Former President Trump won the Republican primary in South Carolina on Saturday, defeating former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley in her home state, cementing his path to the GOP nomination for a third consecutive time.
Trump swept every contest for Republican delegates, with his previous wins in the states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and the US Virgin Islands. His latest victory is likely to increase pressure on Haley – who was Trump's representative to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 – to leave the race.
It is becoming increasingly likely that there will be a rematch between Trump and President Biden. However, Haley pledged to remain in the campaign “until the last person votes,” arguing that those whose contests come after early primaries and caucuses deserve the right to choose between candidates. But she has been unable to dampen Trump's momentum in her state, despite organizing more campaign events and warning that the front-runner, who is 77 years old and faces four indictments, is too old and distracted to become president again.
The Associated Press declared Trump the winner as statewide polls closed at 7 p.m. EST, based on a comprehensive poll of Republican voters in South Carolina. The poll confirms the results of opinion polls that preceded Election Day, which showed that Trump is significantly ahead of Haley at the state level.
“I have never seen the Republican Party so united as it is now,” Trump said, as he took the stage to deliver his victory speech moments after the polls closed. “You can celebrate for about 15 minutes, but then we have to get back to work.”
South Carolina's first primary served as a reliable starting point for Republicans. In all but one primary since 1980, the Republican winner of the state has become the party's nominee. The only exception was Newt Gingrich in 2012.
Trump was dominant across the state, even leading in Lexington County, which Haley represented in the state legislature. Many Trump-supporting South Carolinians, even some who supported Haley during her time as governor, were not willing to give her a chance in her home state.
At Haley's headquarters on Saturday night, she took the stage in front of her supporters and said: “What I saw today is South Carolina's frustration with the direction of our country. I've seen the same frustration nationally.”
“I don’t think Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden,” Haley said, later adding: “I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I will keep running. I am a woman of my word.”
She said she plans to head to Michigan for her primary on Tuesday — the last major contest before Super Tuesday. However, she faces questions about where she might be able to win a contest or compete.
Meanwhile, Trump and Biden are already acting as if they are anticipating a showdown in November.
Trump and his allies say Biden has made the United States weaker and have attacked him over his handling of large numbers of migrants on the US-Mexico border and Russia's war on Ukraine.
During a speech to conservative activists on Saturday outside Washington, Trump described the November presidential election as “Doomsday” as he once again covered his campaign with religious imagery.
Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump painted a dire vision of the future if he is not re-elected. He presented himself as a “proud political dissident” days after comparing himself to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, an opponent of authoritarian leader Vladimir Putin who died in a remote prison in the Arctic.
On Friday night, Trump addressed black conservatives at an event, claiming that the four criminal indictments against him have boosted his support among black Americans because they see him as a victim of discrimination. He compared the legal jeopardy he faces to the legacy of anti-black bias in the American legal system.
Trump has also questioned — often in harsh, personal terms — whether the 81-year-old Biden is too old to serve a second term. The Biden team, in turn, highlighted Trump's mistakes during the election campaign.
Biden has ramped up his recent fundraising trips around the country and has increasingly directly attacked Trump. Trump and his “Make America Great Again” movement have been described as serious threats to the nation's founding principles. His recent re-election campaign has focused most of its attention on Trump's suggestion that he will spend the first day of his second presidency as a dictator, and that he will ask Russia to attack “delinquent” NATO allies.
Haley also criticized Trump for his comments on NATO and for questioning why her husband was not with her on the campaign trail — even as former First Lady Melania Trump did not appear with him. Major Michael Haley is deployed to Africa on assignment with the South Carolina Army National Guard.
But Republican voters in South Carolina are lining up with Trump on lukewarm feelings toward NATO and continued U.S. support for Ukraine, according to AP VoteCast data from Saturday's primary. About 6 in 10 oppose continued aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. Only about a third described America's participation in NATO as “very good,” while a larger number said it was “fairly good.”
It is unclear how Haley could prevent Trump from getting enough delegates to become the nominee. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R.C.) praised Haley while speaking to reporters at Trump's election night party in Colombia, but suggested it was time for her to withdraw.
“I think the sooner she does it, the better for her, the better for the party,” Graham said.
Trump's political power has persisted despite the 91 criminal charges he faces in connection with his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden, the discovery of secret documents at his Florida residence, and allegations that he secretly arranged payoffs to a porn actor. The former president's first criminal trial is scheduled to begin March 25 in New York, where he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of his 2016 presidential campaign.
Biden won the Democratic primary in South Carolina this month, and faces only one remaining challenger, Dean Phillips. The Minnesota congressman continued his campaign in Michigan ahead of the Democratic primaries there, although he had little chance of defeating Biden.
Although Biden is expected to succeed in renominating his party, he faces criticism from some Democrats for providing military support to Israel in its war against Hamas. Some in his party support a ceasefire as the death toll in Gaza has reached nearly 30,000 people, two-thirds of whom are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-run territory. The war could harm Biden's chances in the general election in Michigan, a swing state with a large Arab-American population.
