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Test before the US primary election in South Carolina: Nikki Haley wants to win against Donald Trump. But the ex-president is in the lead – and shoots against his competitor.
Update from February 25th, 5:59 a.m: It is his fourth victory in a row: Former US President Donald Trump also won the primary election for the Republican presidential nomination in the state of South Carolina. The 77-year-old has already emerged victorious in the previous primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
Trump’s rival Nikki Haley, who was once governor of the conservative state in the southeast of the USA, suffered a defeat in South Carolina as expected. Despite the negligible chances of beating Trump in the end, the 52-year-old did not drop out of the race
Update from February 24th, 11 p.m.: The US Republicans continued the primaries to choose their presidential candidate in the state of South Carolina on Saturday. The clear favorite here is former President Donald Trump, who has already won the previous primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada and has left his rival Nikki Haley far behind.
Haley was also far behind in the polls in her home state of South Carolina, even though she was governor there from 2011 to 2017. Voting began at 7 a.m. local time (1 p.m. CET). The first results are expected around 1 a.m. (CET).
Trump was confident of victory on the eve of the election. “Tomorrow you’re going to cast one of the most important votes of your life, and frankly we’re not too worried about tomorrow,” he said at a campaign event in the town of Rock Hill.
Haley to the Democrats? Before the South Carolina primary, Trump launches an attack
First report from February 24th: Columbia – Nikki Haley is in a difficult situation these days: Having been left behind in the race for the role of the Republicans’ top candidate in the 2024 US election, Donald Trump’s competitor wants to turn the tide in the US primaries in her home state of South Carolina. But it’s not just her own popularity that stands in her way, but also the former US President. Shortly before the election date, he attacks Haley and makes a crude suggestion.
“You know, Haley is supported and funded by the Democrats,” Trump said during a rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, adding that his Republican presidential rival is “switching” to the Democratic Party €œ should. “The Republicans don’t support them, they don’t like them and they don’t like their policies. “She’s essentially a Democrat,” the former US president added. “I think she should probably change parties.”
After Donald Trump’s victories in the US primaries in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, Haley will have another duel with the ex-president on Saturday, February 24th for her party’s nomination for the 2024 US election On the 5th of November. For the Republicans, South Carolina is the first southern state in line. Compared to previous votes, Haley is not quite as far behind – nationally, polls currently separate her from Trump by around 60 percentage points German press agency reported. Observers are currently assuming that Trump’s competitor can hardly hope for success in South Carolina – the polls are clearly against her.
US primary election in South Carolina: Trump leads against Haley – ex-president has a “cult following”.
Before the US primary election in South Carolina, it is clear to many: In addition to Donald Trump, there is little room for an applicant like Nikki Haley, who is considered to be politically moderate and rhetorically much more moderate. However, a true “cult community” has formed around the former US president, who recently attracted attention because of NATO statements or questionable comparisons with Alexei Navalny, which is made up of right-wing nationalists, among others. Trump was able to achieve success in the election campaign on issues such as the US economy and security at the border.
Haley sometimes addresses similar topics at campaign events – but remains less blustering than Donald Trump. Added to this: a concern for decency and the social structure.
Haley wants to win in South Carolina primary: Trump questions Democratic donations
Donald Trump’s latest statements about his competitor Nikki Haley, just one day before the US primary election in South Carolina, could be an attempt to further damage the ailing Republican and expand his own lead in favor of voters. How Newsweek writes, the former US President takes advantage of the fact that Haley’s supporters do not exclusively come from the Republican camp. A Politicoreport revealed that Haley’s campaign also received donations from groups that supported Joe Biden in the last US election.
“Nikki Haley relies on Democrats and liberals… ​​crazy. They call it the crazy world of politics,” Donald Trump rumbled at the rally. The fact that Trump himself did not identify entirely as a Republican in the past has not been forgotten by the competition. Newsweek writes that Trump’s own political loyalties fluctuated between both camps before he launched his first presidential campaign in 2016. Trump was even a registered Democrat for several years. “In many cases I probably identify more as a Democrat,” Trump said in a 2004 interview with Wolf Blitzer of CNN. “It just seems that the economy is doing better under Democrats than under Republicans.â€
Last chance before Super Tuesday: Haley’s success in the US primary election in South Carolina is of great importance
The US Republican primary in South Carolina is Haley’s last chance to achieve victory against Donald Trump before Super Tuesday on March 5th. It is possible that her election campaign could be coming to an end on Saturday. “If it falls below 40 percent, I don’t see any real reason to continue other than to wait and hope that Trump’s legal troubles overtake him,” Danielle Vinson, a professor at Furman University, said Newsweek.
Trump’s competitor continued to be combative in the week before the election in South Carolina. She is “a long way from giving up,” said Haley in a speech in her home state on Tuesday. “Getting out would be the easy way. I never took the easy way out. In every race I’ve ever won, I’ve been the underdog.†While she has always lost to Donald Trump in the previous Republican primaries, Haley tries to put the results into perspective. “Only three states voted, three,†she said at the event. “The presidential primaries have only just begun.” (fbu/dpa)