Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, and Marco Rubio all ran against Donald Trump and savagely attacked him. On the second night of the Republican convention in Milwaukee, they offered praise.
In Milwaukee, Tuesday night was losers night.
The prime-time lineup for the second day of the Republican national convention was full of speeches from various politicians who once ran against Donald Trump only to come to the Fiserv Forum to glorify him. Sitting in the VIP box chatting with newly minted vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, he watched former adversary after former adversary go on stage and give praise. Vance will do the same when he speaks on Wednesday, a one-time critic who went so far as to ask in 2016 if Trump might be “America’s Hitler.”
The most notable speech came from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who finished second to Trump in this year’s primaries. As recently as four months ago, she called him “diminished” and “unhinged.” It wasn’t until a few days ago that she was even invited to speak to the convention in the name of unity, following Saturday’s assassination attempt against Trump. Given her persistent attacks on Trump’s fitness for office, there was some trepidation about how Haley would be received in a room crowded with the MAGA faithful. Delegates were warned not to boo her.
Instead, she was welcomed with loud cheers just for walking on stage where she began by offering Trump her “strong endorsement.” After that, the cheers died down and the room became indifferent to just about everything else she said.
