Nikki Haley releases delegates to Republican National Convention, advocates backing Trump

Following her withdrawal from the Republican presidential contest in early March, Nikki Haley announced on Tuesday that she is releasing her delegates to the Republican National Convention (RNC) and advising them to back presumed Republican nominee Donald Trump, a former president.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement that the upcoming nominating convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a time for Republican "unity."

Haley, who had fiercely criticized the former president, explicitly stated in a May speech that she would vote for Trump, despite the contentious issues that arose between them during the Republican presidential primaries.

Haley is not invited to the 2024 RNC, but she has made it clear she's voting for him, spokeswoman Chaney Denton was quoted by CNN as saying.

According to The Associated Press' estimate, Haley earned 97 delegates during the primary process. Trump has garnered 2,265 delegates so far, far exceeding the 1,215 benchmark needed for the party's nomination.

Haley's call for "unity" within the Republican Party comes at a time when U.S. President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is facing mounting pressure to withdraw from the race due to concerns about his physical and mental fitness.

Trump leads Biden by 3.3 percentage points according to the latest average polling data from Real Clear Politics.

(Source: Xinhua)