The Republican National Committee (RNC) congratulated former President Donald Trump on becoming the presumptive GOP nominee on Wednesday following Nikki Haley formally suspending her presidential campaign.
After a string of losses on Super Tuesday — losing 14 of 15 states — Haley ended her campaign Wednesday morning. In the past, she said she would continue as long as she saw a viable path and even laid that out following her loss in New Hampshire in January. At the time, her campaign made it clear in a memo that she would largely count on non-conservative voters in open primary states to thrust her to the nomination.
“After Super Tuesday, we will have a very good picture of where this race stands,” the memo read.
Hours after racking up loss after loss, Haley suspended her campaign, opening the door for the RNC to formally congratulate Trump for standing as the presumptive nominee in a statement titled, “RNC Statement Congratulating President Donald Trump on Becoming the Presumptive Nominee.”
“Congratulations to President Donald J. Trump on his huge primary victory! I’d also like to congratulate Nikki Haley for running a hard-fought campaign and becoming the first woman to win a Republican presidential primary contest,” outgoing Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said.
“President Trump once delivered a booming economy, secure border, energy independence, and America’s strength on the world stage, the exact opposite of the chaos created by Joe Biden,” she continued.
“Republican voters have spoken loud and clear with historically large margins and we are more united than ever to beat Biden and Democrats up and down the ballot in November,” McDaniel added.
The RNC was rumored to have been tempted to deem Trump the presumptive nominee before, but Trump advised them not to in the name of party unity.
Haley fell short of endorsing Trump in her departing speech, simply stating, “In all likelihood Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s President.”
Haley later added that it is “now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him.”
“And I hope he does that,” she added.
In a lengthy Truth Social statement, Trump formally invited Haley and her supporters to “join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation.”
“BIDEN IS THE ENEMY, HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” he exclaimed: