Nikki Haley, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, revealed that she spoke to former President Donald Trump and explained why she decided to run against him for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
She made her remarks in an interview on Thursday's "Today" show on NBC.
"I told him that I thought that we needed to go in a new direction," she said. The phone call came before she announced her presidential bid on Tuesday.
"I'm gonna keep that phone call personal," she said. "I didn't ask; I told him that I thought we needed to go in a new direction."
But she did say Trump wished her luck, but he noted her previous commitment to not run against him.
"When I first said I wouldn't run against him, Afghanistan hadn't fallen," she said. "We didn't see the rise in inflation, we didn't see what was happening in our schools where it was, and we didn't see the results of the midterms that we just had.
"It is time for a new generation of leaders. You shouldn't have to be 80 years old to get to Washington. We've got to start righting the ship. We need new blood, we need new leadership because we have some serious challenges."
She said it was time for Republicans to try something different.
"I don't want just Republicans with me," she said. "I want everybody with me because I believe that everybody wants to be proud about America."
Shortly after Haley, who also served as governor of South Carolina, announced she was running, the Trump campaign put out an email titled: "The Real Nikki Haley" and noted how Haley previously praised former House Speaker Paul Ryan's plan to eliminate Medicare and turn it into a voucher system.
The Trump campaign also highlighted a 2010 Fox News interview in which Haley suggested Congress should be exploring ways to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.