Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley virtually announced that former President Donald Trump shouldn’t expect a call for unity from her should he win the Republican nomination. Haley has won one primary contest but will suffer nationwide humiliation on Super Tuesday. Not that it needs to be said but winning the DC Primary isn't some massive achievement or turning point: DC Republicans are practically Democrats.
Despite her war chests drying up as liberal donors begin to withhold checks, Ms. Haley said in a recent interview that she isn’t worried about losing. She's focused on moving forward. I used to think Joe Biden was the only person with mental health issues running this year—Haley might be joining him in that category.
It’s a window into a delusional world where Haley either thinks she can win the nomination or damage Trump. Neither of these is true since her campaign has reached such a low point that it’s practically irrelevant to the 2024 conversation. When Ron DeSantis was running, there was nasty infighting between supporters of the Florida governor and Trump. That’s more or less smoothed over since Ron had the smarts to drop out. Haley has now taken the mantle of being the most divisive figure in the GOP with these moves aimed directly at turning the base against her (via NBC News):
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley no longer feels bound by a pledge made to the Republican National Committee that she would support the GOP presidential nominee, she said in an interview that aired Sunday.
Asked by NBC News’ “Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker, “So you’re no longer bound by that pledge?” Haley responded that she was not obligated to endorse former President Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee.
“No, I think I’ll make what decision I want to make, but that’s not something I’m thinking about,” she said, noting that “if you talk about an endorsement, you’re talking about a loss. I don’t think like that.”
She added, “When you’re in a race, you don’t think about losing. You think about continuing to go forward.”
Pressed further about whether voters who will head to the polls in the GOP presidential primary on Tuesday deserve to know where she stands on endorsing Trump, Haley continued to dodge the question, saying, “When you all ask Donald Trump if he would support me, then I will talk about that. But right now, my focus is, ‘How do we touch as many voters? How do we win?’”
As I said, someone else needs a cognitive test. Donald Trump doesn’t need to be asked if he’d support her because he’s winning. If this were a neck-and-neck race, that’s a different story, but with Haley’s continued pummeling at the polls—this media game is just transparent and sad.
It’s insanity. She wants to know how she can win and how many voters she can reach through outreach operations. I’m pretty sure Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina all pointed to her ceiling, which isn’t nearly enough to overcome the former president’s dominant hold on this primary race. Could you give it up, Nikki? It’s over.
In 2016, I thought Ted Cruz had one of his worst moments going to the Republican National Convention to deliver an address where he stressed party unity but also vote your conscience. He reeked of being a sore loser, and he drew louder boos than when Hillary Clinton was mentioned that night. Cruz was a clown, but Nikki Haley might be worse.
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