On Saturday, Nikki Haley is going to get destroyed by Donald Trump. It wouldn’t shock me if she loses by 40 points or more, and the people of South Carolina have not soured on her—they just don’t want her to be president. Backward reels the mind to what former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) said on the night of the New Hampshire primary: South Carolinians like Haley and Tim Scott, with the latter being the most popular state politician, but they don’t want either to be the nominee if Trump is on the ballot. Ergo, why is Nikki remaining in the race? Gowdy said this knowing that New Hampshire was probably the last real stand she had to upset the Trump train. It didn’t happen.
Haley suffered an enormous body blow in Nevada, where she participated in the primary, which the state party warned would award zero delegates no matter what. She couldn’t win that useless contest, even if Trump weren’t on the ballot. Scores of Republicans voted “none of these candidates,” which was the “winner” for the GOP primary. Trump would later clinch all the state’s delegates a couple of days later in the caucus with 99 percent of the vote.
In every Super Tuesday contest, Trump is ahead of Haley by double-digits in most states. This primary is over. What’s annoying about Haley is that maybe most voters don’t want a Trump-Biden rematch, but they don’t like to see her taking the stage. In the Republican Party, the mood is decidedly Trump. As it was in 2016, some people cannot accept the will of the voters. Given Trump's legal baggage, I sometimes had my hesitations, but votes have been cast. The base wants Donald again. Nikki has had enough runway and opportunities to depart from this race. She has refused, and Trump told Fox News last night why he thinks this woman hangs around, which is to help Democrats:
President Trump explains why Nikki Haley isn't dropping out:
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) February 21, 2024
"They're trying to hurt me for the general election so the Democrats are giving her money and she's playing into the game."pic.twitter.com/fzfZnmxNYP
The former president’s campaign also issued a brutal campaign memo from Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles that summed up what everyone has been feeling about her continued presence in the race: she’s irrelevant, she’s been outworked, and an “ass-kicking” is in the making in the Palmetto State:
In Iowa, President Donald Trump outworked, out-organized, and outperformed his opponents by all-time record numbers.
In New Hampshire, despite record turnout and Democrats driven to the polls by Team Nikki, President Donald Trump not only won with double digits, he also received more votes than any candidate running in a primary in New Hampshire history.
In Nevada, Nikki Haley humiliatingly lost to “NONE OF THE ABOVE” in the state’s primary by better than a two-to-one margin – and President Donald Trump received more than twice as many votes in a party Caucus (and won with 99.1% of the vote) despite the state mailing primary ballots to every voter in the state!
This is called political intensity — President Trump has it, and most assuredly, Nikki Haley does not.
[…]
We won’t bore you with the reams of data that show an ass-kicking in the making in South Carolina, but we will show you the very serious math problem Nikki Haley has. This is the diagnosis she refuses to accept: The end is near.
Currently, President Trump has 63 delegates. If we were overly generous and applied a “worst case” model reflecting Nikki Haley's loss in New Hampshire across the remaining states and Congressional Districts, President Trump would earn 114 Delegates the week following the South Carolina Primary. On Super Tuesday, under this very favorable model for Nikki, President Trump would win 773 Delegates. President Trump would win an additional 162 Delegates the following two weeks, after Super Tuesday. And, on March 19, under this most-generous model for Nikki, President Trump would win the Republican nomination for President.
[…]
The true “State” of Nikki Haley’s campaign?
Broken down, out of ideas, out of gas, and completely outperformed by every measure, by Donald Trump.
The general election starts now. Another chapter at the end of this sad political saga regarding Nikki would be her insinuation that the Nevada primary was rigged. The contest wasn’t rigged. You picked the wrong contest to participate in and still lost to ‘no one,’ which garnered 63 percent of the vote to your 30 percent, Nikki. Republicans literally drove to the polls to vote for no one over you. And now you’re going to have your final moments in public life end with a blowout loss in your home state.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member