What’s next for Nikki Haley after being defeated by Donald Trump in South Carolina?
Nikki Haley’s chances of securing the 2024 Republican presidential nomination seem to be quickly fading away, but she is not ready to give up.
Haley had already been defeated by former president Donald Trump in Iowa, New Hampshire and the U.S. Virgin Islands. She had also lost to “none of the above” in the Nevada primary.
But Haley may have expected the South Carolina primary to turn the race around. After all, it is her home state.
However, Trump cruised to a victory in South Carolina too. On several occasions in the past, Haley questioned his mental fitness. She warned that another Trump presidency would bring “chaos.”
‘I’m not giving up this fight’
On Saturday night, February 24, when Trump was leading her by around 20 percentage points in South Carolina, Haley took the stage. “America will come apart if we make the wrong choices. This has never been about me or my political future,” she told a crowd. “I am a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight.”
Haley has vowed to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday. As many as 15 states and one territory will vote on March 5. In almost all of the upcoming contests, Trump has a lead. Haley, however, has said nothing will make her bow down.
“I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” Haley said. “South Carolina has spoken. We’re the fourth state to do so. In the next ten days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”
What happens if Donald Trump’s legal troubles continue?
Trump may be leading, but will the various legal troubles he is in the midst of affect the 2024 presidential election? Last year, Trump became the first US president in history to have a mugshot taken. It happened while he was being booked at an Atlanta jail for allegedly trying to reverse the 2020 election results in Georgia.
The Georgia indictment was the fourth brought against Trump last year. There were multiple federal cases over the former president’s attempts at overturning the 2020 election in Washington, DC, as well as for allegedly mishandling classified documents in South Florida.
Trump was also indicted for allegedly falsifying business records in an attempt to conceal “hush money” paid to Stormy Daniels before the elections in 2016. He was accused of doing this to keep Stormy from speaking up about an affair he allegedly had with the porn star. This year, Trump made headlines when he attended a trial after E. Jean Carroll accused him of sexually assaulting her.
Trump has argued that the cases against him are nothing but the result of the U.S. Justice Department. He also accused prosecutors of having a vendetta against him.
Polls revealed that 66% of Republicans believe that the legal cases against Trump were handled unfairly, while 70% of Democrats believe he is being treated just fairly, according to CBS News.
According to Trump supporter and former Republican Attorney General candidate Doug Wardlow, Trump’s legal troubles have only increased his popularity. “I think it’s absolutely politically motivated. If you look at the multiplicity of cases against President Trump, all of them are using very novel and unique, unprecedented interpretations of the law,” Wardlow said.
“Trump is becoming a symbol for opposing the position of law and standing up for the Constitution and liberty and freedom and the rule of law itself. And as he becomes that symbol that’s really generating a lot of support. You can’t vote against a symbol who’s standing up against tyranny, right? That’s kind of one of the things I think that is propelling him so far ahead in the primaries. And he’s going to be the nominee because he is a victim of political weaponization of law, and he’s a symbol of opposing, basically, the destruction of the American republic,” Wardlow added.