Judge Judy Sheindlin has rendered her verdict on the 2024 presidential contest — and she finds in favor of Nikki Haley.
The celebrity judge lavished praise on Haley’s intelligence and performance as both governor of South Carolina and US ambassador to the United Nations in a statement announcing her support ahead of next week’s Iowa caucus.
“I’m proud to endorse Nikki Haley because she is whip-smart, has executive credentials and was a superb governor,” said Sheindlin, 81.
“She has international gravitas as ambassador to the United Nations. She is principled, measured, and has that elusive quality of real common sense. I truly think she can restore America and believe she is the future of this great nation.”
Sheindlin will hope her endorsement works out better this time than it did during the 2020 election cycle, when she backed former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who famously shelled out hundreds of millions of dollars to receive a handful of Democratic delegates.
“Judge Judy is a no-nonsense lady who has earned the respect of millions of Americans from her courtroom by being thoughtful, fair, and honest. I’m honored to have her support,” said Haley, 51.
Sheindlin, a former prosecutor and Manhattan family court judge, signed off from her eponymous syndicated show in 2021 after 25 years on the air. Later that year, she began a spinoff show, “Judy Justice,” that streams on Amazon Freevee.
During the 2016 election cycle, Sheindlin publicly suggested that then-candidate Donald Trump should “temper some of that rhetoric” and that he may have borrowed from her style.
Trump is the odds-on favorite to win the 2024 GOP nod, but Haley has experienced a sharp uptick in the polls over recent weeks.
Most surveys show her neck and neck with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, both nationally and in Iowa, per the RealClearPolitics aggregate.
Haley and DeSantis are poised to tangle again Wednesday night at a Des Moines debate hosted by CNN, while Trump will hold a town hall with Fox News simultaneously.
After Iowa, the 2024 campaign shifts to New Hampshire, where voters will cast ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary Jan. 23.
