Ex-GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger Calls Nikki Haley ‘Pathetic’ For Endorsing Trump After Saying He’s ‘Unhinged’

Nikki Haley, the former Republican presidential candidate, was mocked online by fellow Republicans for declaring that she would vote for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election.

Haley made this announcement and explained why she chose to back Trump during a Q&A session at the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington.

“As a voter, I put my priorities on a president who’s going to have the backs of our allies and hold our enemies to account, who would secure the border, no more excuses,” she stated. 

“A president who would support capitalism and freedom, a president who understands we need less debt, not more debt,” she added.

“Trump has not been perfect on these policies,” the former Republican presidential candidate admitted. “I’ve made that clear many, many times. But [Joe Biden] has been a catastrophe. So, I will be voting for Trump. Having said that, I stand by what I said in my suspension speech. Trump would be smart to reach out to the millions of people who voted for me and continue to support me and not assume that they’re just going to be with him. And I genuinely hope he does that.”

During her suspension speech, Haley stated that she has always supported the former president and quoted former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher. 

“Never just follow the crowd,” Thatcher said. “Always make up your own mind.”

Although Haley had dropped her bid for the Republican presidential nomination, her name stayed on the ballot. Despite no longer campaigning, she frequently wins beyond 10-20% of the vote in state-run primary contests.

In response to Haley’s announcement, Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign communication director, stated that nothing had been effected for the Republicans who voted for her. 

“Nothing has changed for the millions of Republican voters who continue to cast their ballots against Donald Trump in the primaries and care deeply about the future of our democracy, standing strong with our allies against foreign adversaries, and working across the aisle to get things done for the American people — while also rejecting the chaos, division and violence that Donald Trump embodies,” Tyler stated.

While appearing for an interview on CNN NewsNight, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) condemned Haley’s announcement

“Well, I’d say, in some ways, it’s to be expected,” Sanford claimed. “And what I mean by that is, ambition kills off a lot of things.”

“And what you have here is somebody obviously wanting to be relevant in 2028,” he said.

Haley also received criticism from former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois).

“Not a surprise but Pathetic,” Kinzinger wrote in an X post created on May 22 to respond to the ex-candidate voting for the 45th U.S. president.

When they were campaign opponents, Haley had slammed Trump multiple times earlier this year.

During a New Hampshire campaign event on January 13, Haley mocked Trump’s declining mental acuity after he, in a speech made the day prior, confused her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. 

In this speech, he blamed Pelosi for not replying quickly enough after the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riots.

Haley had never served in Congress and had not been in government when the Capitol attack took place.

While appearing at a rally in Conway, South Carolina, in February, Trump questioned the absence of Haley’s husband, Major Michael Haley of the South Carolina Army National Guard, during her campaign, indicating that the couple might be having marital problems.

In response, the ex-governor defended herself and Michael during a rally in Gilbert, South Carolina, against the former president’s comments.

In a Fox News interview, she also condemned his lack of military service in light of these comments and his previous comments regarding veterans.