Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley appeared at the Republican National Convention as part of Donald Trump’s new, feigned bid for unity, and was predictably booed by his base.
As Haley was introduced to the stage Tuesday night, loud boos could be heard among the crowd. Some booing reportedly continued throughout the speech. So much for unity, then.
Haley said that Trump had asked her to speak “in the name of unity,” and she offered her “strong endorsement” of the Republican nominee.
“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him. Take it from me,” said Haley, referencing her totally abandoned criticisms of the former president.
“I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree. We agree on keeping America strong. We agree on keeping America safe. And we agree that Democrats have moved so far to the left that they’re putting our freedoms in danger.”
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who ran his own long-shot anti-Trump presidential campaign, had harsh words for Haley after her speech Tuesday.
“We have enormously challenging times in our country right now, and what we need are leaders who have the courage of their convictions. What we saw in her speech tonight was neither courage nor convictions, it was really tortured ambition,” Christie said during an interview on ABC News.
“She was on that stage because she is tortured by her own ambition. She had to go up there if she wants to run again in 2028—in her own mind. And that was more important than her standing up for the things she represented to the voters in the Republican primaries about Donald Trump being unfit, unhinged, just unqualified to be president of the United States.”
Christie said Haley’s “flip-flop” plea for unity would be unconvincing to her centrist voters. “I don’t think any Haley voter is gonna care,” he said.
