Donald Trump was warned that his numbers in South Carolina were “catastrophic” after 40 percent of voters chose to vote against him.
The former president defeated Nikki Haley 60-40 in the Republican primary on Saturday, handing the former South Carolina governor a humiliating defeat in her home state.
Trump has won every contest so far, winning Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, and could be crowned as early as March 12 if the results continue to go his way.
But one in five Republican primary voters say they won't vote for him in November, according to polls, enough to hand the race to Joe Biden, who clearly won the Democratic primary on Saturday.
“These numbers are disastrous for Donald Trump,” Lawrence O'Donnell said on MSNBC as the results were announced.
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell warned that the numbers behind Trump's triumph in South Carolina do not show him a path to the White House
The former president did not mention Nikki Haley by name in his victory speech in South Carolina as he turned his attention to the November general election
Haley insisted she will remain in the race because more than 700 delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday, March 5, when 15 states and one territory will cast their votes
“That’s why I mentioned the big forgotten number from South Carolina, which is that Joe Biden gets 96%, okay?
“That’s what you’re supposed to get, clearly, and Donald Trump won’t come close.”
“He'll leave that on the table, it belongs to another candidate.” All you need is 5% of the 30%. “We’re talking about a splinter.”
The former president said he had “never seen the Republican Party as united as it is now” as he held a victory rally in a Colombian hotel ballroom on Saturday evening.
“I just wish we could do it faster.”
It has been more than 50 years since a Republican presidential candidate secured the GOP nomination without winning his home state.
But Haley insisted she was in it for the long haul, telling her supporters: “I know 40% is not 50%, but I also know 40% is not a small group.”
“There are large numbers of voters in our Republican primaries who say they want an alternative.”
Sixty percent of voters in the South Carolina primary identify as white evangelicals or born-again Christians, and Trump won three-quarters of their votes.
The average age of voters was higher than in any previous election in the state, and three-quarters of those without a college degree voted for Trump.
However, a Bloomberg poll late last month found that a majority of voters in key swing states would not vote for the ex-president if he were convicted of any of the 90 felonies he faces in his final term.
O'Donnell's fellow panelists agreed that the numbers looked bad, with Rachel Maddow calling it “not a good look” and Stephanie Ruhle declaring Biden the “winner of the night.”
But the liberal media has long underestimated the breadth of Trump's support, and his campaign warned against risking the same kind of complacency he displayed before Hillary Clinton lost to him in 2016.
“This will be a referendum against Joe Biden and his policies,” a Trump adviser told Mediaite.
“As long as Trump can exploit voter disillusionment with the economy, out-of-control immigration and further foreign entanglements, these are issues that affect people of all backgrounds.”
Trump now has 110 delegates to take with him to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15, when the winner is officially announced.
MSNBC's liberal election night coverage panel agreed with O'Donnell's analysis
His only remaining rival has 20 of the 1,215 needed for the nomination, but more than 700 are on the ballot on Super Tuesday, March 5, when 15 states and one territory cast their votes.
But Trump is already looking forward to November, when he insists he will win back the White House he lost in 2020.
“For hardworking Americans, November 5th will be our new Liberation Day,” he said in a speech to the conservative CPAC conference yesterday.
“But for the liars and fraudsters and fraudsters and censors and fraudsters who have taken over our government, it will be judgment day.”