RNC Night 2: Nikki Haley officially endorses Trump

MILWAUKEE — One-time presidential hopeful Nikki Haley spoke Tuesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. She was one of former President Donald Trump’s biggest rally, but on the second night of the convention, she rallied voters in favor of him.

Channel 9 2024 RNC Coverage:

>> Bruno will have LIVE coverage from the RNC all week. Stick with Channel 9 as he explains everything voters across the Carolinas need to know.

Haley said Trump asked her to speak in the name of unity and right off the bat, she made it clear she is endorsing him for president. Trump invited her to give a speech after the attempted assassination. Republicans said this was an olive branch and a sign of unity.

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has taken the stage @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/n6TUFxIaIn
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) July 17, 2024

The former United Nations ambassador said Trump is better for foreign policy and securing the border.

However, most of Haley’s speech was directed at Trump skeptics.

She said she wanted to talk to voters who don’t agree with Trump 100% of the time. Many of them were her voters in the primary.

Nikki Haley Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 16, 2024.

“We are so much better when we are bigger,” said Haley, the former Republican South Carolina governor. “We are stronger when we welcome people to our party that have different backgrounds and experiences and right now, we need to be strong to save America.”

There were some light boos when Haley took the stage but she left in the good graces of the crowd. gave her a standing ovation.

Mark Harris Attending Convention

Republican 8th Congressional District Candidate Mark Harris says he is shocked and thankful former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt.

“You just thought, oh my God, what is happening,” he said.

While the circumstances are very different, Harris got a second chance at life after being hospitalized in 2019 for sepsis.

He says the experience changes you.

“You think about what could have happened and you start thinking about your family, and all those things that are really important to you,” he said. “And you hold them closer and tighter than you ever have before.”

Harris is months away from potentially becoming a Congressman. He is heavily favored in his Republican district that stretches from Union to Robeson County.

He made it through a fierce primary with his rivals hitting his residency and former election fraud scandal. Despite all the campaign attacks, he says all of his opponents were invited and attended an event he recently had with Jim Jordan.

Tonight, Trump’s former rivals will take the stage. Harris says in light of everything that happened Saturday, now’s the time to unite.

>>You can watch the RNC on the WSOC Now Stream starting at 7:30 p.m.

“What happened on Saturday gives everybody a gut check,” he said. “And a lot of things that that we think are the end of the world are so important, suddenly aren’t near as important maybe as we thought.”