It’s my prayer that on this Thanksgiving we begin to heal our divisions and move forward as one country strengthened by shared purpose and very, very common resolve.”

Mr Trump picked South Carolina governor Nikki Haley to serve as US ambassador to the United Nations, and charter school advocate Betsy DeVos to lead the department of education. “We must resist that temptation.”

Ms Haley also criticised Mr Trump for not releasing his tax returns, prompting the New York real estate mogul to hit back on Twitter: “The people of South Carolina are embarrassed of Nikki Haley!”

In the early days of the primary contest to pick this year’s Republican presidential nominee, Ms Haley was mentioned as a possible vice-presidential pick. In his recent interview with The New York Times, Mr Trump completed a series of policy “flip-flops” that give hope to those who believe that he might yet prove a more pragmatic and sensible statesman than seemed possible only a few weeks ago.
President-elect Donald Trump names South Carolina governor Nikki Haley as United States Ambassador to the United Nations.