Once considered a moderate Republican, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has thrust her full support behind President Donald Trump, who appointed her to the Ambassador to the United Nations after his inauguration. She resigned from the position in 2018.
In recent weeks, Trump has resisted moves to make the upcoming Republican National Convention safer in the face of virus outbreaks in the United States.
Trump clashed with state leaders in North Carolina—the original locale for the convention—over safety precautions, which resulted in Trump moving the more notable events, including his nomination acceptance, to Jacksonville, Florida.
In a recent press conference, Trump announced that he would be canceling the in-person events scheduled in Jacksonville, opting instead for a "telerally" model—a term which his private organization filed to trademark this month.
Watch the announcement below.
Trump stressed that officials told him the events could be held in-person, but that he decided to cancel just to be safe:
"I could see the media saying 'Oh, this is very unsafe.' I don't want to be in that position. We have to be vigilant. We have to be careful. And we also have to set an example. I think setting the example is very important. It's hard for us to say we're going to have a lot of people packed in a room and then other people shouldn't do it."
Nikki Haley took to Twitter to praise Trump's so-called selflessness.
Haley claimed that Trump's decision to cancel the in-person convention, which he'd resisted for months, was selfless. She also claimed that Trump turned economic and foreign policy around.
People widely disagreed.
Haley's abandonment of moderation and unwavering devotion to Donald Trump have led some to believe that she's gunning to replace Vice President Mike Pence on the ticket.
Trump has said repeatedly that Pence will be his running mate, but that hasn't extinguished the speculation that Haley could find her name under Trump's in 2020.
A shakeup of the Republican ticket wouldn't be the most surprising occurrence over the course of Trump's tenure as President.
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