Former President Trump’s final rival in the 2024 GOP presidential nomination race will address the Republican convention this week in what appears to be a gesture of party unity following the failed assassination attempt on Trump.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, will speak at the convention on Tuesday. A source familiar with the decision confirmed this to Fox News on Sunday.
Initially, Haley was not planning to attend the convention, which begins Monday in Milwaukee. Her aide, Chaney Denton, stated last week, “She was not invited, and she’s fine with that. Trump deserves the convention he wants. She has clearly stated that she will vote for him and sends her best wishes.”
However, following the shooting at Trump’s rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday—where Trump was grazed by a bullet and one spectator was killed while two others were critically injured—the GOP has rallied around its leading candidate.
Haley launched her presidential campaign in February of last year, becoming the first major challenger to Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. She remained Trump’s final rival, engaging in a contentious race from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March.
Haley suspended her campaign on March 6, the day after Trump secured victories in 14 of the 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday. Despite dropping out, she continued to voice her opinions and maintained up to 20% of the vote in Republican primaries in the subsequent months.
In late May, Haley made her first public comments since ending her 2024 campaign, announcing that she would vote for Trump. Last week, she released her 97 delegates from the primaries and urged them to support Trump.
