By Lucy Adautin
Donald Trump secured a resounding victory on Saturday in the South Carolina Republican primary, defeating rival Nikki Haley in her home state and advancing steadily towards the nomination and a potential White House rematch with Joe Biden.
With this win, Trump completed a sweep of the first four major nominating contests, translating his strong polling numbers into a commanding lead as the race heads towards the “Super Tuesday” 15-state voting event in 10 days.
Despite Haley’s pledge to continue the fight regardless of the outcome, Trump, eager to transition from the primary to the general election, did not mention her during his victory speech. Instead, he directed his criticism towards Biden.
“We’re going to be up here on November 5 and we’re going to look at Joe Biden — we’re going to look him right in the eye, he’s destroying our country — and we’re going to say, Joe, you’re fired. Get out,” Trump said to cheers at his victory party in the state capital Columbia.
Haley has consistently raised concerns about the mental acuity of the 77-year-old former president and cautioned that another Trump presidency would result in “chaos.” However, her criticisms seemed to have minimal impact on his support among Republicans.
While the exact margin of victory was not immediately evident, US networks swiftly declared the outcome seconds after polls closed, indicating little uncertainty regarding the result.
David Darmofal, a politics professor at the University of South Carolina, said the speed of Trump’s projected victory confirmed him as “effectively the presumptive Republican nominee for president.”
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“This quick call is a bad result for former governor Haley in her home state. The quickness of the call will likely lead to additional pressure for her to drop out of the race,” he told AFP.
Haley, a highly regarded governor of South Carolina in the 2010s and the sole woman to enter the Republican race, aimed to exceed expectations in her home state and gain momentum heading into Super Tuesday.
However, she faced a challenging battleground that favored Trump’s style of right-wing “America first” populism and emphasis on personal grievances over his legal issues, including multiple civil lawsuits and four criminal indictments.
Prior to the South Carolina primary, Trump had already secured significant victories in Iowa with a 30-point margin and in New Hampshire by 10 points. Additionally, a dispute in Nevada resulted in Trump being the only candidate to participate in the first official contest in the western United States.
Biden reacted to the South Carolina result with a brief written statement warning Americans of “the threat Donald Trump poses to our future as Americans grapple with the damage he left behind.”
Meanwhile, Haley reminded supporters as she congratulated Trump in her concession speech that she had already vowed to fight on, regardless of the outcome.
“I’m a woman of my word. I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she said.
Trump’s aides have made it clear that they aim to sideline Haley well before the Republican National Convention in July, anticipating the party’s unity behind the frontrunner prior to his first criminal trial on March 25.
Haley, a traditional conservative advocating for limited government and a robust foreign policy, has contended that a Trump presidency would be plagued by scandals from its inception.
Despite her assertion that polling indicates she would fare better than Trump in hypothetical matchups against Biden, this argument may not have resonated widely. Nonetheless, she has pledged to remain in the race at least until Super Tuesday.
Analysts suggest that Haley is laying the groundwork for a potential 2028 presidential bid and is positioned to step in should Trump encounter legal or health issues that force him out of the race.
“Nikki Haley’s an incredible role model,” said one Republican voter, Julie Taylor. “She’s not giving up, she’s showing strength and grace and courage.”
