Former Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley turned heads Wednesday morning when she announced she was suspending her campaign because she refused to endorse her main rival and the leading candidate for the party’s nomination, Donald Trump.

“We must bind together as Americans,” she said at one point during her short speech. “In all likelihood, Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee when our party convention meets in July. I wish him well.”

“I have always been a conservative Republican and have always supported the Republican nominee, but on this question, as she did on so many others, Margaret Thatcher provided some good advice when she said, ‘Never just follow the crowd. Always make up your own mind.’

“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our Party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” she said. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. This is now his time for choosing.”

WATCH:

.@NikkiHaley: “The time has now come to suspend my campaign.” pic.twitter.com/2lDzyBZDgG

— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) March 6, 2024

“I said the campaign was grounded in my love for our country. Just last week, my mother, a first-generation immigrant, got to vote for her daughter for president. Only in America. I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country. But the time has now come to suspend my campaign. I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done that. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in,” Haley said.

“Our national debt will eventually crush our economy. A smaller federal government is not only necessary for our freedom, it is necessary for our survival. The road to socialism is the road to ruin for America. Our Congress is dysfunctional and only getting worse. It is filled with followers, not leaders. Term limits for Washington politicians are needed now more than ever. Our world is on fire because of America’s retreat. Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative,” Haley added.

Haley concluded: “But it’s also more than that. If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less. As important while we stand strong for the cause of freedom, we must bind together as Americans, we must turn away from the darkness of hatred and division. I will continue to promote all those values, as is the right of every American. I sought the honor of being your president. But in our great country, being a private citizen is privileged enough in itself. And that’s a privilege I very much look forward to enjoying.”