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Nikki Haley endorses Trump in show of unity at RNC
Washington — Nikki Haley endorsed former President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday as the party tries to spread the message of unity and court voters beyond his base.
“I’ll start by making one thing perfectly clear,” she said. “Donald Trump has my strong endorsement.”
Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador under Trump and is the former governor of South Carolina, was not originally expected to be at the convention. Her spokesperson said last week that she had not been invited. Ahead of the convention Haley released her delegates and encouraged them to vote for Trump.
When Haley dropped out of the primary race against Trump in March, she declined to endorse him, saying he needed to earn the votes of the people who did not support him. In May, she said she would vote for him, despite her intense criticism of him throughout the campaign.
On Tuesday, she said Trump asked her to speak at the convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, “in the name of unity.”
“It was a gracious invitation, and I was happy to accept it,” she said.
Seeking to bring voters into the Republican Party, she said the party must acknowledge that there are Americans who don’t always agree with the former president.
“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,” Haley said.
Haley said the U.S. is at a critical moment and for the country’s sake, “we have to go with Donald Trump.” She praised his national security policies and said he “appreciated advice and input.”
“Americans were well served by his presidency, even if they didn’t agree with them on all things,” she said. “Now to my fellow Republicans, we must not only be a unified party, we must also expand our party. 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.”
Republicans are trying to take advantage of a groundswell of support during the convention, which comes on the heels of an assassination attempt against Trump on Saturday.
Trump arrived in the convention arena shortly before the speeches of Haley and some of his other former rivals, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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