(USNewsMag.com) – After former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley lost the Republican primary election in her home state, former President Donald Trump celebrated another victory and mocked Haley the following morning.
The race was held on Sunday, February 25th, and quickly called for Trump, with various U.S. media outlets declaring him the winner within minutes of the polls closing. Trump came out on top with 59.8% to Haley’s 39.5%.
At an election party, Trump addressed supporters in Columbia, South Carolina, after the swift victory and focused on the upcoming general election in November. He promised that if he returned to the White House, America would be “respected like never before.” Trump told his supporters that he’s never seen “a spirit like this” with Republicans “so unified.”
Despite facing multiple indictments, Trump has managed to maintain a strong influence over the GOP caucus, winning every primary contest so far. He swept the Iowa caucuses on January 15th, after which Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the contest, as well as newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, both of whom endorsed Trump. After another crushing victory in New Hampshire’s primary on January 23rd, many more started questioning why Haley had yet to suspend her campaign.
Those questions ramped up even more after Haley lost to “none of these candidates” in the Nevada primary on February 6th, which Trump did not participate in, instead competing in the separate Nevada caucus two days later, which was the only contest awarding delegates. With South Carolina now in the bag, Trump is the first non-incumbent GOP candidate to win the delegates in all four of the early voting contests.
Trump focused his speech on President Joe Biden, whom he will likely face in a rematch in November. Although he avoided naming Haley in his victory speech, Trump gloated and mocked her early the next morning on Truth Social, noting his massive lead in the Michigan primary, which he also won on Tuesday, February 27th. He asked Haley when she was going to realize that she’s “just a bad candidate.”
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