During her campaign for president just over a week ago, Republican Nikki Haley said that, if she won, she would pardon former president Trump because it is "in the best interest of the country."

The Hill cited an NBC News footage showing Haley telling the crowd, "I would pardon Trump," during a campaign rally.

Haley stressed that a leader should think about the country's best interests in dealing with the case of the former president's culpability.

“If he is found guilty, a leader needs to think about what’s in the best interest of the country,” Haley said.

“What’s in the best interest of the country is not to have an 80-year-old man sitting in jail, that continues to divide our country. What’s in the best interest of the country would be to pardon him, so that we can move on as a country and no longer talk about him,” she added.

In her most recent address, Haley reiterated her previous statements that she would be "inclined" to pardon Trump—the top Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential nomination—if the former president were to be found guilty of a crime while she was in government.

Even while Haley's support has grown, former president Trump continues to lead Republican candidates by over 50 points.

Trump gets 63.1% support, Haley 10.8%, and Florida governor Ron DeSantis 10.6%, according to the countrywide polling average of GOP primary polls released by Decision Desk HQ/The Hill.

Trump is facing a grand total of 91 counts in four distinct criminal prosecutions. Special counsel Jack Smith indicted Trump twice in federal court.

One claims that Trump sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The second claims that Trump knowingly kept classified information at his residence after he left office.

In a New York case with hush money payments to an adult film star, he is facing further charges on top of the 2020 election-related accusations in Georgia.

Axios reported that Republican presidential contender Chris Christie, a former governor of New Jersey, scolded Haley on Friday for uttering the remarks prior to the commencement of the trial over the possible effect of Trump on the election.

Christie largely went after Haley during Wednesday's campaign rally for failing to say that slavery caused the Civil War, an accusation he has leveled against her on numerous occasions in the previous few days.

"Well, what that should tell the American people is that she believes in two systems of justice: one for all of us and one for the most powerful," Christie stated.

After Haley did not explicitly exclude the possibility of a position in a Trump administration, Christie criticized her on Thursday. When asked about her stance, Christie called it "insulting."