The Political Insider

Nikki Haley has seemingly waved the white flag of surrender to former President Trump in 2024, saying that if he runs again, she will step aside.

Haley, a one-time ally of Trump’s serving as his Ambassador to the United Nations, made the comments to reporters during a visit to South Carolina earlier this week.

When asked by an Associated Press reporter if Haley would support the former President should he decide to run in 2024 she replied, “Yes.”

A follow-up question led to a more affirmative ceding of power for the Republican nomination process.

“I would not run if President Trump ran, and I would talk to him about it,” Haley replied. “That’s something we’ll have a conversation about at some point, if that decision is something that has to be made.”

RELATED: Report: Nikki Haley Isolated After Attacking Trump, Not Among GOP 2024 Presidential Hopefuls At CPAC

Haley Concedes To Trump In 2024

Haley’s comments about 2024 mark a shift from when she took shots at Donald Trump for his alleged role in the Capitol riots which took place in early January.

In fact, she essentially called him a failure to the Republican Party.

“We need to acknowledge he let us down. He went down a path he shouldn’t have, and we shouldn’t have followed him, and we shouldn’t have listened to him,” she told a Politico reporter.

“And we can’t let that ever happen again.”

Haley was also quite confident at the time that Trump would never run for President again.

“He’s not going to run for federal office again … I don’t think he’s going to be in the picture. I don’t think he can. He’s fallen so far,” she insisted.

RELATED: Donald Trump Reportedly Shoots Down Nikki Haley Meeting Request

Haley’s Political Future

Haley has run into a bit of misfortune ever since making those comments about Trump.

In February, shortly after her comments surfaced, reports indicated that she had requested a meeting with the former President, but was rejected.

Shortly after that, rumors started to circulate indicating Haley was being isolated following her attack on Trump.

Despite being acknowledged as a 2024 contender, Haley failed to make an appearance at this past year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

She reportedly declined an invitation, citing a scheduling conflict.

It’s tough to say what angle Haley is playing here. Perhaps she’s confident that Trump won’t run in 2024 and is feigning support. Perhaps she’s come to her senses.

Or maybe she realizes that Trump supporters are the future of the Republican Party and she must deliver for them to have any political future herself.

A very recent poll shows a vast majority of Republican voters want to see Trump play a big role in the future of the party, including running again in 2024.

Fifty-three percent said they would choose Trump as the GOP nominee, compared to 6 percent for Haley.

Multiple polls show Trump voters and their significant presence at the voting booth tilting toward Trump-like Republicans and away from establishment Republicans.

The Political Insider’s John Hanson writes, “[Haley] is much more in line with the Cheney-McConnell-establishment wing of the GOP, not the America First-Trump wing.”