Only Nikki Haley remains. Of all the Republican rivals who dared to challenge Donald Trump in the primaries, the former UN ambassador is the only one who hasn't thrown in the towel. The former president hopes he will do so soon. He already sees himself as the winner of the nomination for the presidential election in November against Joe Biden, especially after the capitulation of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump wants to repeat a clear victory in the New Hampshire primaries this Tuesday, like the one he won in the Iowa primaries last week. “This should clear everything up,” he said this Sunday at a rally in Rochester, a city with about 34,000 residents.
Trump supporters gathered in droves outside the Rochester Opera House. Some, like Edmond Poulin and Lisa Perkins, entertained the 8-below wait by criticizing Biden (“the country is gone”), defending Trump's return (“fixing the border and the economy”) and arguing who I am be Join him as a candidate for vice president. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and investor Vivek Ramaswamy were his favorites.
There was a stand there with paraphernalia such as hats, sweatshirts and other Trump items, as well as some Nikki Haley supporters. Suddenly, Dean Phillips, the Democratic congressman challenging Joe Biden in the primary and who had also hosted a modest campaign rally in Rochester, dropped by. The Lincoln Project activists, anti-Trump Republicans, projected from a van onto a giant screen the video “And God Created a Dictator,” with images of Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein Kim Jong-un and Trump, his response to ” And God Created to Trump,” which portrays the former president as a messiah.
Most people who braved the snow and cold in Rochester had to stay on the streets due to lack of space. Other Democratic and Republican candidates who won the nomination attended the same charming 1908 theater with capacity for about 800 people, including Bill Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. Donald Trump expects he and his supporters to join this list. Like Edmond and Lisa, Trump rallies attendees have sung chants with the initials “VP” and “Vice President” not only for Ramaswamy and Taylor Greene, but also for Senator Tim Scott and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik.
Trump is letting himself be loved right now without revealing who his number two might be. He all but wrote Haley off, insisting she wasn't “presidential material.” “The person I think I like is a very good person, completely normal. “I think people won’t be too surprised,” is almost the only hint he gave in a recent interview on Fox News. At times he seemed to indicate that he preferred a woman.
First he wants to knock out Haley. The latest New Hampshire primary polls confirm that the former president is the clear favorite this Tuesday. The Washington Post and Monmouth University gave Trump a vote intention rating of 52%, compared to 34% for Haley. In the days before DeSantis withdrew, the Florida governor, who had sought the vote for Trump, got 8%. The report from Suffolk University, NBC and the Boston Globe, updated this Monday after DeSantis' withdrawal, puts the lead at 19 points: 57% to 38%.
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38% might sound hopeful for Nikki Haley, but if she can't beat Trump in New Hampshire, where will she beat him? In this state, she enjoys the support of Governor Chris Sununu, who is very popular with voters and has campaigned tirelessly on her behalf. In addition, election rules here allow not only those registered in that party, but also independent, unaffiliated voters to participate in Republican primaries, giving them some advantage. In fact, the state is expected to see a high turnout of 1.4 million voters, nearly 40% of whom are independent. Those who cannot vote in the Republican primary, despite the false news Trump has spread about it, are those who are registered Democrats. It's worth it for Haley to have overtaken DeSantis to her second-place finish, but now she's second in a two-way competition. This Tuesday's primary is a last chance of sorts for them, but a 15- or 20-point loss leaves them without much hope.
At his rally in Rochester, Trump thanked DeSantis for his resignation and support. The former president was generous to him: as a reward for his humiliating surrender, he pardoned him by “officially,” as he said, revoking the nickname Ron DeSanctimonious, which he used to describe him as a prude. If anything, Trump spent less time thanking DeSantis than attacking Nikki Haley.
Then he returned to his usual argument at rallies. Trump is like a rock star giving a concert. Listening to some of his speeches may seem monotonous, but in reality his performances are a spectacle and he sings his greatest hits, just as a musician performs his most famous songs at every performance. In Trump's case, this includes presenting himself as a martyr to an allegedly politicized justice system in order to make money from his four indictments for 91 alleged crimes. Also, insist on false reports about the 2020 election, attack Biden as “the worst president in history,” attack the media, and promise without explaining how he will end inflation and war in Ukraine.
Closure of campaigns
This Monday, at the final rally of the campaign, Trump showed support for some of the Republican primary candidates who had withdrawn. Investor Vivek Ramaswamy took part alongside him at an event in the town of Laconia with around 17,000 residents; South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum have all withdrawn from the nomination race.
Trump repeated his messages from the day before in Rochester (including other of his classics like “This country is going to hell”), thanked Ron DeSantis again for his retirement and urged voters to mobilize en masse. “Tomorrow is the day each and every one of you will cast the most important vote of your life. It is a very, very important vote. When you enter the voting booth, you will signal that we want to throw out the corrupt Joe Biden, the worst president in our country's history, and his radical left-wing lunatics,” he said. “We will take control of the beautiful White House and run the country the way it should be run.” “We will win New Hampshire and then defeat the corrupt Joe Biden and make America great again,” he continued.
He also referred to the primary race: “We started with 13. And now there are only two left. And I think one person will probably leave tomorrow [en referencia a Nikki Haley]. And the other will leave in November [en referencia a Joe Biden]. But now it's time for the Republican Party to come together. We have to unite,” he said before introducing his guests who had paid homage to him. Due to the protests of some climate activists who were among the participants, there were several interruptions.
Haley's closure
Haley is generous at events across the state. While Trump attended a (later suspended) hearing on writer E. Jean Carroll's libel lawsuit in New York this Monday, the candidate campaigned at a veterans facility in Franklin. “The United States does not conduct coronations,” he claimed. “We believe in elections. We believe in democracy and freedom. I said I love the Live Free or Die status [el lema de New Hampshire], But, you know what? “I want it to be a country where it’s a matter of life and death,” he said. “Let’s show the entire media class and the political class that we have a different plan in mind and let’s show the country what we can do.”
He then held his final campaign rally in Salem, a city of about 30,000 people. It was presented again with enthusiasm by Governor Chris Sununu. And then she repeated her campaign messages to about 750 people. He thanked retired Gen. Don Bolduc, who sat in the front row, for his support. Bolduc ran for the Senate in November 2022, but lost, partly because he was considered too extremist. Curiously, Haley has made electability a focus of her campaign against Trump: “Don't complain about what happens in November if you don't vote tomorrow,” she told attendees at the event at a shopping complex hotel. His thesis is that Trump is rejected by moderate voters and that this has led to Republican defeats in 2018, 2020 and 2022.
Haley also accused Trump of lying about her: “I saw the ads you saw. And I saw the emails you received. And I want to tell you that every one of these Donald Trump ads is a lie. Check it out,” he stressed, before giving some examples. “If Trump has to lie to win, he doesn’t deserve to win,” he concluded.
During the event, one of those present called out to her: “Nikki, will you marry me?” to which she replied: “Will you vote for me?” There was great disappointment and booing when the author of the proposal turned out to be a Trump voter explained.
Newsmax broadcast a taped interview with Trump on Monday in which they asked him if Haley should withdraw if she was defeated in New Hampshire: “I'm not asking people to leave, they're leaving of their own free will.” , he said. “Maybe I should do that,” he added.
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