Former 2024 contender Nikki Haley says she’s on ‘standby’ if Donald Trump ‘ever needs me’

Nikki Haley says she’s willing to help Donald Trump if he wants her help, despite their checkered past.

Haley was the last woman to run against Trump in the 2024 primary, with a crowded field of Republicans seeking to oust the former president for a shot at the White House. She has frequently spoken out against Trump, airing her grievances and disagreements.

But before that, Haley served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations for nearly two years, from January 2017 to December 2018.

“He knows I’m ready,” Haley said sadly when asked if she was going on tour to campaign for the Republican presidential candidate.

“I talked to him in June,” she told CBS Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan. “He knows I’m ready if he ever needs me.”

Haley said she was not asked to run in the general election when pressured by Trump.

“That’s his choice. He can, you know, whatever he decides to do with his campaign, he can do that,” she said. “But when I called him in June, I said I supported him.”

“I think the teams have talked a little bit, but no question has been asked,” the former South Carolina governor noted. “But you know, if he asks, I’m happy to help.

Haley vacated her delegates to Trump after dropping out of the primary following overwhelming losses on Super Tuesday. By winning the primaries in Washington, D.C., and Vermont — both deep blue areas where even Republicans are more left-leaning — Haley became the first woman to win a GOP primary in a state or territory.

She supported Trump and said in May that she would vote for the former president in November.

Haley served as Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations for nearly two years before running against him in the 2024 Republican primary

At the Republican National Convention in July, Haley spoke alongside former GOP primary candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

She expressed her “strong support” for Trump and urged Republicans to unite behind the Republican nomination ticket for 2024.

Haley and Trump have a troubled past, despite her serving in his administration.

More than two years after leaving her role in the White House — and after Trump ended his first term — Haley said in February 2021 that “friends is a loose term” when asked if the former president was her friend.

She was critical of his alleged role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots and said she was “angry” that he took no action to defend his Vice President Mike Pence.