Nikki Haley celebrated her 52nd birthday this Saturday with a stout and chocolate cake. In the middle of the election campaign, he asked for votes in the New Hampshire primary this Tuesday. The one who gave her the early gift was her main rival Donald Trump, who repeatedly confused her with Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives. That has led Haley to question the former president's mental ability to return to office. Haley knows it's her last chance to stop the former president and has changed her strategy.
Since her disappointment in the Iowa caucuses, the former South Carolina governor and former UN ambassador has launched an open attack on Donald Trump. Trump prevailed in Iowa, is favored again this week and appears headed for a quick victory in the Republican Party primary. Haley is desperately fighting to prevent this, but her rival's lead in the polls has widened to a record level. With the withdrawal of Ron DeSantis, who has called for the vote for the former president, it may expand even further.
The latest poll released Sunday by CNN showed Trump with a vote intention rating of 50% in New Hampshire, while Haley received 39%. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who was absent from action and threw in the towel this Sunday, had only 6%, below the minimum threshold of 10% to win delegates. Trump's advantage is also noticeable at campaign events. Most of Nikki Haley's are modest, in a restaurant, a school or a community center, without a stage set and with dozens or at most hundreds of supporters, while Trump fills sports centers and theaters with a spectacular production without letting the cold or the snow stop his followers.
Haley held a rally this Sunday at the library of the Gilbert H. Hood School in Derry, a charming town of about 34,000 residents. Wearing flared jeans and a white wool sweater, the candidate signed autographs and dedications and took photos with any supporters who asked. Previously, in her speech, she accused her rival of confusing her with Pelosi: “Trump keeps saying that I hindered security at the Capitol on January 6th.” I wasn't even near the Capitol! I had no position! He said it over and over again, but in reality he was confused. He was just as confused as he said Joe Biden would start World War II. He was just as confused as he said he was running against President Obama. It was Hillary Clinton,” Haley recited, recalling Trump’s recent mistakes.
Trump's popularity with the Republican base is such that the other primary candidates (with the exception of Chris Christie) hardly dared to criticize the former president at the start of the campaign. They even declared en masse that they were willing to support him as the nominee even if he was sentenced to prison. As they fought among themselves, Trump stood out in the race, never deigning to debate them and occasionally hurling contemptuous insults at them.
Trump and Biden, more of the same
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Now things have changed. Haley has tried to lump current President Joe Biden (81) and Donald Trump (77) together with “more of the same” and called for generational change. “When you're 80 years old, this happens. “They're not as sharp as they used to be,” he said at another event on Saturday, referring to Trump. “When you're struggling with the pressures of the presidency, we can't allow someone else to question whether they're mentally capable. “We can’t do that,” he added. “My parents are older and I love them very much. However, after a certain age there is a decline. It's a fact. Ask any doctor, there is a decline,” he continued without releasing his grip.
Haley called for older politicians to get involved in the campaign and to undergo cognitive testing. At his rally on Saturday at a sports center in Manchester, the largest city in New Hampshire, Trump asserted that he had taken a test and passed it. “I'll let you know if anything goes wrong. I really think I can tell you. I feel like my spirit is stronger now than it was 25 years ago. “Is that possible?” he added.
But Biden also took advantage of the opportunity and tweeted a message with some of Trump's blunders, paying him back in the same currency he used to attack him. “I don't agree with Nikki Haley on everything, but we agree on one thing: She is not Nancy Pelosi,” he wrote sarcastically.
Trump, meanwhile, has launched racist and sexist attacks against Nikki Haley, daughter of Indian immigrants and née Nimarata Nikki Randhawa. Despite being the son, grandson and two-time husband of immigrants, Trump has pushed his xenophobia to the forefront and spread the hoax that Haley might not be qualified to run because she is not American, a repeat of the conspiracy theory instilled in him The Republicans started against Obama on the same day. Trump has played on Haley's name, making puns apparently to call her stupid. She is often referred to as the “Knucklehead.”
“I know President Trump well,” Haley replied Saturday. “He does that when he feels threatened. “He does that when he feels insecure.” The former president appears to have broken off contact with the candidate who was speculated to be his vice-presidential candidate: “She is not a presidential candidate. “If I say that now, it probably means she won’t be elected vice president,” Trump said Friday.
The two favorites from New Hampshire attack each other from a distance, but Trump doesn't want to debate Haley and Haley doesn't just want to debate DeSantis, so the Republican primaries ended without debates. The former president has added support for candidates who have withdrawn from the race. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was the first to present it. After his failure in the Iowa caucuses, investor Vivek Ramaswamy supported him. Last Friday, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott joined in an attack on Haley. Scott was appointed senator by Haley when she was governor. The primaries in his home state will take place in February and Trump is also ahead in the polls. And the last one, Ron DeSantis, even though Trump insulted and belittled him so much.
Even Haley's victory in New Hampshire can't stop Trump in his race for the nomination, but if the polls hold and he wins by a big margin again, the game could be all but over. The area codes in this small New England state of 1.4 million people are partially open. Independent voters who are not affiliated with any party can take part. Although Haley rejects the “moderate” label, it does give her some edge. If independents mobilize against Trump, it could be seen as a rehearsal of what can happen in the November presidential election, and her electability thesis — that she would be a better rival against Biden, as she claims in some campaign ads — would be reinforced.
However, Trump doesn't see it that way. On the electronic scoreboard in the Manchester Pavilion, where he held a rally that Saturday, the score was 45-47 (the 45th president and the 47th he wants to be). At 8:24 p.m., the current year. The countdown to the announcement of the final result has begun.
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