Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — two of former President Donald Trump’s fiercest competitors during the GOP primary who regularly told Americans he shouldn’t get a second term — are set to speak at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night where they are expected to say just the opposite.
Sources told ABC News that DeSantis and Haley will take to the stage in what many view as an effort to unify the party behind Trump.
During the primary, both Haley and DeSantis said that if Trump were to be the GOP nominee again, Republicans would risk losing in November.
DeSantis repeatedly said that if Trump becomes the GOP nominee again, he would not win against President Joe Biden and often questioned how he would win back voters he lost in 2020.
“What’s his path to victory?” DeSantis asked during a campaign event in Iowa in December 2023. “I mean, he was the incumbent president in 2020, couldn’t get the job done. Now, he’s out of office. How is he going to be able to do better this time? Who are the voters out there that have not voted for him in the past that all of a sudden they’re going to be running back to want to vote for him?”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (L) and former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley smile during the fifth Republican presidential primary debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10, 2024.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
When it came down to Haley and the former president in the GOP primary, she went even further than DeSantis in her attacks on Trump.
In a Wall Street Journal interview in February, Haley says it would be “like suicide for our country” for the GOP to nominate Trump a third time.
The attacks between the two eventually turned personal, with Haley questioning Trump’s mental fitness — often calling for him to take a cognitive test — while Trump attacked her husband.
In February, Trump mockingly questioned where her husband — Maj. Michael Haley — was, seemingly implying that there is something awry with their marriage and that was the reason he had not been with her on the campaign trail.
Haley responded to Trump’s comments about the whereabouts of her husband, who was on active-duty deployment in the Horn of Africa for the South Carolina Army National Guard at the time, calling him “unhinged.”
However, both Haley and DeSantis would go on to suspend their presidential campaigns, making Trump the presumptive nominee.
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks in Washington, May 22, 2024.
Cliff Owen/AP, FILE
DeSantis endorsed Trump when he ended his presidential bid — but Haley took a different approach. She told her supporters it’s up to Trump to win over voters and chose not to endorse the former president when she suspended her campaign.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it, who did not support it,” she said in March. “And I hope he does that. At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people.”
But a few months later, Haley shocked people by announcing she would be voting for the former president in November.
During a question-and-answer session after delivering a speech at the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C., in May, Haley was asked who she thinks would do a better job in the White House with national security issues: Biden or Trump.
She said she prioritized a president who will hold enemies to account, secure the border and support “capitalism and freedom” — and that while “Trump has not been perfect on these policies,” that “Biden has been a catastrophe.”
“So, I will be voting for Trump,” Haley said.
While Haley has not actively participated in Trump’s reelection campaign, DeSantis has helped to raise money for his campaign.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley are set to take the stage at the Republican National Convention (RNC) to promote unity within the party, despite both having criticized President Trump during the primary season.
DeSantis, a staunch supporter of Trump, has been a vocal critic of the president in the past. During the 2016 Republican primary, DeSantis endorsed Senator Marco Rubio and even called Trump a “con man.” However, since Trump’s election, DeSantis has become one of his most loyal allies, frequently praising the president’s policies and leadership.
Haley, on the other hand, has had a more complicated relationship with Trump. While serving as U.N. Ambassador in the Trump administration, Haley was known for her strong support of the president’s foreign policy agenda. However, she has also been critical of Trump at times, particularly on issues of race and his handling of the Charlottesville protests in 2017.
Despite their past criticisms of Trump, both DeSantis and Haley are expected to deliver speeches at the RNC that emphasize the need for party unity heading into the 2020 election. With the country facing unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic to civil unrest, Republicans are looking to present a united front in support of their nominee, President Trump.
DeSantis and Haley are likely to highlight the accomplishments of the Trump administration, such as a strong economy before the pandemic and conservative judicial appointments. They may also emphasize the need to defeat Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November, painting him as a radical who would undo the progress made under Trump.
While some Republicans may still have reservations about Trump, DeSantis and Haley’s presence at the RNC signals a willingness to put aside past differences and rally behind the president for the good of the party. As the election draws closer, it will be crucial for Republicans to present a united front in order to secure victory in November.
