Nikki Haley endorses Trump during speech at Republican convention

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - Former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who challenged Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for president, endorsed him Tuesday despite their differences in the primary season.

"President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity. It was a gracious initiation, and I was happy to accept. I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement. Period," Haley said as she took the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

"I'm here tonight because we have a country to save, and a unified Republican Party is essential for saving it," she said.

"We must not only be a unified party; we must also expand our party," she said. "We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party, when we have different backgrounds and experiences."

Haley said people don't have to fully agree with Trump to vote for him, adding: "I haven't always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree."

"We agree on keeping America strong. We agree on keeping America safe. We agree that Democrats have moved so far to the left that they are putting our freedoms in danger.”

The Republican Party officially nominated Trump as its 2024 presidential candidate on Monday, just two days after he survived an assassination attempt during a campaign event in the state of Pennsylvania.

Praising Trump's foreign policy perspectives, Haley said that Russian President Vladimir Putin didn't attack Ukraine when Trump was president because he knew Trump was "tough."

On the Middle East, Haley said Iran was behind every "problem" in that part of the world, adding: "Trump got us out of the insane Iran nuclear deal. He imposed the toughest sanctions ever on Iran."

In comparison, she said, Biden "lifted the sanctions. He begged them (Iran) to get back into the nuclear deal. He surrendered in Afghanistan. He sent every possible sign of weakness. Even now, while Hamas is still holding Americans, Biden is pressuring Israel."

"Between Israel and Hamas, Donald Trump is clear about who is our friend and who is the enemy," she added.

Haley in May visited sites in Israel near the northern border with Lebanon and signed an Israeli shell by writing "Finish them" in a show of support for Tel Aviv in its war on Gaza.