Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has defended her decision to support Donald Trump as the GOP nominee, following sharp criticism from former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney.
Cheney, once a rising star in the Republican Party and now a prominent critic of Trump, recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and questioned Haley’s principles.
During an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Cheney expressed disbelief over Haley’s willingness to back Trump after their contentious primary battle. “The things that she [Haley] said that she made clear, when she was running in the primary, those things are true,” Cheney said.
She argued that by supporting Trump, Haley and other Republicans are abandoning the Constitution. Cheney added, “I can’t understand the former South Carolina governor’s position in any kind of a principled way.”
In response, Haley addressed Cheney’s comments during an appearance on “Fox & Friends” on Monday. “I respect [Cheney’s] decision, but she can’t say my decision is not principled,” Haley stated. “It actually is.” Haley emphasized that her support for Trump is based on policy, not personality, and contrasted Trump’s record with that of Harris.
“We can either vote based on style or we can vote on substance. I’m voting based on substance,” Haley said. She argued that Trump’s policies on taxes, energy production, national security, and border control are far superior to those of Harris. “We can’t live the next four years like we did the last four years,” she added.
Haley also expressed her willingness to support Trump’s campaign to prevent a Harris administration, saying, “This is about my family. This is about America.
These are about issues.” She urged Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, to focus on policies to win over a broader base of voters, including conservative and moderate Republicans, suburban women, independents, and conservative Democrats.
Haley predicted that the upcoming election will be tight and that Trump’s campaign needs to work on building broader support.
Cheney, who has been a vocal critic of Trump since leaving Congress, has consistently argued that the former president poses a threat to the Constitution.
She was ousted from her Wyoming congressional seat in 2022 after losing the primary to a Trump-backed candidate. Cheney, who once described Trump as a “liar,” a “con man,” and a potential “tyrant,” reiterated her commitment to preventing Trump from returning to the Oval Office, stating, “I will do everything I can to make sure [Trump] is never anywhere near the Oval Office again.”
The ongoing exchange between Haley and Cheney underscores the deep divisions within the Republican Party over Trump’s influence and the direction of its future leadership.
