Matt Rourke/AP; Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images
- Donald Trump insulted Nikki Haley and her supporters in a Truth Social post this morning.
- He called many of them "Radical Left Democrats" before inviting them to join his MAGA movement.
- Haley did not endorse Trump when she dropped out, saying he'd need to win over her voters.
Just before Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump insulted his former rival as well as her supporters — before inviting them to support him.
"Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform Wednesday morning. "Much of her money came from Radical Left Democrats, as did many of her voters, almost 50%, according to the polls."
After cheering his Super Tuesday performance, Trump invited Haley's supporters to join him in "the greatest movement in the history of our Nation" to defeat President Joe Biden, whom he called "the enemy."
Trump's Truth Social missive arrived around the same time Haley announced she was suspending her campaign following a relatively poor showing on Super Tuesday. The move makes Trump the de facto GOP nominee and sets the stage for a Trump-Biden rematch later this year.
Haley, who'd spent months denigrating Trump's advanced age and mental acuity, did not endorse Trump when she dropped out of the race, but instead wished him well and called on him to win over her supporters.
"It is now up the Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him," Haley said in a speech this morning in Charleston. "And I hope he does that."
"This is now his time for choosing," she added.
On X, a spokesperson for Nikki Haley called out the differences between Trump's and Biden's reactions to her dropping out of the race. In his statement, Biden said it "takes a lot of courage to run for President," and applauded Haley for being "willing to speak the truth about Trump."
"Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters," Biden said. "I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign."