Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump spent Saturday in New Hampshire tearing into rival former Gov. Nikki Haley ahead of the nation’s first primary on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the former president largely brushed off the man who was thought to be his leading competitor — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Trump addressed the enthusiastic audience for 15 minutes before noting an obvious omission. “You notice I did not mention the name of Ron DeSanctimonious yet.” The Republican then added, “I think he’s gone.”
With that in mind, Trump turned his sights to the former South Carolina governor. She is surging in New Hampshire among more moderate Republicans, though few give her hope of overtaking the former president.
Trump declared, “To the people of New Hampshire: all you need to know about Nikki Haley is that every globalist, liberal, Biden supporter and Never Trumper is on her side — and virtually every single leader in her home state of South Carolina is on our side.”
He added, “She’s not tough enough. She’s not smart enough and she isn’t respected enough.”
TRUMP: “50% of Haley's voters said they were voting for Joe Biden in November.”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 21, 2024
The personal attacks between Trump and Haley ahead of the looming primary certainly went in both directions. The former U.N. ambassador stated her belief that the frontrunner is possibly in mental decline.
Haley asserted, “When you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we cannot have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”
Despite her contentions, Trump could effectively end any serious competition — if there ever was one — with a dominant win in New Hampshire. His 30-point Iowa victory served notice that he has a strong grassroots campaign that does not need mainstream media approval.
Haley predicted a far stronger showing in the Hawkeye State before her lackluster finish.
In the immediate aftermath of her loss, she seemed flustered by the lack of success. But that changed in recent days as she shored up support among moderate and leftist Republicans.
But Haley’s conservative credentials are questionable at best, and that will likely be her undoing. Rank-and-file GOP voters are not going to vote for someone with obvious liberal leanings, no matter how much the establishment encourages them to do so.
