Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley finally ended her campaign on Wednesday after a crushing Super Tuesday defeat.
Speaking in Charleston, South Carolina, Haley addressed supporters, saying “I am filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country, but the time has now come to suspend my campaign.”
She offered no endorsement of Donald Trump. But in a conciliatory gesture, she did offer congratulations and well wishes, saying that “Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.”
On Super Tuesday, Donald Trump carried every state except Vermont, which Haley won narrowly. However, the suspension of her campaign comes as no surprise, as the gap in delegates between her and Trump is enormous. If anything, continuing her campaign up until this point seemed perhaps more a show of pride than realistic hope.
At last, the Trump campaign can now fully focus on the Democratic opponent, which is presumed to be incumbent Joe Biden.
In response to Haley’s announcement, Trump reacted by inviting her supporters to “join the greatest movement in the history of our nation” and bolster his campaign to retake the White House.
On his own social media platform, Truth Social, he posted saying, “Much of her money came from Radical Left Democrats, as did many of her voters, almost 50% according to the polls.” In truth, exit polling has confirmed that many of Haley’s voters are indeed either Democrats or so-called Republicans who vote Democrat.
See Ya Later, Nikki!@GovMikeHuckabee says he’s not surprised Nikki Haley dropped out of the GOP presidential primary—he's surprised she ever got in: “If you look at where her support came from, it didn’t come from what I would call really conservative Republicans. It came from… pic.twitter.com/akquxYXF3C
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) March 6, 2024
It comes as no surprise then that Joe Biden also invited Haley’s supporters to join his campaign instead of supporting Donald Trump.
The 2024 presidential election has been framed as a rematch between Biden and Trump after the controversial electoral upset in 2020. Although some have described it as an unexciting contest between two elderly men, the stakes are high. The vision of the Democrats and the establishment that supports him versus that of Donald Trump could not be more stark.
And although naysayers like to be critical of the candidates’ ages, it is clear to all that while Biden is in steep cognitive decline, at least Donald Trump still has wits about him and the energy to hold multiple rallies attended by thousands.
But what is perhaps most important to voters is that Trump is uniquely qualified to attack the government establishment. This isn’t just because of his political positions. It is because, for him, it’s personal.
In the years since he stepped down from the presidency, Trump and his family have faced unprecedented legal threats and attacks from political enemies. If Trump wanted to dismantle entrenched power in government in 2016, he has even more reason to do so now, and the anger to propel him forward.
With Trump as the de facto Republican nominee, it is full speed ahead to election day.
