Nikki Haley Exits Presidential Race, No Trump Endorsement

By Fox News. Thirteen months after she launched her 2024 Republican presidential campaign in Charleston, South Carolina, Nikki Haley ended her White House bid.

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Donald Trump’s administration on Wednesday morning announced “the time has now come to suspend my campaign.”

“I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard. I have done it. I have no regrets. And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in,” Haley said as she spoke at her presidential campaign headquarters on Daniel Island, in her hometown of Charleston.

But Haley did not immediately endorse Trump, who is on course to clinch the GOP presidential nomination in the next week or two.

“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him. And I hope he does that,” Haley said as she pointed to those who supported her during her White House run. (Read more from “Nikki Haley Exits Presidential Race, No Trump Endorsement” HERE)

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South Korea Prepares for Donald Trump Reelection

By Breitbart. The South Korean government on Tuesday appointed a career diplomat named Lee Tae-woo to head up rushed negotiations for the renewal of a defense agreement with the U.S. that will not expire for two years.

Former President Donald Trump has notably called for South Korea to increase its contributions by 500 percent; the South Korean government’s moves to ensure that the agreement will remain as-is far beyond the 2024 American presidential election could be interpreted as a way to prepare for Trump’s potential return to the White House.

The Special Measures Agreement (SMA) covering U.S. contributions to South Korea’s defense has been renewed 11 times since 1991, most recently in April 2021, when a deal lasting until 2025 was sealed.

Under the eleventh SMA, the administration of former President Moon Jae-in agreed to a 13.9-percent increase in the amount paid to keep American troops in South Korea. This marked the first time Seoul’s contribution had increased by more than ten percent in a single round of the SMA and the first time it paid more than a billion dollars.

In the final year of his administration, Trump rejected South Korea’s offer of a 13-percent increase. Trump felt South Korea was taking advantage of American protection, paying a pittance when its huge economy would allow it to handle a much heavier share of the costs. (Read more from “South Korea Prepares for Donald Trump Reelection” HERE)