From Le Figaro with AFP
Published 1 hour ago, updated 25 minutes ago
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The day after Super Tuesday, the former US ambassador to the United Nations was scheduled to officially end her campaign this afternoon.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley is preparing to end her campaign for the Republican nomination, leaving former President Donald Trump alone in the race for November's presidential election, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday and CNN. According to the major American business newspaper, she is expected to announce her decision at around 4pm GMT on Wednesday in a speech in Charleston (southeast), the capital of the state of South Carolina, of which she was governor.
Former President Trump (2017-2021), candidate in the November elections, won in almost all of the states – 14 out of 15 – that were at stake on the big election day on Tuesday. These include California, North Carolina, Texas and Alaska. Surrounded by his supporters gathered at his luxurious Florida residence, Donald Trump hailed “a wonderful evening, an incredible day.” He didn't mention Nikki Haley once and dedicated all of his attacks to her likely presidential rival, Joe Biden. However, the 50-year-old denied 77-year-old Donald Trump a grand slam by winning Vermont, a sparsely populated state on the border with Canada.
“Donald Trump is determined to destroy our democracy”
On the Democratic side, 81-year-old President Biden is seeking a second term in office and is facing no serious opposition. Unsurprisingly, he won Tuesday in every state his party had at stake and suffered an anecdotal defeat to a famous unknown in American Samoa, a Pacific territory. Joe Biden was also already on the way to his expected duel with Donald Trump, asserting that his rival is “determined to destroy our democracy” and accusing him of “focusing on his own revenge and revenge, not the American one People”.
The 2020 rematch, which polls show Americans are not excited about, is almost confirmed, even if the Republican race is not officially over yet. Since January 15, Donald Trump has won almost every primary election organized by his party, despite his legal problems. Nikki Haley presented herself as a candidate who could restore “normalcy” in the face of “Trump’s chaos.” But most Republican voters are deaf to his appeal. In a statement, his campaign said there were still “a large number of Republican voters who express deep concerns about Donald Trump.”
Read also: Joe Biden vs Donald Trump: the crazy campaign that is already exhausting the United States
The last person to “run in the Republican primary”
At the party organized at Donald Trump's home in Florida, there was no doubt about his ultimate victory. In the Mar-a-Lago Ballroom, beneath giant chandeliers and gold ornaments, many guests proudly displayed their red caps that read “Make America Great Again.” “President Trump will be the last man standing in the Republican primary,” said Kenny Nail, the head of a local Republican Party chapter.
Donald Trump wants to be able to concentrate on his duel with President Biden as quickly as possible before he gets dragged into his legal sessions. His first criminal trial begins March 25 in New York. Donald Trump claims to be “much more popular” because he has been criminally charged four times, but many polls show that support for his candidacy would drop significantly if he were convicted in any of these criminal cases.
Joe Biden, who is doing poorly in the polls, will defend his record and lay out his vision for America in the traditional State of the Union address to Congress on Thursday. The outgoing president must “use this last opportunity to address millions of Americans and explain to them the contrast between his vision and life under Donald Trump,” said political scientist Wendy Schiller.