Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. You're listening to the Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast. Catch us live weekdays at ten am Eastern on fo car Playing and broyd Otto with the Bloomberg Business App. Listen on demand wherever you get your podcasts, or watch us live on YouTube.
Let's go right now down to Charleston, South Carolina. Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley.
Let's stick a listen.
I said the campaign was grounded in my love for our country. Just last week, my mother, a first generation immigrant, got to vote for her daughter for president only in America. I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we've received from all across our great country. But the time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said, I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets, and although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using
my voice for the things I believe in. Our national debt will eventually crush our economy. A smaller federal government is not only necessary for our freedom, it is necessary for our survival. The road to socialism is the road to ruin for America. Our Congress is dysfunctional and only getting worse. It is filled with followers, not leaders. Term limits for Washington politicians are needed now more than ever.
Our world is on fire because of America's retreat. Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan is a moral imperative. But it's also more than that. If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less. As important, while we stand strong for the cause of freedom, we must bind together as Americans. We must turn away from the darkness of hatred and division. I will continue to promote all those values, as is the right of every American.
I sought the honor of being your president, but in our great country, being a private citizen is privilege enough in itself, and that's a privilege I very much look forward to enjoy. 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. Our country is too
precious to let our differences divide us. I have always been a conservative Republican and always supported the Republican nominee. But on this question, as she did on so many others, Margaret Thatcher provided some good advice when she said, quote, never just follow the crowd, always make up your own mind. 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.
At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away, and our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing. I end my campaign with the same words I began it from the Book of Joshua. I direct them to all Americans, but especially to so many of the women and girls out there who put their faith in our campaign. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be discouraged, for God will be with you wherever you go. In
this campaign, I have seen our country's greatness. From the bottom of my heart, Thank you America, God bless you.
That was I guess we call former Republican presidential kendidate NICKI Halley, delivering remarks in Charleston, South Carolina, formerly withdrawing from this presidential election and.
Made it very clear that no one's to ask her who she's voting for, right, basically saying that that's a private citizen's right to vote for who she's voting for and what no endorsement and clearly not endorsing President Trump, And I really wonder what that means. Is that a twenty twenty eight thing or is it a convention thing?
Yeah, I don't know. All I know is I think we're going to have to really pay attention is to these conventions, particularly yes, the Republican Convention this summer. In the past, you can kind of just kind of blow by them and go to the you know, the baseball game on, but I think you might have to focus a little bit this time. Let's check in with Josh wind Grow if he's Bloomberg White House reporter. Josh, you heard former Governor Nikki Halley's comments here, Any takeaways for you today?
Yeah, I think that was a sort of a polite sounding of the alarm or comment on it being up to Trump to earn support inside and outside the party is essentially a nicer version of what she's been saying on the stump that Trump is, in her view as now headed for a loss. Of course, the polls show he's winning right now. But the big question throughout this primary is what happens to the twenty thirty forty percent of state primary voters who've been voting for Haley. Do
they vote for Donald Trump? Did they stay in the fold, did they stay home? Do they back to third party candidate? Some of them are saying the vote for Joe Biden. So I think that she's sort of sounding the alarm a little bit. I wouldn't pay so much attention to the convention personally. I suppose it's a guess in any
sense of the word here. I think Nicky Haley is staking out I told you so ground and that if and when or if Donald Trump wins in the VAUL, then Haley's playing the party wasn't going to be all that high anyway. If you lose it in the vall, then she's the one that can say that she was loudly warning of that, and that sort of her inside track for at least a certain segment of the party in twenty twenty eight.
Okay, So Josh, that may seem like it is a twenty twenty eight sort of thing, because there was a narrative for a second about the convention and trying to get delegates, and she just like kind of show up and see what happens. You don't think that's a real thing.
I don't. I don't know, though. I'm curious whether she'll speak at the convention. I think a lot of us will be spending our times combing through the vagaries of the rules of the R and C to see whether she president would either sort of suggest she gets the speaking spot or not. This is going to be a
tricky one for her. She's been pretty vocal in sort of reviews of where Trump is going, and so you know, to the extent that she is, if she's there and sort of in the fold and speaking to suburban communities, you know, that sort of those sort of voters that a Trump has been losing, then that's probably good for Donald Trump. But if she's there sort of reminding everyone that there's a in her view, sort of a five alarm fire going on, then then that's bad for Donald Trump.
But you know, we look at where she has performed well in the primaries, is the types of areas where Joe Biden wants to perform well in the general election. It is suburbs, It is cities, and so the Biden people have been, you know, Nicki Haley fans essentially a because she's out there prosecuting a case against Donald Trump htorically on the election circuit, but b because they think that her very candidacy was sort of reminding voters that they might not be Donald Trump voters.
All right, Josh, thank you so much. We appreciate getting some thoughts there, Josh Win Grove Bloomberg, White House reporter. Again, Nicki Haley withdrawing from the race, as I think a lot of folks thought she would after Super Tuesday.
Right, but it does really open up that twenty twenty eight and sort of I'm really interested in what those voters do. And if you don't have her at the convention, what's in it for those voters at the convention? Like who's talking for them?
Yeah, I don't know. I think it's again, I believe we're talking earlier with Tom Keen that this is this is Donald Trump's Republican party now in every shape. I choked to John Tucker that if my father alive, he'd vote for Richard Nixon. I don't think my father would recognize his Republican party. But it is in fact changed and it is behind President Trump, so will see how that plays out.
Again.
I'm going to pay attention to the you know, the when they have these meetings this summer, these conventions.
This is the Bloomberg Intelligence Podcast, available on apples, Spotify, and anywhere else you will get your podcasts. Listen live each weekday, ten am to noon Eastern on Bloomberg dot com, the iHeartRadio app, tune In, and the Bloomberg Business app. You can also watch us live every weekday on YouTube and always on the Bloomberg terminal