more affordable” when Trump was president, that our “border was safer,” and that “our country was respected.” In contrast, he declared that “Biden has failed this nation” and called his controversial pullout from Afghanistan early in his term a “dereliction of duty.” Echoing the concerns of a vast majority of Americans, DeSantis also said Biden simply “lacks the capability to discharge the duties of his office.”
The governor then roasted Biden, saying that the country can’t afford more of his “Weekend at Bernie’s” presidency — a reference to a 1989 comedy about a pair of young men trying to make their dead employer appear alive.
DeSantis also threw shade at the left for wanting illegal aliens to come into the U.S. without restrictions — except when they show up on the ritzy, ultra-liberal island of Martha’s Vineyard. He also took leftists to task for weaponizing political power to target political opponents, noting they’ve done exactly that to Trump with continual indictments and lawsuits. DeSantis also blasted Democrats for wanting to take away gas-powered cars and the Second Amendment while pushing DEI, which he redefined as “division, exclusion, and indoctrination — and it is wrong.”
“Donald Trump stands in their way and stands up for us,” DeSantis said before adding that the former president “nearly lost his life” battling the left and battling for America. “We cannot let him down or America down.”
Anything else?
DeSantis launched a presidential bid in 2023 and dropped out in January while endorsing Trump as the “superior” candidate over Biden. In April, Trump said he and DeSantis “had a great meeting” in Florida and discussed how they could work together to better the U.S.
Haley opposed Trump for much longer before finally dropping out of the race in March after losing 14 of 15 states to Trump on Super Tuesday. Prior to that Haley only took the District of Columbia in primary contests. Once Haley suspended her campaign, Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee — and mantle that become official on the first day of the RNC Monday.
In May, Haley announced that she would be voting for Trump despite previously stating during her campaign that Trump is “not qualified” to be president. While Trump also in May said that Haley wasn’t under consideration as his vice presidential running mate — that nod went to Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Monday — Trump did suggest that Haley would “be on our team in some form.”
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