GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley suggested she’s no longer bound by a Republican National Committee pledge to support the eventual nominee, saying that she’ll “make the decision I want to make” when asked whether she would endorse Donald Trump if he secures the nomination.
“I mean, at the time of the debate, we had to take it to where ‘Would you support the nominee?’ and you had to, in order to get on that debate stage, you said yes,” the former South Carolina governor told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday. “The RNC is now not the same RNC.”
As part of the criteria to appear on the GOP primary debate stage, the RNC required presidential candidates to sign a pledge committing to support the eventual GOP nominee.
“So you’re no longer bound by that pledge?” NBC host Kristen Welker asked Haley.
“No, I think I’ll make the decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about,” she responded.
Pressed for clarity about whether she’s leaning against endorsing Trump, Haley stated, “I truly am not thinking about any of that.”
Haley’s remarks come as the former governor campaigns through Super Tuesday states. She has vowed to stay in the Republican race through at least Tuesday despite questions about her path forward in the face of Trump’s dominance in the nominating contests so far this year.
Haley reiterated to NBC that she doesn’t believe that either Trump or Joe Biden should be president, but she argued that her candidacy does not represent a “Never Trump” movement.
“If you talk about an endorsement, you’re talking about a loss. I don’t think like that when you’re in a race. You don’t think about losing. You think about continuing to go forward,” she said.
And as he closes in on the Republican nomination, Trump is already looking to reshape the structure of the RNC to better suit his desires for the general election and beyond, CNN previously reported.
Haley has in recent weeks ramped up her criticism of the former president, who picked up more delegates Saturday from caucuses in Missouri and Idaho and from a party convention in Michigan.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Haley emphasized that she wasn’t “anti-Trump” despite the harsh criticism of her primary rival, under whom she served as US ambassador to the United Nations.
“The goal was always to get this one-on-one with Trump. What you’re hearing me say now is a contrast. That’s what people want,” Haley said. “They want to know the differences. What I’m saying is that I am not anti-Trump. I am for America, and the direction America can go.”
