Former South Carolina GOP Gov. Nikki Haley’s entrance into the presidential race this week is shedding new light on her past criticism and contradicting statements about former President Donald Trump.

Haley is the first Republican to officially take on Trump for the GOP nomination, and, like many Republicans, she has evolved from a harsh Trump critic to an ardent supporter. Despite criticizing the former president after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol, she continued to stress that he helped the GOP win over new supporters.

From early critic to Trump’s team

Haley was a sharp critic of Trump during his first campaign in 2016, backing two other GOP contenders before saying she would vote for Trump after he became the party’s nominee. After she joined his administration, she went on to become a Trump supporter, encouraging voters to support his re-election in 2020.

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• Jan. 13, 2016: In her response to then-President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, Haley urged Americans not to follow “the siren call of the angriest voices.” The next day she told TODAY that Trump was one of the voices to whom she was referring, saying, “Mr. Trump has definitely contributed to what I think is just irresponsible talk.”
• Feb. 16, 2016: Haley said she had not decided who to endorse in the GOP primary, but she wouldn’t be backing Trump, saying he is “everything a governor doesn’t want in a president.”
• Feb. 29, 2016: At a rally for GOP Sen. Marco Rubio, who Haley had ...

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