Politics

‘Wish Her Luck!’: Trump Slams Nikki Haley For Flip-Flopping On 2024, Then Offers Encouragement

OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

Diana Glebova White House Correspondent
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Former President Donald Trump reacted to Nikki Haley running for the 2024 presidential election by highlighting she previously said she would “never” run against him, while also offering her some encouragement.

“Even though Nikki Haley said, ‘I would never run against my President, he was a great President, the best President in my lifetime,’ I told her she should follow her heart and do what she wants to do,” Trump said in a statement.

“I wish her luck!” he added.

Haley is the only other Republican besides Trump to declare a 2024 run so far.

The Trump campaign put out a press release Wednesday titled, “The Real Nikki Haley,” noting again that she has flip-flopped on her intentions to run in 2024.

The campaign accused Haley of wanting to further fund Ukraine in its defense from Russia, being “weak on immigration,” not fighting for a “transgender bathroom bill” in South Carolina, “threatening Medicare and Social Security” and seeing Hillary Clinton as an “inspiration.”

The press release also highlighted how Trump worked to bring Otto Warmbier home from being imprisoned by North Korea for 17 months, and that “others failed.” Warmbier was detained for allegedly stealing a political poster in North Korea, and died days after being released from imprisonment in 2017.

Warmbier’s mother, Cindy Warmbier, introduced Haley at her campaign announcement Wednesday, crediting the former ambassador to the United Nations with helping her son get back to the U.S.

“It took someone like Nikki Haley to light the fire under me,” Warmbier told CNN. “She took me out of that survival mode and put me in a fighter mode.”

Trump’s campaign touted the former president inviting the Warmbier family to the State of the Union in 2018, and cited a USA Today article saying the Warmbiers “credited Trump with securing Otto’s release in June of 2017.”

Haley announced her declaration to run in 2024 on Tuesday and officially launched her campaign Wednesday.

She argued in favor of limited government, a new generation of leadership and aiding Israel and Ukraine. (RELATED: Nikki Haley Warns Of America ‘Spiraling Towards Socialism’ In Official 2024 Presidential Campaign Launch)

Haley’s team did not immediately respond to an inquiry from the Daily Caller.