Nikki Haley calls for unity, offers 'strong endorsement' of Donald Trump during RNC speech

July 16 (UPI) -- Nikki Haley, former Donald Trump rival and ambassador to the United Nations, called for unity Tuesday on the second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she offered her "strong endorsement" of the former president.

"I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period," Haley announced to loud cheers and a standing ovation.

The second night of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee featured a long list of notable speakers, which included Haley, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, as the focus turned to immigration and crime and safety under the banner "Make America Safe Once Again." Trump and his vice presidential running mate, J.D. Vance joined the crowd Tuesday, listening on the convention floor.

"Our country is at a critical moment," Haley said. "We have a choice to make. For more than a year, I said a vote for Joe Biden is a vote for President Kamala Harris. After seeing the debate, everyone knows it's true. If we have four more years of Biden or a single day of Harris, our country will be badly worse off. For the sake of our nation, we have to go with Donald Trump."

Haley spoke directly to those Americans who she said do not agree with Trump.

"My message to them is simple. You don't have to agree with Trump 100% of the time to vote for him. Take it from me, I haven't always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree," she said. "We agree on keeping America strong. We agree on keeping America safe."

"I am here tonight because we have a country to save. And a unified Republican party is essential for saving her," Haley added to cheers of "USA, USA."

Haley, who worked during the Trump administration as the ambassador to the United Nations, argued Putin invaded Crimea during the Obama administration and invaded "all of Ukraine" during the Biden administration.

"But when Donald Trump was president, Putin did nothing. No invasions. No wars," Haley said. "A strong president doesn't start wars, a strong president prevents wars."

As Haley moved to the topic of immigration, she called the border crisis the "single biggest threat Americans face."

"Under Joe Biden, migrants are coming into our country by the thousands everyday and we have no idea who they are, where they end up and what they plan to do, and let me remind you that Kamala Harris had one job and that was to fix the border. Now imagine her in charge of the entire country," Haley argued.

Before closing, Haley talked about serving on Trump's cabinet and how he welcomed input from others, even those who disagreed with him.

"We are so much better when we are bigger. We are stronger when we welcome people into our party who have different backgrounds and experiences."

"Our foreign enemies win when they see Americans hate each other. They see that today on college campuses or in a field in Butler, Pennsylvania," Haley concluded, as she urged "strength" and "unity."

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz opened his speech Tuesday giving "thanks to God Almighty for protecting President Trump," before warning about the "invasion" at the southern border.

"The numbers don't show us the true price that our country is paying," Cruz said, as he claimed "illegal immigrants" are raping and murdering Americans.

"Democrats cynically decided they wanted votes from illegals more than they wanted to protect our children," Cruz added, despite non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, not being able to vote in federal, state and most local elections. "Today, as a result of Joe Biden's presidency, your family is less safe, your children are less safe, the country is less safe."

"When Donald Trump is president, we will fix it," Cruz shouted. "We know this because he's done it before. I know this because I worked hand-in-hand with President Trump to secure our border and we achieved the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years."

"Let us go forward together and keep our sacred oath to defend the Constitution and to protect the American people," Cruz said as he named victims of violent crimes. "Let us secure our borders, enforce our laws, protect our children and restore the future."

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and chair of the House Republican Conference was one of the first speakers to open the second night of the convention.

"Our constitution and the soul of our very nation are on the ballot. Under Joe Biden, Americans have suffered crisis after crisis," Stefanik said, as she cited the border crisis, violent crimes and inflation. "All while corrupt democrat prosecutors and judges wage illegal and unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump in an effort to do Joe Biden's political bidding."

"From the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan to Putin's invasion of Ukraine to Hamas' terrorist attack against our most precious ally Israel," Stefanik added, as she condemned anti-Semitic protests on college campuses and blasted elite university presidents for failing to protect Jewish students.

"President Trump will bring back moral leadership to the White House, condemning anti-Semitism and standing strong with Israel and the Jewish people. President Trump will once again deliver the most secure border in our nation's history and unleash the American economy and he will bring strength as commander-in-chief," Stefanik shouted. "President Trump has done it before and he will do it again."

Louisiana Rep. Steve Scalise, House majority leader who survived a politically motivated shooting at a Congressional Baseball Game practice in 2017, also spoke Tuesday as he addressed the recent assassination attempt on Trump.

"Not many know that while I was fighting for my life, Donald Trump was one of the first to come console my family at the hospital. That's the kind of leader he is," Scalise said, adding "Courageous under fire, compassionate toward others."

During his speech, Scalise attacked Biden's energy policies, saying, "We will end the Democrat's assault on American energy once and for all," as he blasted Biden for "waving taxes on Chinese solar panels, but raising taxes on Americans."

Scalise attacked Biden's spending, saying once Trump is back in the White House he will "make the Trump tax cuts permanent. And yes. We will end taxes on tips and deliver another tax cut for working families."

On immigration, Scalise accused the Biden administration of opening up the U.S. southern border "to the entire world," as he promised Trump will "lock down the border and yes, we will finish building the wall," as the crowd on the convention floor cheered loudly.

"Biden and Harris want illegals to vote, now that they've opened up the border. Republicans will re-pass the SAVE Act to block illegal aliens from voting in our elections," Scalise said.

Johnson, the House speaker from Louisiana, talked about unity and called the convention a "great time to unite our party and to send President Donald Trump back to the White House."

"We are not just united as Republicans, we are uniting as Americans in the wake of the assassination attempt on the life of President Trump," he said as he outlined an immediate House investigation into Saturday's events.

"American people deserve to know the truth and we will ensure accountability," Johnson vowed.

"We in the Republican Party are the law-and-order team. We always have been and always will be the advocates for the rule of law," Johnson said, adding, "and we all know that that principle is in serious jeopardy today."

"Our rights do not come from government, they come from God," Johnson told the cheering crowd, before listing the seven core principles of American conservatism.

"Individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets and human dignity," Johnson said, adding that the "radical, woke progressive left has disdain for those principles."

"They want tear down those foundations and remold us into some sort of borderless, lawless, Marxist, socialist utopia. We are here to say, 'Not on our watch,'" Johnson added.

Former Trump rival Vivek Ramaswamy, along with Cruz, are among the speakers scheduled to take the stage next.