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By the time Nikki Haley delivered a defiant concession speech in the New Hampshire Republican primary Tuesday night, Donald Trump had already attacked her Indian ethnicity and accused her of favoring China. The former South Carolina governor was amplifying the lie of the “birther” that he was the “birther.” She is not qualified to run for president.
Now, as Trump’s only remaining challenger has rejected Republican demands to drop out of the race ahead of next month’s home state primaries, Haley is in a state of political slime, analysts say. We are facing speculation that it may be a tsunami.
“Nicki knows this and knows there’s nothing she can do about it,” said Rick, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and former Republican campaign leader.・Wilson said. “South Carolina has the dirtiest politics in America. She’s heading for the buzzsaw.”
Now it’s Nikki Haley’s turn as the former president and his supporters turn their fire on the last remaining challenger. In a victory speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Trump, who faces four felony charges in federal and state court, went after the former United Nations ambassador’s character and appearance and, without evidence, accused Haley of criminal charges. He suggested that the situation was ripe for investigation.
President Trump said, “I’m not too angry. I’ll get revenge.”
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“Brutal, mean, ugly.”
Ms. Haley, 52, took advantage of Mr. Trump’s deranged rant that suggested her 77-year-old former boss was suffering from severe cognitive decline, putting her on high alert to attack Mr. Trump directly. I quit the club.
Now they’re taking the fight to South Carolina, a state known for its dirty politics.
“It’s going to be brutal, it’s going to be disgusting, it’s going to be ugly,” Wilson said. “He has already used racist nicknames and spread lies about his birth.”
Haley has been twice elected governor of South Carolina, but analysts say Republican politics have moved firmly into Trump’s orbit since the last election in 2014.
“The state’s Republicans have made it clear they want President Trump, and they’re going to make her life miserable,” said Hank Sheinkoff, a veteran Democratic political consultant.
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Enjoy a reputation for dirty tricks
The Palmetto State has a long list of campaign outrages, some of which have been attributed to the late Lee Atwater, a Republican strategist who worked for President George H.W. Bush in the 1980s. . Atwater died in 1991, but his so-called “dark arts” live on.
In 2000, after defeating George W. Bush in New Hampshire, Arizona Sen. John McCain reportedly asked Republican voters in South Carolina if they were more or less likely to vote for John McCain. attacked through telephone polls. Was he the father of a black illegitimate child? (The McCains had adopted a daughter from Bangladesh.)
“Our state is notorious for last-minute dirty tricks, anonymous calls, and personal attacks,” Haley wrote in her 2012 memoir. “This is largely the work of a small group of consultants and politicians…but their distorted tactics do not reflect the views of the majority of South Carolinians, or even most of those participating in the political process. ”
In 2010, during her first run for governor, Ms. Haley was outed by a political blogger and consultant working for one of her main opponents, both of whom were having affairs with married politicians. He claimed that Her parents were Indian immigrants who practiced Sikhism, so she was nicknamed “Raghead.”
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“Almost every important race in South Carolina has an allegation of a love child or someone in the closet,” Wilson said. “This is a tradition that shocks the norms of other states.”
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, South Carolina’s Republican Party chairman appeared to revel in the state’s reputation even as he issued a private warning to Haley’s campaign.
“Someone once said, ‘Politics is not about beanbags,’ and that’s true, especially here in South Carolina,” said state Republican Party Chairman Drew McKissick, who also co-chairs President Trump’s Republican National Committee. ” he said. “We have sharp elbows.”
“The McCain-Bush primary is legendary,” McKissick continued. “Maybe something similar could happen here,” he said of the showdown between Trump and Haley. “Or someone might make a decision about changing course now and then.”
more:Nikki Haley follows New Hampshire to her home state of South Carolina
political “blood sports”
Haley’s supporters say she is ready for whatever happens.
“So as long as this is in the nature of a blood sport, that’s their decision,” said Mark Harris, a strategist at SFA Funds, a super PAC that supports Ms. Haley. “But Nikki Haley grew up in the realities of South Carolina politics, winning her first House race in a primary she wasn’t supposed to win, and then winning her first gubernatorial race in a primary she wasn’t supposed to win. .”
An average of Wednesday’s ABC News 538 polls showed Trump supported by 62% of South Carolina Republican voters, compared to 25% for Haley.
“It’s a tough fight,” said Gibbs Knotts, a political science professor at the College of Charleston. “She has a month to work on this. I’m not sure she’s convincing enough.”
“The stakes are very high,” Knotts said. “It’s a high-stakes situation.”
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“No matter where she comes from.”
And the former president is eager to break with Haley.
President Trump has emphasized that Haley is of Indian descent, calling her “Nimbla” by her full name, Nimrata Nikki Haley. (Haley has been calling her Nikki her whole life.) Asked for an explanation, he told Fox News’ Bret Baier that it was all in good fun, while also reinforcing the American-born challenger’s citizenship. questioned.
“Her name is a little strange, no matter where she’s from,” Trump said.
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Haley has drawn attention to Trump’s age after she referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot at a campaign rally over the weekend and repeatedly appeared to confuse Trump with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Nikki Haley is in charge of security,” he said. “We gave her 10,000 people, soldiers, National Guard, whatever they wanted.”
“I mean, I’ve seen him confused,” Haley told CNN. “He was perplexed that I had something to do with keeping the Guard away from the Capitol. Obviously, he was talking about someone else.”
Unless Haley takes the Republican cue and backs down, these shots may seem timid compared to what’s to come.
“What the Trump campaign is running is an incredibly ugly campaign,” Wilson said.
For now, Haley isn’t backing down.
Harris told reporters that the former governor “consistently knows how to win in the kind of hand-to-hand arena that is South Carolina politics.”
Contributor: Carissa Wadick, america today.
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