Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Trump supporters claim his double-digit New Hampshire win means Haley White House bid is doomed

Trump supporters react badly to the former UN ambassador staying in the race

Amelia Neath
Wednesday 24 January 2024 10:02 EST
Comments
Trump threatens 'investigations' into Haley if she does not drop out

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Donald Trump won New Hampshire Republican primary contest against Nikki Haley – but Ms Haley has vowed to stay in the race.

“This race is far from over,” she told her supporters while in Concord, New Hampshire, after losing to Mr Trump, while his victory speech was filled with bashings directed at his opponent and criticised her for giving a speech “like she won.”

But many of Mr Trump’s supporters are not convinced that Ms Haley’s White House bid will stand the test of time.

Taylor Budowich, the CEO of Make America Great Again Inc, said in a statement that Ms Haley should finish up her campaign so supporters can focus on Republican party success in the election.

“Nikki Haley said she’s running to stop the re-election of Harris-Biden. Yet, without a viable path to victory, every day she stays in this race is another day she delivers to the Harris-Biden campaign,” Mr Budowich said.

“It’s time for unity; it’s time to take the fight to the Democrats and for Nikki Haley: it’s time to drop out,” he said.

This echoes the words of senators Marco Rubio and John Cornyn, who both posted on X that Mr Trump is the clear candidate winner, with Mr Cornyn saying the focus needs to shift towards beating Joe Biden.

“I have seen enough. To beat Biden, Republicans need to unite around a single candidate, and it’s clear that President Trump is Republican voters’ choice,” Mr Cornyn wrote, adding that he would continue to work to win a Republican Senate majority and to elect Mr Trump.

“This race is far from over” Nikki Haley said after New Hampshire loss
“This race is far from over” Nikki Haley said after New Hampshire loss (AFP via Getty Images)

A Trump campaign official told NBC that Ms Haley would face more “aggressiveness” from her opponent in the wake of the New Hampshire primary, focusing on her record as South Carolina governor.

Similarly, Congresswoman and Trump loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene said to CBC News that it could damage Ms Haley’s career going further.

“It’s over and she’s going to destroy any future political career that she wants to have. If she keeps it going and acts like such a fool and she’s unwilling to listen to Republican voters, she’s going to look really bad. Not very bright,” she said to the outlet.

Mr Trump’s Iowa victory saw entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy suspend his bid for the presidential nomination, leading to Mr Ramaswamy shifting his focus and support to the former president.

Mr Ramaswamy, who stood beside the New Hampshire double-digit winner on stage after his victory, also took to X to criticise into Ms Haley’s decision to carry on in the race.

“The fact that Nikki is pressing ahead exposes the ugly underbelly of this race: there’s no way she can defeat Trump through the front door, so her donor puppet masters are propping her up long enough while plotting to eliminate Trump from the ballot. It’s ugly. But it’s the TRUTH,” he claimed in his post.

Mr Trump is the current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican candidate, and gained more than half of the votes in New Hampshire, according to early polling data.

Yet, Ms Haley, despite backlash from her opponent, is carrying on, citing that there are dozens of states left to go, including South Carolina, where she spent eight years as governor.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in