Competitor Nikki Haley questioned the mental fitness of her party rival Donald Trump during a campaign appearance on Saturday. Trump had previously secured the support of eliminated competitor Tim Scott.
“When you have to deal with the pressures of the presidency, you can’t have someone who you wonder if they’re mentally capable of doing that,” Haley said.
She was alluding to a slip-up by Trump. The ex-president had apparently confused the former US ambassador to the United Nations with the former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi several times when he was talking about the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. “Nikki Haley is in charge of security. We offered her 10,000 people – soldiers, National Guard, whatever you want – they turned it down,” Trump said.
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Haley emphasized that she was neither responsible for security at the Capitol nor was she in Washington at the time. In any case, there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that he offered help during the siege or that such an offer was rejected.
Trump, 77, and other Republicans continue to attack 81-year-old President Joe Biden over his age and raise doubts about the Democratic Party politician’s ability to serve a second term. Haley said in an interview with Fox News on Saturday that politicians at the top of the state had to be “at the top of their game.” “Do we really want them to be throwing names and doing things wrong when they’re 80 years old and have to deal with Putin and Xi and Kim and North Korea?”
Haley has high hopes for the next New Hampshire primary next Tuesday. In the small US state, voters registered as independents are also allowed to take part in the Republican primaries. This suits Haley, who is considered a comparatively moderate Republican – especially compared to Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Polls put Haley at around 34 percent in New Hampshire, according to an average calculated by the website FiveThirtyEight. Trump gets 49 percent and DeSantis only five percent.
The support of eliminated competitor Tim Scott could give Trump further impetus. The former competitor in the race for the Republican presidential nomination expressed his support for Trump on Friday. The 58-year-old African American shouted to cheering Trump supporters in New Hampshire that he had come “to support the next President of the United States.”
US broadcaster CNN reported that Trump was already in talks with Scott to secure his support ahead of the South Carolina primaries on February 24th. However, the announcement was brought forward after approval for Haley increased.
“We need a president who will close our southern border today. We need Donald Trump,” said Scott, who withdrew from the race for the White House in November due to poor poll numbers. “We need a president who will unite our country. We need Donald Trump.”
Trump, for his part, called Scott a “fantastic man.” “Having his support means a lot. We have to unite. We have to take action against these crazy people we are dealing with,” said the ex-president.
The support of the only black Republican senator is a win for Trump in his party’s primary race. At the same time, it is a bitter setback for Haley – especially since Scott, like her, comes from South Carolina.
Trump clearly won the primary election in Iowa: the right-wing populist got 51 percent there, 30 points ahead of DeSantis with 21 percent and 32 points ahead of Haley with 19 percent.
With his clear victory, Trump consolidated his position as the overwhelming favorite in his Republican Party’s presidential race. The winner of the statewide Republican primary will challenge incumbent Joe Biden of the Democratic Party in the November 5 presidential election.
For the Democrats, the primaries are purely a formality; Biden is certain of being re-nominated as the presidential candidate. Biden was not put on the ballot for the New Hampshire primary because of an internal party dispute – this shows Biden’s certainty that he will be nominated even without New Hampshire. Biden also only has two internal competitors who have absolutely no chance: the self-help book author Marianne Williamson and Congressman Dean Phillips.
