Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley deflected when asked Sunday on “Meet the Press” for her position regarding her previous pledge with the Republican National Committee (RNC) to endorse the GOP nominee.
Haley appeared on the show to discuss her ongoing campaign plans despite former President Donald Trump continuing to lead in state primaries. NBC host Kristen Welker began pressing Haley on the “prospect” of not endorsing Trump if he were to officially become the GOP nominee for the 2024 general election. (RELATED: Trump Inches Closer To Nomination With Saturday Victories Over Nikki Haley)
Haley immediately pushed back on Welker’s question before the host pivoted to confronting her about the pledge she signed to participate in the Republican presidential candidate debates. Haley claimed that the RNC is “not the same” as when she signed the pledge and noted that endorsements weren’t something she was “thinking about.”
“Let me try it this way: you did sign a pledge, an RNC pledge, to support the eventual nominee. Do you still feel bound by that pledge?” Welker questioned.
“I have always said that I have serious concerns about Donald Trump. I have even more concerns about Joe Biden,” Haley stated.
“So is that a ‘no’? Are you bound by the RNC pledge?” Welker pressed.
“The RNC pledge, I mean, at the time of the debate we had to take it to where ‘Would you support the nominee,’ and in order to get on that debate stage you said, ‘Yes.’ The RNC is now not the same RNC,” Haley stated.
“So you’re no longer bound by that pledge?” Welker asked.
“No, I think I’ll make what decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about. And I think that, while y’all think about that, I’m looking at the fact that we had thousands of people in Virginia, we’re headed to North Carolina, we’re going to continue to go to Vermont and Maine and all these states to go and show people that there is a path forward. And so I don’t look at what-ifs, I look at ‘How do we continue the conversation?'” Haley stated.
Despite Trump’s sweeping victories in states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and, notably, Haley’s home state of South Carolina, the former UN ambassador has continued to stay in the race, vowing she wouldn’t give up the “fight” due to “a majority of Americans” disapproving of both Trump and President Joe Biden.
Trump’s recent wins include all three GOP primaries held Saturday in Missouri, Idaho and Michigan, where he secured all 13 congressional districts.
As both the District of Columbia and North Dakota’s GOP primaries wrap up Sunday, many Republicans are preparing for Super Tuesday’s March 5 results, which will include 15 states and one U.S. territory.