Indian-American Nikki Haley suspends her US presidential campaign against Donald Trump

Indian-American politician Nikki Haley suspended her presidential campaign on Wednesday after being "trounced" in 15 states across the US on Super Tuesday, paving the way for a rematch between her rival Donald Trump and incumbent US President Joe Biden in the November elections.

After Super Tuesday's election results, former US president Trump, 77, had established a commanding lead in the delegate count over his only Republican opponent, 52-year-old Haley, who denied him a full sweep by winning Vermont.

As Nikki Haley suspended her campaign Wednesday morning, Trump posted on social media that the former South Carolina governor got "trounced" on Super Tuesday and invited her supporters to join his political movement.

Haley congratulated her rival and former boss Trump during her announcement ending her presidential campaign but stopped short of endorsing him.

More than a third of all the Republican delegates were at stake on Super Tuesday, the biggest haul of any date on the 2024 primary calendar.

Haley, a former South Carolina governor and UN ambassador, has not made a final decision as to whether or not she would endorse her ex-boss Trump.

People who are close to Haley have different opinions. Some believe that it would be good for her to back Trump because she would be viewed as a team player. Others ardently oppose her endorsing him.

During her campaign, Haley scripted history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Republican presidential primary. 

She is also the first Indian-American to have won either the Democratic or the Republican primaries.

The three other previous Indian American presidential aspirants Bobby Jindal in 2016, Kamala Harris in 2020 and Vivek Ramaswamy in 2024 had failed to win even one primary.

Haley, whose parents moved to the United States in the 1960s, was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. She has long used her middle name Nikki and adopted the surname Haley after her marriage in 1996.

During the campaign, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley as Nimbra in a rant on his Truth Social account, adding her to the list of foes he has targeted with racist attacks.

Meanwhile, President Biden on Wednesday made a clear appeal to Haley's supporters in the aftermath of her exit from the race, praising her courage in standing up to Trump.