Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said she would pardon former President Donald Trump at a New Hampshire campaign event.
Haley was answering questions from a 9-year-old boy named Adam, who agreed with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s characterization that Haley is a “flip-flopper” and compared her to John Kerry. The young boy asked Haley directly if she would pardon the Republican front-runner.
NIKKI HALEY CIVIL WAR FLAP EVOKES MEMORIES OF JOHN MCCAIN CONFEDERATE FLAG CONTROVERSY
“I would pardon Trump if he is found guilty,” Haley responded at the event Thursday afternoon. “A leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country.”
“What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country,” Haley said.
Trump has been criminally indicted four times and is facing various civil legal battles.
Haley restated that she believes Trump was “the right president at the right time,” and she “agreed with a lot of his policies.” However, she doesn’t believe “he’s the right president to go forward.”
“We can’t handle the chaos anymore,” Haley added, saying that Christie is “obsessed with Trump.”
Haley made similar but less definitive remarks in June, speaking on the Conservative Clay Travis and Buck Sexton radio show. Haley condemned Trump’s actions regarding national security while speaking about the former president’s first indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, but she stated he should not be behind bars over the matter.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“When you look at a pardon, the issue is less about guilt and more about what’s good for the country. And I think it would be terrible for the country to have a former president in prison for years because of a documents case,” Haley said. “So I would be inclined in favor of a pardon.”
Haley’s remarks on Thursday came before Maine’s Democratic secretary of state disqualified Trump from the 2024 Maine primary ballot under the Constitution’s insurrection clause.
