Nikki Haley Ducks and Weaves on Trump Endorsement, I.V.F. and Jan. 6

“The R.N.C. is not the identical R.N.C.,” Ms. Haley stated. “Now it’s Trump’s daughter-in-law.”

The closest Ms. Haley got here to explicitly disavowing the pledge was when she stated, “I’ll make what choice I wish to make.” However she shortly added: “That’s not one thing I’m interested by. And I believe that whereas y’all take into consideration that, I’m taking a look at the truth that we had 1000’s of individuals in Virginia, we’re headed to North Carolina, we’re going to proceed to go to Vermont and Maine and all these states to go and present individuals that there’s a path ahead.”

She didn’t maintain again on criticizing Mr. Trump, saying, for instance, that she didn’t desire a president who “calls his opponents ‘vermin,’” as Mr. Trump has, echoing rhetoric utilized by Hitler and Mussolini. When requested whether or not she believed Mr. Trump “would comply with the Structure,” she stated: “I don’t know. I imply, you all the time wish to suppose somebody will. However I don’t know.”

Ms. Haley, who misplaced a sequence of main contests over the weekend, stated that Mr. Trump had “condoned” and did not “do something to cease lawlessness” when his supporters stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, however wouldn’t say straight whether or not she thought-about him accountable for the assault.

“When he had the chance to cease it, you have got everyone from Fox Information anchors to buddies to household begging him to say one thing to get them to cease, together with his vice chairman, and he was silent,” she stated. She added, “Anytime there’s lawlessness, and also you condone lawlessness, and also you don’t do something to cease lawlessness, he’s going to must reply for that.”

However when requested whether or not Mr. Trump was “virtually and morally accountable” for the assault — as Mitch McConnell, the Senate Republican chief, stated shortly after it occurred — Ms. Haley stated she wasn’t a lawyer and couldn’t make a authorized judgment, whilst Ms. Welker specified that she wasn’t asking for a authorized judgment.