CONCORD, New Hampshire — Tuesday night’s results showed Nikki Haley losing the national primary to Donald Trump, but her fans didn’t see it that way.
Many of the guests at Haley’s banquet in the state capital were all smiles and expressed pride in her accomplishments.
“I think he shows how weak Donald Trump is. I think tonight is a loss for Donald Trump,” said enthusiastic voter John Shaw, 64, of Hampton. “It’s round one.”
Haley was quick to declare a moral victory, taking the stage to address supporters shortly after the media called the race for Trump and shortly after the final polls closed at 8 p.m.
The TV feed in the main ballroom at the Grappone Conference Center was cut off quickly after Haley’s speech and the 52-year-old’s supporters had gone home long before late results from the rural Granite State swept the 77-year-old Trump’s margin. into two digits.
Nikki Haley took the stage in New Hampshire with a sense of optimism. AFP via Getty Images
“I think this is great,” said David Tille, a longtime GOP strategist and former New England regional administrator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“This [Haley’s performance] very strongly against incumbent Donald Trump basically … this is a start,” Tille said, comparing Haley to Pat Buchanan, who got 38% over President George HW Bush during the 1992 Republican primary.
“I definitely know he might be scared after the New Hampshire result. Nobody expects you to be like this,” said Grace Puchaski, 19, a volunteer from North Carolina. “Now it’s a two-man race.”
Live election results from New Hampshire
“No one is going to beat Nikki Haley. You’ve seen him work here. Now he’s going to South Carolina, his home state, where he ran twice [for governor] and won both races,” added Kim Rice, a Haley supporter and former speaker pro tempore of the New Hampshire House of Representatives.
“This is just the beginning,” agreed Melanie Sabelhaus, co-chair of Women for Nikki. “His strategy was to go to his home state of South Carolina, where he was governor for two terms. They love Nikki.”
That love is not reflected in the Palmetto State primary polls, which have Trump leading Haley by an average of more than 30 percentage points, according to the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
Donald Trump scored another record-breaking victory in New Hampshire. Reuters
Celebrating an 11-point loss would seem to fall short of the expectations Haley’s supporters set before the primary race.
The 52-year-old’s top successor, GOP New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, predicted as recently as last month that Haley would pull off a “landslide” before stepping down and tempering expectations.
Nikki Haley’s supporters are happy despite losing to Donald Trump. Aristide Economopoulos
The governor, who blames his home state for Haley — sometimes behind the wheel of his classic red Ford Mustang despite the wintry weather — stopped by a Concord viewing party but declined to answer questions.
He then argued on X that “Granite State voters put the wind in [Haley’s] set sail as he headed for his home state of South Carolina.”
About 35 miles south in Nashua, Trump supporters gathered for their own celebration, having ousted Haley in what many experts saw as his most favorable situation.
“Just a little note for Nikki. He will not win. But if he did, he would be investigated by these people within 15 minutes. And I can tell you five reasons why already,” the 45th president grinned.
Chris Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley in December and has urged Republicans to abandon Donald Trump. AP
No stranger to seeing victory in his own defeat, Trump displayed content about Haley’s “amazing victory” and defeat throughout Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning.
“Can someone explain to Nikki Haley that she lost – and lost badly. He also lost Iowa, BIG, last week. They are, as certain Non-Fake Media say, ‘SPEAKING DEFEAT,’” he wrote on Truth Social at one point.
Whatever animosity Trump feels toward Haley is matched by his supporters’ feelings toward her.
“I’ve Never Trumpeted,” Sabelhaus said, before musing on whether she could support him in the general election against President Biden.
“I can’t answer that right now,” he said, then added: “I like his policy. [But] chaos and drama — you can’t do that for America.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
