PENNSBURG, Pennsylvania — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley encouraged Republicans to “take the emotion out of this election” as she offered her support to former President Donald Trump in a rare campaign trail appearance.
Haley visited Pennsburg, a small borough about an hour north of Philadelphia, to campaign for Senate candidate Dave McCormick, calling him a public servant who would help restore trust in Congress.
But she bookended her speech with an appeal to those voters turned off by Trump’s rhetoric, arguing his agenda should outweigh any concerns about his character or temperament.
“We need to take the emotion out of this election and really think about the policies we want for our kids and the next generation,” Haley told the audience. “That’s our job.”
Later, she asked voters explicitly to support Trump, framing it as an imperative for Republicans to win up and down the ballot.
“We have to do more than elect Dave McCormick. We have to elect Donald Trump,” she said. “Because if Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania, Dave McCormick wins Pennsylvania.”
2024 ELECTIONS LIVE UPDATES: LATEST NEWS ON THE TRUMP-HARRIS PRESIDENTIAL RACE
Haley has been making a pragmatic case for Trump since July, when she offered her “strong endorsement” at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
The two have settled into an uneasy alliance since then, with Haley pairing her support with public critiques of his campaign strategy. On Tuesday, she told Fox News that Trump needed to tone down the “bromance and masculinity stuff,” citing a speaker at his Madison Square Garden rally who compared Vice President Kamala Harris’s handlers to “pimps.”
Haley could help Trump win back the 160,000 Republicans who voted for her in Pennsylvania’s primary in April. Several of the attendees in Pennsburg Wednesday preferred Haley in the primary, with one telling the Washington Examiner he still refuses to vote for Trump. Others said they are now backing the former president.
But Trump has not enlisted Haley’s help, despite her insistence that she is on “standby” should he want her to appear at events. So far, Haley has only lent her name for fundraising emails and text messages.
Her appearance in Pennsylvania comes as Harris stakes her candidacy on winning Haley’s Republican base of support.
Harris campaigned with former Rep. Liz Cheney, a prominent Republican Trump critic, in the Pennsylvania suburbs earlier this month and has made symbolic gestures, such as her promise to appoint a Republican to her Cabinet.
TURNOUT TRACKER: WHERE BALLOTS HAVE BEEN CAST EARLY IN THE 2024 ELECTIONS
Haley only made passing mentions of Harris in her Pennsburg speech. At one point, she questioned why McCormick’s Democratic opponent, Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), would support a presidential nominee who has promised to “pack the court and get rid of the filibuster.”
Haley will give another speech on McCormick’s behalf on Wednesday outside of Pittsburgh.
