Did Nikki Haley Really Endorse Barack Obama In The 2012 Election?

The idea of the staunchly conservative former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley supporting former Democratic president Barack Obama might seem unlikely — unless, of course, you were to ask former president Donald Trump. The 2024 presidential hopeful shared his "evidence" of Haley's supposed support of Obama on Truth Social less than one month before Haley backed out of the 2024 presidential race.

Trump posted a video of the former South Carolina governor speaking at a Mitt Romney campaign event in Greenville, South Carolina, in 2012, in which she appears to promote Obama's ability to strengthen the U.S. military. The video, posted to Truth Social on February 9, 2024, was captioned, "Nikki Haley is a flunky for Mitt 'Pierre Delecto' Romney who is kryptonite for the Republican Party. She was also a Barack Hussein Obama supporter as seen here." 

And while it's true that Haley mentioned Obama's name when discussing the military, the few seconds immediately after her remarks — and Haley's long-running history of denouncing former President Obama — seem to suggest Trump, the famously anti-fake-news politician, is touting some misinformation himself.

Former President Donald Trump's video shows former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley delivering an impassioned speech to a crowd of Mitt Romney supporters in 2012, saying, "[Barack] Obama wants to strengthen our military and will never apologize for America." Immediately after, Romney put a hand on Haley's shoulder and told her she said Obama's name instead of his. "No!" Haley yelled before laughing and putting her hand on her forehead.

Haley then reiterated that she had misspoken to the crowd. She referenced the late Senator John McCain, who had made the same error weeks prior, adding, "And I just turned 40 today." The crowd initially responded to Haley's flub with mixed reactions and then sang "Happy Birthday" to the then-governor. "Let's make this clear," Haley corrected. "President Romney will take care of our military."

While Trump's video doesn't include Haley's mention of McCain, it does clearly show Haley acknowledging that her mention of Obama was accidental. Still, that didn't stop Trump from labeling the error as an endorsement of the former Democrat. Trump repeated this claim at a rally the day after he published the video to Truth Social, claiming that Haley "dropped Romney for a little while for Obama" (via Rev).

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley's feelings about former president Barack Obama have been abundantly clear throughout her political tenure. The day after her Obama-Romney flub, Haley accompanied Mitt Romney and his team to a second campaign event in North Charleston, South Carolina. Haley was far more definitive about her feelings on the Obama administration, referencing the same arguments she had made the day before. 

After introducing her military husband, Michael Haley, the former Governor said, "We are a very proud military family. I love watching [Michael] walk out the door in his military uniform, loving his job. What we need is a president that understands that you strengthen our military. You don't weaken it and turn around and apologize for it" (via C-SPAN). In that same speech, Haley also denounced Obamacare, advocated for photo ID requirements at polls, and lauded Romney for his ability to create jobs.

Haley publicly endorsed Mitt Romney during his 2008 presidential primary campaign, which he lost, and during his victorious 2012 campaign to win the Republican nomination. The former South Carolina governor released a statement in 2011 that read, "Neither South Carolina nor the nation can afford four more years of President Obama." Haley has never publicly endorsed Obama as Donald Trump has claimed.