Haley says she doesn't feel bound by RNC pledge to support eventual nominee
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she does not feel bound by the Republican National Committee's (RNC) pledge to support the party's eventual nominee.
NBC's Kristen Welker asked Haley in an interview for "Meet the Press" whether she still feels obligated to honor the RNC pledge she took last year to support the party's nominee. The pledge was one of the requirements candidates needed to see to make it on the debate stage.
"I have always said that I have serious concerns about Donald Trump. I have even more concerns about Joe Biden," Haley first responded.
When pressed further on whether she feels bound by the pledge, Haley suggested that she just took the pledge to get on the debate stage.
"The RNC pledge —I mean, at the time of the debate, we had to take it to where, 'Would you support the nominee,' and in order to get on that debate stage, you said yes. The RNC is now not the same RNC," she responded before Welker pushed her again on the topic.
"No, I think I'll make what decision I want to make. But that's not something I'm thinking about," she told Welker.
"And I think that while you all think about that, I'm looking at the fact that we had thousands of people in Virginia, we're headed to North Carolina, we're going to continue to go to Vermont, and Maine, and all these states to go and show people that there is a path forward. And so, I don't look at what if. I look at, 'How do we continue the conversation?'" she added.
Haley has yet to win any of the early primary contests as Trump continues to expand his lead in the race. According to Decision Desk HQ, Trump has already clinched 192 delegates, while Haley significantly trails with 24 delegates.
Haley also vowed in a recent interview to stay in the race “as long as we are competitive" just days ahead of Super Tuesday.