Nikki Haley is not giving up without a fight. The Republican presidential candidate and former governor has made it blatantly clear that she will not be removing herself from the 2024 presidential election race, despite competitor Donald Trump winning primary races in both Iowa and New Hampshire.
It was announced on Wednesday 24 January that former president Trump had successfully beaten Haley in the New Hampshire primary race—taking home an impressive 54.2 per cent of the vote. Haley trailed behind with only 43.2 per cent, according to The New York Times.
While Haley shared her congratulations for her fellow candidate, Trump expressed his extreme disbelief that Haley was “still hanging around” after coming third in Iowa. The former businessman also added that Haley was an “imposter” for doing so, as reported by Sky News.
@abcnews "This race is far from over." Nikki Haley addressed supporters after Donald Trump was projected to win the New Hampshire presidential primary. Read more at the link in bio. #nikkihaley #newhampshire #primary
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Only hours before this, Haley made headlines by tearing into Fox News presenters after she was asked whether or not she was planning on continuing her campaign if she suffered a loss to Trump in the New Hampshire race.
According to The Independent, Haley, who was appearing on the news show Fox & Friends, snapped back at the presenters and stated: “I’m gonna fight, no matter what. I don’t care how much y’all want to coronate Donald Trump. At the end of the day, that’s not what Americans want. Americans want a choice.”
There is definitely an overwhelming feeling among commentators and the general public that Trump is the only real possible Republican nominee. While Haley was receiving a relatively steady growth in support over the last few months, it has now dwindled.
When asked by host Brian Kilmeade why Haley was acting as though they were the enemy, the candidate responded: “Because I’ve looked at the media, look at the media, saying, ‘oh, this is Donald Trump’s to have, look at the political class all coalescing and saying everybody needs to get out.’ That’s not democracy. That’s not who we are.”
Some publications have pondered over how potentially the reason Haley is so intent on continuing her campaign is because she has the money to do so. According to The Independent, Haley took in $24 million last quarter in fundraising and her cash on hand was around $14.5 million just earlier this month.
While it might seem as though there’s still a lot of ground at play, Haley’s inability to capture the attention of the media and thereby the majority of Republican voters will ultimately cost her the nomination. It’s only a matter of time before she admits defeat.