GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she would support former President Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
But she also said she doesn’t believe the former president can win a general election.
Haley, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, said in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday that the country needs a “new generational leader” but added she would back Trump if he wins the primary.
“I would support him because I am not going to have a President Kamala Harris. We can’t afford that. That is not going to happen,” she said.
Haley has previously sharply criticized President Biden’s age, arguing that he would not live to be 86 years old, which would be his age at the end of a second term. She has said reelecting Biden could lead to Harris becoming president.
Yet Haley also noted that Trump appears to be headed for additional indictments and is doomed in a general election.
“We can’t have, as Republicans, him as the nominee. He can’t win a general election. That’s the problem. We’ve got to go and have someone who can actually win,” she said.
Haley said she expects to be the GOP nominee and her numbers in the polls will rise following the first Republican primary debate next month.
Haley has generally polled among the higher echelon of the GOP field but still in the mid to low single digits, with Trump far ahead of the field.
She has met the Republican National Committee’s polling and fundraising requirements to qualify for participation in the debate, and her campaign has said she will sign the loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee.
Haley said other candidates in the race have spent millions of dollars already, but she has not so far because “no one’s paying attention” right now. She said that will change after the debate.