Nikki Haley Says She Has No Plans to Drop Out of Primary: 'I'm Still Here'

some of you perhaps a few of you in the media came here today to see if I'm dropping out of the race well I'm not far from it and I'm here to tell you why I'm running for president because we have a country to save since the start of my campaign I've been focused on the real issues our country faces the ones that determine whether America will Thrive or spiral out I'm talking about the millions of students who don't know how to read or do basic math the families who can't afford groceries much less a first home the total lawlessness on our Southern border I'm talking about the murders in our cities the fentel on our streets the children who've been killed in their mom's car by stray bullets and I'm talking about the American weakness that led to Wars in Europe and the Middle East and the urgent need to restore our strength before War spreads and draws America further in these are the challenges I'm here to tackle but instead of focusing on how to make America stronger tomorrow some people want to know if I'm going to cave today we've all heard the calls for me to drop out we all know where they're coming from the political Elite the party bosses the cheerleaders in the commentator world the argument is familiar they say I haven't won a state that my path to Victory is Slim they point to the primary polls and say I'm only delaying the inevitable why keep fighting when the battle was a apparently over after Iowa look I get it in politics the herd mentality is enormously strong a lot of Republican politicians have surrendered to it the pressure on them was way too much they didn't want to be left out of the club of course many of the same politicians who now publicly embrac Trump privately dread him they know what a disaster he's been and will continue to be for our party they're just too afraid to say it out loud well I'm not afraid to say the hard truths out loud I feel no need to Kiss the Ring I have no fear of Trump's retribution I'm not nothing good in life comes easy I'm willing to take the cuts the bruises and the name calling because the only way you get to the blessing is by going through the pain dropping out would be the easy route I've never taken the easy route I've been the underdog in every race I've ever run I've always been David taking on Goliath and like David I'm not just fighting someone bigger than me I'm fighting for something bigger than myself I'm used to people questioning my intentions so I'll make a few things clear some people used to say I was running because I really wanted to be vice president I think I've pretty well settled that question other people say I'm trying to set up a future presidential run how does that even work if I was running for a bogus reason I would have dropped out a long time ago the rest of the fellas already did that they have their own plans I don't judge them but I'm still here we don't anoint Kings in this country we have elections and Donald Trump of all people should know we don't rig elections Americans of every belief and background are tired of our national mess they don't want more chaos and craziness they wor about a national collapse if I weren't in the race we'd be reading the exact same storyline every day until November 5th there would be widespread reports of Americans suffering from a bad case of Biden Trump fatigue and it would be true a stunning 70% of the country doesn't want a Biden Trump rematch the majority of Americans don't just dislike one candidate they dislike both as a country we've never seen such dissatisfaction with the leading candidates we've never had so many Americans mired in pessimism and division we still have a chance to restore their faith I will fight as long as that chance exists there are those who will try and paint me as never Trump that's not who I am never have have been I supported Trump in 2016 and in 2020 I was proud to serve America in his cabinet my purpose has never been to stop Trump at all costs like most Americans I have a handful of serious concerns about the former president but I have countless serious concerns about the current president Joe Biden has turned our country upside down it's not normal for millions of migrants to illegally cross our border without being stopped it's not normal for our schools to be more focused on gender pronouns than reading and math it's not normal to have skyrocketing prices and soaring crime and it's not normal to have wars raging in Europe and the Middle East all of that is on Joe Biden but he's not the only one who's replaced normaly with chaos Donald Trump has done that too it's not normal to insult our military Heroes and Veterans it's not normal to spend $50 million in campaign contributions on personal court cases it's not normal to threaten people who back your opponent and it's not normal to call on Russia to invade NATO countries Donald Trump has done all of that and more in just the past month look I've said it many times I think Donald Trump was the right president at the right time but times change and so has Trump he's gotten more unstable and unhinged he spent spends more time in courtrooms than he does on the campaign Trail he refuses to debate he's completely distracted and everything is about him he's so obsessed with his own demons from the past he can't focus on delivering the future Americans deserve we have two hugely flawed candidates in Biden and Trump Americans know it they've been saying it for years and we all know why Trump and Biden are two old men who are only getting older nearly 60% of Americans say Trump and Biden are both too old to be president because they are we've all seen them fumble their words and get confused about world leaders that's not who you want in the Oval Office when Russia launches a nuclear weapon at our satellites or China shuts down our electricity City grid we're talking about the most demanding job in human history you don't give it to someone who's at risk of dementia you give it to someone who's disciplined someone who can work day and night for eight straight years no vendettas no drama just results