Donald Trump was in a hurry to set up a duel with Joe Biden and inflicted a bitter defeat on his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, on Saturday, February 24, during the South Carolina primary.
The setback is all the more cruel for the 50-year-old, who represents a more moderate wing of the Republican Party, because it comes in the state of which she was governor for six years. However, she refused to throw in the towel.
In a sign that the ex-president no longer even sees Ms. Haley as a threat, Donald Trump has targeted the current master of the White House in his first victorious statements. “Joe [Biden], you're fired ! », He started from Columbia, the state capital, using his favorite slogan from the reality TV era. Before him was a gathering of his supporters who erupted in cheers and applause.
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As in the three previous elections in which the Republican candidate was nominated for the presidential election in November, the former American president was merciless.
On Saturday, the American media predicted Donald Trump's victory just seconds after the polls closed. With more than 85% of the ballots counted, the former real estate mogul was clearly ahead with around 60% of the votes.
“Every day we face the threat that Donald Trump poses to our future,” Joe Biden warned in response to the results. Despite his legal problems, some of which put him at risk of imprisonment, the stormy septuagenarian is, according to all polls, the right-wing candidate's most popular candidate.
Nikki Haley promises not to give up
The result of the primary is clear, David Darmofal, a political scientist at the University of South Carolina, analyzes for Agence France-Presse: “This shows that he is now the de facto Republican presidential candidate.” The speed of this result is likely to increase the pressure on Nikki Haley to withdraw from the race. »
Donald Trump is hoping to force his former ambassador to the United Nations to throw in the towel so he can focus his attacks on Democrat Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term in November.
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But Nikki Haley, 52, is holding out and refusing to give up the race for the Republican nomination for now. “I am not giving up this fight,” she told her supporters during a meeting in Charleston, pledging to continue “fighting for America.”
The plea of this woman, the only one in the race among Republicans, is simple: “We will not survive four more years of Trump's chaos.” » Nikki Haley took advantage of her rival's new controversial statements and sharply criticized him on Saturday. He remained bogged down in the cases and suggested that his charges made him a sympathetic candidate in the eyes of black voters.
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“This is the chaos that accompanies Donald Trump, and these types of offensive comments will continue every day until the election,” Nikki Haley said. Donald Trump's team brushed aside his argument. For his part, Joe Biden condemned these “shameful and racist comments” in a press release.
Donald Trump will be tried again on March 25th
After Saturday, the two rivals will face each other on Tuesday in Michigan. Republicans from Idaho, Missouri and North Dakota will then take turns voting, a well-orchestrated ballet that will lead the candidates to one of the biggest political events of the year, Super Tuesday. On March 5, around fifteen states, including Texas, California, Colorado and Virginia, will simultaneously organize their elections on an important election day.
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The primaries could theoretically last until July. But according to the polls, Nikki Haley is not the favorite in any of these states and the Trump team is already predicting a victory “by March 19th at the latest.” So why is she still in the running? “She is waiting to see whether Trump is thrown out of the game by a court decision or a health problem,” explains political scientist Larry Sabato.
The first criminal trial against Donald Trump is scheduled to begin on March 25th.