MILWAUKEE — Nikki Haley has delivered a surprise prime time speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) to endorse Donald Trump and urge people to vote for him even if they do not agree with him all of the time.
“My fellow Republicans, president Trump asked me to speak in this convention in the name of unity,” she said to loud applause and some boos. “It was a gracious invitation and I was happy to accept.”
She added: “I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear, Donald Trump has my strong endorsement.”
Just days ago Ms Haley’s office had said the person who served as Trump’s UN ambassador had no plan to attend the RNC and it was assumed she was staying away.
Yet on Tuesday afternoon news broke that Ms Haley, 52, would be speaking in a few hours time, along with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, 45, and entrepreneur 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy.
As it was, at around 8pm local time, Trump, 78, took a seat next to vice presidential pick JD Vance, 39, to hear the speeches of the three individuals who had challenged him in the GOP primary and had lost by some measure.
Earlier, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, who Trump beat for the nomination in 2016 and humiliated in the process, also addressed the crowd.
His first words were to give thanks to “God Almighty for protecting president Trump” at Saturday’s rally in Pennsylvania, where he survived an assassination attempt.
For all the talk of the candidates appearing as act of unity, it was hard not to think of the scene in the film Gladiator where the Roman emperor takes his seat in the colosseum to watch those individuals dependent on his mercy perform for his entertainment and fight for their lives.
If this was the price of a return to Trumpworld then Ms Haley appeared happy to pay it. As the last challenger to Trump in the primaries, she labelled him unfit to serve in the White House.
On Tuesday, all of that appeared to have been put aside, though she said she hoped the party could try and attract more supporters, a reminder that many moderates and independents – the sort of people Joe Biden would love to win over – can be turned off by Trump’s harsh rhetoric.
It was also a reminder that all three of the headliners are young enough to likely continue to have careers in Republican politics, but only as long as they do not alienate Trump or his base.
“We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences,” said Ms Haley, who ended her presidential campaign in March without backing Trump. At the time she said it was up to him to “earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that”.
On Tuesday, during her ten-minute speech she said the the party needed to be strong “to save America” and called this a “defining moment”.
“In this moment we have a chance to put aside our differences and focus on what unites us and strengthens our country,” she said.
She added: “You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 per cent of the time to vote for him.”
Mr DeSantis ended his challenge after the Iowa caucuses, even though at one point he was far ahead Trump in the polls. It had been reported the governor may appear at the RNC, in part because of his record as a powerful fundraiser.
Mr DeSantis, who earned huge cheers from the crowd, attacked Mr Biden, seemingly earning a rare laugh from Trump with a reference to a cult comic movie from 1989.
He said: “America cannot afford four more years of a Weekend at Bernie presidency.
Like Mr DeSantis, Mr Ramasway was also cheered loudly.
“Our message to Gen Z is this: You’re going to be the generation that actually saves this country,” he said.
“You want to be a rebel? You want to be a hippie? You want to stick it to the man? Show up on your college campus, and try calling yourself a conservative.”