Nikki Haley remarked on Thursday that she was not surprised by President Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, noting that she “never thought” he would be the eventual Democratic candidate. This sentiment echoed her warnings during her own presidential campaign that “a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris.”
Haley, who pursued the GOP nomination in 2024 before endorsing Donald Trump, shared her thoughts on Biden’s withdrawal from the race in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. Haley had previously called for Biden to take a mental competency test in February and had predicted that he wouldn’t be able to complete a hypothetical second term.
“I wasn’t surprised, and I didn’t take happiness in it. I mean, I think through the whole campaign, I fought for mental competency tests. I wasn’t doing it to be disrespectful. I wasn’t doing it to be mean. I was doing it because I think it’s not just Joe Biden,” Haley explained.
She continued, “There is an issue that we have in D.C. where people will go into office and they won’t let go, and then their staffers and their family keep propping them up. And it’s a problem for the American people. And so, I never thought he would make it to the election. I always said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for Kamala Harris, and I think that’s what’s playing out.”
Despite her criticisms of the Democrats, Haley acknowledged that selecting a younger candidate than former President Trump could be advantageous for them in the election.
“The Democrats are very smart to put in a younger candidate. I think that’s what America has craved, but I think what you look at is they put in the weakest candidate they could put in,” Haley remarked.
Throughout her campaign, Haley consistently highlighted what she perceived as Biden’s mental decline leading up to the election.
“And let’s be very clear if they think it’s going to be President Biden, a vote for President Biden, it’s actually a vote for President Harris,” Haley told “Fox & Friends” in 2023. “We are running against Kamala Harris. Make no bones about it. The New York Times knows it. Every liberal knows it. They know that it’s Kamala Harris that’s going to end up being President of the United States if Joe Biden wins this election.”
Biden officially announced his withdrawal from the presidential race on Sunday with a statement on X. He later endorsed Harris as the Democratic candidate, and she has quickly consolidated support, becoming the de facto nominee.
