In an increasingly desperate denial of the reality of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has steadfastly refused to drop out of the race and cede to former President Donald Trump his inevitable victory as the party's nominee.
The Trump campaign, however, confidently predicted Tuesday that "the end is near" for Haley and asserted that her campaign would be finished after Saturday when she is expected to suffer an embarrassingly decisive defeat in her home state of South Carolina, the Daily Wire reported.
The Palmetto State, where Haley previously served as governor, likely represents her best possible opportunity for a strong showing among the GOP voter base against the former president, though even on her home turf she trails Trump by around two dozen points in the polls.
On Tuesday, Trump campaign co-chairs Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles published a "memo" that declared, "Nikki Haley’s campaign ends Saturday, February 24th, fittingly, in her home state, rejected by those who know her the best."
"Of course, like any wailing loser hell-bent on an alternative reality and refusing to come to grips with her imminent political mortality, we should expect more references to Kings and Coronations -- even though the results of 5 elections overwhelmingly sent an unmistaken message: Nikki Haley doesn’t represent Republicans any more than Joe Biden does," the memo continued.
"But they both have a simple mission: attack Donald Trump and use any means necessary," the co-chairs stated. "RINO Nikki and her team have decided that it’s okay to solicit and accept money from national leftists -- and -- attempt to hijack GOP contests across the country by courting Democrats. That’s a stain that doesn’t go away."
After citing some details of Haley's decisive losses to Trump thus far in Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, the memo asserted, "We won’t bore you with the reams of data that show an ass-kicking in the making in South Carolina, but we will show you the very serious math problem Nikki Haley has. This is the diagnosis she refuses to accept: The end is near."
LaCivita and Wiles went on to describe how even with an "overly generous" and "very favorable" model for Haley that was simultaneously a "worst case" scenario for Trump for the remaining primary elections over the coming weeks, Trump was nonetheless predicted to wrap up the GOP nomination with the requisite number of state delegates between March 12-19.
That would lead to the "next step for Team Trump," which included acknowledging that Haley "is irrelevant and not newsworthy -- and unworthy of said attention;" would allow for the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee to combine forces in coordinating "Convention planning, fundraising, strategy, and state party tactics;" and finally recognizing what has been known for months -- that the general election will be a rematch of the 2020 contest between Trump and President Joe Biden.
"The true 'State' of Nikki Haley’s campaign?" the memo concluded. "Broken down, out of ideas, out of gas, and completely outperformed by every measure, by Donald Trump."
Shortly after that memo was released, according to Politico, Haley remained defiant as she delivered a "State of the Race" speech in South Carolina in which she sharply criticized the former president and insisted that she was not dropping out but rather planned on "campaigning every day until the last person votes."
However, while some would grant Haley full marks for bravery in remaining in the primary race as an alternative for Republican and independent voters -- if not also Democrats in states with "open" elections -- who don't like Trump or are worried that he will eventually succumb to his mounting legal woes, she faces an exceptionally steep climb to try to surpass the overwhelming support the former president continues to draw from voters across the country.
In South Carolina, for example, the RealClearPolling's average of primary polls shows Haley trailing Trump in her home state by more than 25 points.
The situation is even starker when the race is viewed more broadly, as RCP's average of national primary polls has Trump leading Haley by around 57 points, with the former president garnering 74.7% support compared to just 17.6% for the former ambassador and governor.
