Haley vows to stay in race ahead of South Carolina speech
Nikki Haley has told the Associated Press she has no plans to exit the presidential race, and cast doubt on Donald Trumpâs ability to win the general election.
âWhat is the rush? Why is everybody so panicked about me having to get out of this race?â the former South Carolina governor told the AP in an interview ahead of her 12pm speech. âThatâs about the most ridiculous thing Iâve ever heard. If I get out of the race today, it will be the longest general election in history.â
The AP reports that he campaign wonât say if there is a state where they think Haley can beat Trump. In her interview, Haley cited Trumpâs legal troubles to warn he may not be able to beat Joe Biden.
âInstead of asking me what states Iâm gonna win, why donât we ask how heâs gonna win a general election after spending a full year in a courtroom?â she said. âTen days after South Carolina, another 20 states vote. I mean, this isnât Russia. We donât want someone to go in and just get 99% of the vote.â
Key events
After explaining the reasons why they believe Nikki Haley is doomed, Donald Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles outline their plans.
Itâs a revealing look into the strategy theyâll execute as they shift into taking on Joe Biden in the general election:
Acknowledge that Nikki Haley is irrelevant and not newsworthy â and unworthy of said attention.
The Republican National Committee becomes one with the Donald J. Trump for President campaign.
Convention planning, fundraising, strategy, and state party tactics â including full coordination with the NRCC and the NRSC â begin in earnest.
The General election (even though we have always known it started months ago) begins, and the case to Fire Joe Biden is prosecuted.
Trump campaign says ‘the end is near’ for Haley
In a newly released memo, top Donald Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles argue Nikki Haley has no path to winning the Republican presidential nomination.
âWe wonât bore you with the reams of data that show an ass-kicking in the making in South Carolina, but we will show you the very serious math problem Nikki Haley has. This is the diagnosis she refuses to accept: The end is near,â they write in a memo that predicts her campaign will âendâ after South Carolinaâs primary on Saturday.
Hereâs more:
Currently, President Trump has 63 delegates. If we were overly generous and applied a âworst caseâ model reflecting Nikki Haleyâs loss in New Hampshire across the remaining states and Congressional Districts, President Trump would earn 114 Delegates the week following the South Carolina Primary. On Super Tuesday, under this very favorable model for Nikki, President Trump would win 773 Delegates. President Trump would win an additional 162 Delegates the following two weeks, after Super Tuesday. And, on March 19, under this most-generous model for Nikki, President Trump would win the Republican nomination for President.
Now, if we ignore this model and follow what the current data â both public and private â suggests, President Trump will win the Republican nomination one week earlier, on March 12, with 1,223 Delegates. Which is all to say, before March Madness tips off next month, President Trump will be the Republican nominee for President.
Donald Trump may not have to worry too much about winning the Republican presidential nomination, but heâs still entangled in several legal matters, both criminal and civil. The Guardianâs Hugo Lowell reports that a judgeâs decision last week set the stage for his first criminal trial to begin in a matter of weeks:
Donald Trumpâs legal calendar is coming into sharper relief after a New York judge affirmed last week that the ex-presidentâs first criminal trial â on charges that he manipulated the 2016 election by concealing hush-money payments to an adult film star â will proceed to trial in Manhattan next month.
A federal case in Washington over the former presidentâs alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election had been expected to go first. But when Trump filed appeals on grounds of presidential immunity last year, the presiding US district judge, Tanya Chutkan, was forced to put the case on hold.
Judge Juan Merchan on Thursday scheduled Trumpâs hush money trial to start on 25 March in Manhattan and last roughly six weeks. Allowing a week for jury selection and deliberation could mean a verdict might arrive around mid-May.
That is the straightforward part.
Donald Trumpâs campaign is keeping up its attacks on Nikki Haley, and insisting she has no path to the nomination.
Hereâs the message being pushed by campaign adviser Jason Miller:
Nikki Haley cannot win a single state and has no pathway to victory.
Haley should do the right thing today and drop out and unite behind President Trump to defeat Joe Biden.
This is Haleyâs moment of choosing. Salvage her political career (whatâs left of it) with an eye towardâ¦
— Jason Miller (@JasonMillerinDC) February 20, 2024
Haley does not plan to drop out â report
When she speaks at 12pm today, Nikki Haley will âaddress the state of the presidential raceâ, according to her campaign. Such language is often used before a candidate pulls the plug on their run for office, but NBC News reports that the former South Carolina governor is not doing that today:
Haleyâs been clear: sheâs staying in the race thru Super Tuesday. Iâm told this isnât a drop out, as some speculating may jump to, but rather another instance of defying calls to drop out and giving her sense of where the race stands as well as her place in it. https://t.co/pLqGB51fwc
— Ali Vitali (@alivitali) February 20, 2024
Itâs unclear where Haley is hoping to catch up to Donald Trumpâs lead in delegates. Sheâs trailing the former president in most state-level polls, including of the 15 states voting in the 5 March Super Tuesday primary, which could decide the Republican nominee.
Haley to address presidential race ahead of crucial South Carolina primary
Good morning, US politics blog readers. Today at noon eastern time, weâre going to hear from Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who is the last major challenger remaining to Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination. Her speech in Greenville, South Carolina, comes before the stateâs Republican primary on Saturday, which is viewed as crucial for Haley to win, or at least come close to winning, in order to continue her campaign. Yet polls generally show Trump with an overwhelming advantage in the Palmetto state, meaning Haley supporters may be in for more disappointment.
Trump is meanwhile busy convincing people that his nomination is inevitable. Politico reports that today his campaign will release a memo arguing that the former president will have an insurmountable lead in Republican delegates by the middle of March. Weâll let you know what Haley has to say about all that when she speaks at 12pm.
Hereâs what else is going on today:
-
Joe Biden is flying to Los Angeles, where heâll participate in an evening campaign reception.
-
Congress has been deadlocked for weeks over passing legislation to approve military aid to Israel and Ukraine, and potentially tighten border policy, but perhaps thereâll be some news in the negotiations today.
-
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will take reportersâ questions sometime after 1pm.