Donald Trump also wins by a landslide in South Carolina and continues his march towards the Republican nomination for the US presidency. The margin of victory is not yet known but the fact that he was crowned practically as the polls closed suggests a landslide victory.
For her part, competitor Nikki Haley feels the pinch but doesn't give up the fight . «Today is not the end of our story. I said in recent days that I would not give up regardless of the result in South Carolina, and I am a woman of my word: I do not give up the fight when the majority of America disapproves of Trump and Joe Biden", said the former ambassador. «We have to beat Joe Biden in November and I don't think Trump can beat him. We have about 40% of the vote in South Carolina, the same in New Hampshire. I'm an accountant and I know 40% isn't 50%, but it's not a small group. A group that asks for an alternative,” he added.
Haley will be in Michigan in the next few hours ahead of Tuesday's primaries and then will fly to ten states before Super Tuesday.
«It's a fantastic day. It was a better victory than expected. I have never seen the Republican Party so united,” the former president said triumphantly in front of his supporters in Columbia. " Joe Biden is destroying our country and on November 5th we will tell him 'Biden you are fired' ", says Trump, relaunching the famous phrase he used during the television show The Apprentice.
On stage with the former president is Republican Senator Tim Scott , his former rival in the White House. Scott is indicated by many, including Trump, among the possible candidates for vice president with the governor of South Dakota Kristi Noem and the former 2024 candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
According to the straw poll (informal survey) of the Conference of American Conservatives, Noem and Ramaswamy are the two names in pole position to become the former president's deputy.
Despite the victory, Trump's road to the White House is not an easy one. There are his legal problems and the trials that could overlap with the electoral campaign, influencing him in the event of a conviction. While a convicted Trump could continue to run, and even govern, it is unclear whether voters would deem him fit for the presidency. Then there is the issue of Haley's votes: if Trump wins the nomination he will not be able to take the former ambassador's votes for granted. Those who voted for Haley in the primaries are unlikely to vote for Trump and this could weaken him in a possible clash with Biden.
(Unioneonline/vl)