Former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon said his old boss doesn’t need an endorsement from Nikki Haley now that she has dropped out of the GOP presidential race.
“Screw Nikki Haley. We don’t need your endorsement,” he said on his “War Room” podcast.
He mocked those who have said former President Donald Trump needs to get her supporters.
“They’re all Democrats that are going to vote for Biden anyway,” Mr. Bannon said. “The exit polls show that. We don’t need her donors. Donors aren’t going to give Trump any money so let’s not raise her profile by doing that.”
During Ms. Haley’s dropout speech Tuesday, she did not endorse Mr. Trump or President Biden. Instead, she said the former president would have to earn the support.
“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,” said Ms. Haley, who served as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the Trump administration.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also criticized Ms. Haley for not throwing her support behind Mr. Trump.
“I signed the pledge and you sign the pledge saying that you’re going to not take your ball and go home,” Mr. DeSantis said on Newsmax. “I honored the pledge and she’s going to have to make a decision about whether she wants to or not.”
“But the idea that somehow circumstances have changed, I think we all knew what we were doing when we did that, and you have to make a judgment about whether that’s meaningful to you,” he said.
Every candidate besides Mr. Trump signed the pledge given by the Republican National Committee that required candidates to vow to support whoever becomes the GOP nominee in order to participate in the debates.
Mr. DeSantis, who dropped out in January, endorsed Mr. Trump immediately. Other former candidates have endorsed Mr. Trump as well, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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