For Nikki Haley, the setback in South Carolina during the Republican primaries, this Saturday, February 24, is all the more cruel because it takes place in the state of which she was governor for six years. But the one who embodies a more moderate wing of her party refused to throw in the towel.
A sign that Donald Trump no longer even considers Nikki Haley as a threat, the former president targeted the current master of the White House in his first victorious declarations. “Joe (Biden), you’re fired!”, he launched from Columbia, the state capital, using his favorite slogan from the days of reality TV sets. In front of him was an assembly of his supporters from whom cheers and applause erupted.
As in the four other previous elections, the aim of which is to nominate the Republican candidate for the presidential election in November, the former American president was merciless. Donald Trump’s victory was projected by the American media just a few seconds after the polling stations closed. With more than 85% of the ballots counted, the former real estate mogul was well ahead, with around 60% of the votes.
“Every day we confront the threat that Donald Trump poses to our future,” warned Joe Biden, in reaction to the results. Despite his legal troubles, some of which put him at risk of prison, the tempestuous septuagenarian is the ultra-favorite candidate of the right, according to all the polls.
“Defeat Joe the Scum”
The result of the primary is clear, analyzed for AFP David Darmofal, political scientist at the University of South Carolina. “This illustrates that he is now effectively the Republican presidential nominee. The speed of this result probably increases the pressure on her to withdraw from the race,” he deciphers. Donald Trump hopes to force his former ambassador to the UN to throw in the towel in order to be able to focus his attacks on Democrat Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term in November.
But Nikki Haley, 52, is hanging on, refusing for the moment to leave the race for the Republican nomination. “I am not giving up this fight,” she told supporters at a rally in Charleston, promising to continue “fighting for America.” The plea of this woman, the only one in the running among the Republicans, is simple: “We will not survive four more years of Trump’s chaos.”
Taking advantage of new controversial comments from her rival, Nikki Haley strongly criticized him on Saturday. Mired in cases, he suggested that his indictments made him a sympathetic candidate in the eyes of black voters. “This is the chaos that accompanies Donald Trump, and these kinds of offensive comments will continue every day until the election,” said Nikki Haley. Donald Trump’s team sweeps away its argument.
But these comments were criticized by both Democrats and Republicans, seeing very unwelcome connections between African-Americans and crime. “Donald Trump took the stage to make shameful and racist comments,” denounced Joe Biden in a press release.
Trial on March 25
The next deadline for the two rivals should therefore be next Tuesday, in Michigan. The Republicans of Idaho, Missouri and North Dakota will then vote in turn, a well-orchestrated ballet which will lead the candidates to one of the biggest political meetings of the year, Super Tuesday. On March 5, around fifteen states, including Texas, California, Colorado and Virginia, will simultaneously organize their polls during a major election day.
The primaries can in theory stretch until July. But according to the polls, Nikki Haley is not a favorite in any of her states and the Trump team is already predicting a victory “on March 19” at the latest. So why is she still in the race? “She is waiting to see if Trump is taken out of the game by a court decision or a health problem,” political scientist Larry Sabato explains to AFP. Donald Trump’s first criminal trial will begin on March 25.