Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley reacted to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropping out of the GOP primary race during an interview on Fox News this morning, saying that she knows “the political class wants to say that this race is over and I know that the political class is saying everybody has to get behind Trump.”
“This is not a coronation,” she added.
When asked about her viability in the race, Haley told Fox News “a democracy is about giving people options.” She made the case for the Florida governor’s supporters to back her, saying “I know the DeSantis voters. They love America and they wanted a new generational leader and they wanted a conservative who was going to go in there and clean up government.”
The former South Carolina governor said she has not spoken with DeSantis since he dropped out and endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Moving her critique to the current and former president, Haley reiterated her argument that the country needs new leadership.
Meanwhile, Haley’s campaign has raised $500,000 “and growing” from grassroots donors online in less than 24 hours after DeSantis ended his campaign on Sunday afternoon, campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas told CNN.
CNN’s Ebony Davis contributed reporting to this post.
