Former GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley told listeners on Wednesday not to expect her to say “glowing things” about former President Trump’s personality, in the debut episode of her new SiriusXM show, “Nikki Haley Live.”
The former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor said she stood by her criticism of Trump during their heated 2024 primary battle and defended her endorsement of the Republican nominee.
“So I said exactly what I thought about Joe Biden, about Donald Trump and about Kamala Harris. If I thought either one of those candidates were great, I wouldn’t have run for office. So that is where we are. I don’t take anything back. I stand by that,” Haley said in the episode.
“And so you’re going to see me be honest on the show, as well,” she continued. “But I think that it’s also important to say that on this show, you’re not going to hear me say glowing things about Donald Trump’s personality. I have issues with him, as well.”
Haley was the last candidate standing against Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, which, toward the end, grew especially contentious between the two politicians.
Haley, in her remarks on Wednesday, mentioned specific moments from the heated primary.
“I have not forgotten what he said about me. I’ve not forgotten what he said about my husband or his, you know, deployment time or his military service. I haven’t forgotten about his or his campaign’s tactics from, you know, putting a bird cage outside our hotel room to calling me ‘bird brain,’” Haley said. “I haven’t forgotten any of that.”
She explained why, despite the ill feeling between them before she dropped out, she decided to endorse the former president nonetheless.
“But politics is not for thin-skinned people. It’s just not. And I think that if you really want to do a service for your country, you have to be able to put the personal part of it aside,” she said.
Haley said she’s looking at the race “as a voter” and with an eye toward what’s best for the country.
“I’m looking at what I think will make the country better. So that’s what you’re going to hear on the show,” she said. “You’re just going to hear the truth. Sometimes I’ll think someone does something good. I’ll say it. Sometimes I think they do something bad. I’ll say that too.
“But I think the best way to serve your country is to not get personal, but focus on where we are with the economy, focus where we are with the border, focus on national security, focus on freedom, and what it means for our country,” Haley continued. “And so that’s what I hope that we will do.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign for a response.
