If elected, Nikki Haley pledges to pardon Trump
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Haley's stance aligns her with prominent Republicans, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have hinted at support for a potential pardon for Trump.
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Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley arrives at a town hall, Friday, December 29, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP)
Former UN Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley declared that she would issue a pardon to former President Donald Trump if she was elected president.
Trump faces conviction on 87 felony charges currently pending across multiple states, which involve allegations of attempting to overturn the 2020 election, interfering in the electoral process, mishandling classified materials, and paying hush money to an adult performer.
Haley's stance aligns her with prominent Republicans, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who have hinted at support for a potential pardon for Trump. The former ambassador voiced her position in response to a question from a 9-year-old at a New Hampshire campaign event covered by NBC News.
"If he is found guilty, a leader needs to think about what's in the best interest of the country," she added. "What's in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail that continues to divide our country."
"What's in the best interest of the country would be to pardon him so that we can move on as a country and no longer talk about him," Haley said.
Read more: Over 50% Republican voters want to see Trump president again: poll
'Justice' for the powerful
Her comments have drawn criticism, notably from former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who slammed Haley for discussing a pardon before the trial has even commenced. Christie accused her of endorsing a two-tiered justice system, one for the powerful and another for the rest.
"Well, what that should tell the American people is that she believes in two systems of justice: one for all of us and one for the most powerful," Christie said.
This is not the first time Haley has faced criticism, as Christie previously challenged her for refusing to acknowledge slavery as the cause of the Civil War. Additionally, he criticized her for not unequivocally rejecting a potential role in a second Trump administration.
The notion of preemptive pardons does have historical precedence, with President Gerald Ford pardoning former President Richard Nixon in 1974 for any crimes related to the Watergate scandal before a trial took place.
Read more: Nikki Haley lashes out at Trump, DeSantis during CNN town hall
An attempt to win over Trump-friendly votes
Haley, who announced her run for the presidency in February this year, has recently shown progress in the presidential race in opinion polls, largely from support by college-educated, affluent, suburban professionals - those who are already tired of former US President Donald Trump's rhetoric and legal issues.
Having a shot at gaining traction in the 2024 Republican contest, per supporters and opponents, means she needs to expand that coalition by bringing in more voters residing in rural areas, who are middle- or working-class, or those without college degrees, as per eight pollsters and strategists interviewed by Reuters.
Before the Republican nominating event in Iowa on January 15, Haley has been visiting areas that are more Trump-friendly as she launched a "Farmers for Nikki" coalition in November, while her campaign has been flooding billboards and ads in rural areas to make her more appealing and known.
She brought up matters of issues in the public healthcare system for veterans, and she stepped up her criticisms of Trump recently as well stating that his style is too chaotic and divisive, which lessens his effectiveness in the race.
