Nikki Haley and Donald Trump’s relationship has been a rollercoaster ride. “Every time someone criticizes him, he goes and makes a political attack back. That’s not who we are as Republicans. That’s not what we do,” Haley insisted in a 2015 speech at the National Press Club. She backed Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz during the 2016 campaign, raising Trump’s ire. “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed by Nikki Haley!” he posted on X in March 2016. She ultimately flip-flopped, endorsed Trump and was rewarded by being appointed his ambassador to the United Nations.
However, things turned sour once she entered the presidential race in February 2023. “MAGA, or I, will never go for Birdbrain Nikki Haley,” Trump vowed on Truth Social in September 2023. He continued with the insult during a Sioux City, Iowa rally in October 2023. Then, Trump purportedly sent Haley a special gift to hammer the point home. “After a day of campaigning, this is the message waiting for me outside my hotel room,” she captioned a photo of a birdcage, food, and a note “from Trump campaign.”
“Chaos follows him. And we can’t have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won’t survive it,” Haley said of her adversary in January 2024. Still, she performed a sharp 180 once again after dropping out of the presidential race in March. “So, I will be voting for Trump,” Haley announced in May.
