MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Haley drops bid, clears way for Trump to seek a rematch with Biden

“God will be with you wherever you go,” Haley told her followers upon announcing she was stepping down from the presidential race

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Nikki Haley Wednesday announced she was dropping her presidential bid, thus clearing the way for Donald Trump to run on behalf of the Republican Party. Many states are still to hold their primaries with Trump and incumbent President Joseph seeking to secure enough delegates to clinch their party nominations for the November ballot.

 “In all likelihood, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I congratulate him and wish him well,” Haley said from Charleston, South Carolina. “I end my campaign with the same words I began it from the Book of Joshua,” Haley said. “I direct them to all Americans, but especially to so many of the women and girls out there who put their faith in our campaign. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For God will be with you wherever you go,” Haley stressed.

In Haley's view, Trump's next challenge will be to bring aboard new voters and encouraged him to “earn the support” of Republicans and independent voters who had stood by her. She won primaries in the District of Columbia and Vermont, thus becoming the first woman to win two Republican primaries. However, Trump made nearly a clean sweep in Super Tuesday primaries with victories in California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, and Texas.

“Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record-setting fashion,” Trump posted on social media. “I hope she stays in the 'race' and fights it out until the end!”

Both Trump and the Democratic Biden called on Haley's supporters to endorse their candidacies in November. “Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin,” Biden said. “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign,” Biden said.

“I know there is a lot we won't agree on but on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO, and standing up to America's adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground,” he added.

Polls show Trump with a narrow edge over Biden eight months ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

After primary losses in January and February, Haley had pledged to keep fighting at least through Super Tuesday since another Trump presidential term would be damaging to the nation. “There remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump,” Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said in a statement Tuesday.

The Republican Party holds its convention in July, with the Democratic Party following in August.