Former President Donald Trump was in the home state of his only remaining competition for the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday night, and he told Fox New town hall moderator Laura Ingraham in no uncertain terms why he thought former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley hadn’t yet dropped out of the primary race.
Trump was introduced and then listened to nearly a full minute of cheers and applause as he entered and took his seat, telling Ingraham, “Nice crowd.”
Ingraham began their discussion with a mention of a new Suffolk University / USA Today poll of what she called “very likely” voters, which showed Trump over Haley by 63-to-35 in the state primary, or a ratio of 1.8-to-1.
Ingraham didn’t mention it, but that poll was very much in line with three other polls taken of likely South Carolina voters in February. The RealClearPolitics average of polling for the state has the former president at 61.8 points and his former ambassador to the United Nations trailing far behind at 36.5.
Each of the four polls included in that average showed Trump in the 60s and Haley in the 30s, and the closest Haley came to her former boss in any of them was 22 points.
Nonetheless, Haley doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to ending her campaign, and Ingraham played a clip of a defiant Haley calling Trump a “disaster.”
“Many of the same politicians who now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him,” Haley said in the clip. “They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party.”
“Some people used to say I was running because I really wanted to be vice president,” she said a bit later in her remarks, a smile on her face. “I think I’ve pretty well settled that question.”
“Has she settled that question?” Ingraham wanted to know from the former president.
Should Nikki Haley drop out?
Yes: 97% (430 Votes)
No: 3% (15 Votes)
“Well, I settled it about three months ago,” Trump replied to laughter and cheers from the audience that could not have been reassuring to supporters of the state’s former governor.
Trump commented on how poorly Haley’s campaign has been. “You’re not supposed to lose your home state,” he said, before commenting on her performance — and his win — in Iowa.
That, of course, led to the logical question from Ingraham.
“Why do you think she’s staying in the race?” she asked.
“I don’t think she knows how to get out, actually,” Trump replied. “I really don’t.”
Trump said Haley had a lot of money behind her, largely from Democrats looking to damage Trump before the widely anticipated rematch between him and incumbent President Joe Biden.
“The Democrats are giving her money and she’s playing into the game,” he said. “I think she just can’t get herself to get out.”
You can watch the entire exchange below.
The South Carolina primary is scheduled for Saturday.
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of “WJ Live,” powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
