Nikki Haley Endorses Trump and Urges Republicans to Unite Behind Him

Nikki Haley, who held out the longest among the rivals of former President Donald J. Trump in the Republican primaries, formally endorsed him on Tuesday at the party’s nominating convention, urging her supporters to set aside their disagreements and stand united with their party for the good of the nation.

“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear,” she said, speaking slowly and pointedly. “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement — period.”

Ms. Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and a United Nations ambassador under Mr. Trump, was initially not invited to speak at the event. But that changed after Mr. Trump was injured over the weekend in an assassination attempt.

“My fellow Republicans, President Trump asked me to speak to this convention in the name of unity,” she said. “It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept.”

On Tuesday, she used the moment to speak about immigration and foreign policy, denouncing the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and stirring fears about the rise in migration at the southern border. The issues were pillars of her presidential run, and ones she often employed on the campaign trail to highlight her differences with Mr. Trump and many members of her party.

But instead of using her familiar talking points to underscore the divides, Ms. Haley drew contrasts between Mr. Trump and President Biden. She called her former boss someone who “is clear about who is our friend and who is our enemy.”