Nikki Haley talks ‘unity’ as she strongly backs Trump during RNC despite primary barbs

As her onetime opponent looked on, Nikki Haleytook to the stage on Tuesday and declared that a man she said was mentally diminished and unqualified for elected office should be her party’s nominee for president.

It was a moment that would have been galling anywhere but the modern Republican Party, and that’s exactly who Haley addressed onstage in Milwaukee as she made clear that she sees a political future in a MAGA-fied GOP.

The former governor of South Carolina spoke for just a few minutes onstage, an address that was something of a surprise given that it had initially appeared that she would not attend the gathering. But, said Trump asked him to speak in the name of “unity,” which has been Trump's call since he was wounded by a bullet on Saturday.

«I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear: Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period,» Haley told a cheering audience, which showed none of the anti-Haley vitriol evident during the primary race.

Though she did much to eliminate the daylight between her and the former president, Haley directed her remarks at her former supporters and political independents who don’t fit so easily under the MAGA tent.

Pointing to Joe Biden’s hoarse and mentally-wandering debate performance, she argued “a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris”, his vice president, whom she said would ruin the country after just one day as president.

“I know there are people out there who don’t agree with Donald Trump 100 percent. I happen to know some of them,” said Haley. “I want to talk to them tonight. My message is simple: You don’t have to agree with Donald Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him.”

It was far from what Haley was saying earlier this year when it became clear