Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley suspended her GOP presidential campaign after winning just two primaries (Vermont and DC). Haley positioned her effort as an inspiration as she bowed out, saying that though her Super Tuesday showings didn’t permit her to carry on, she had “no regrets.”
As heard in the speech below, Haley encouraged all Americans, but “especially so many of the women and girls out there who put their faith in our campaign” to be strong and courageous. “Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged,” Haley said.
Whether or not Haley will endorse former President Donald Trump, now the presumptive nominee, remains to be seen. Haley spent her final months saying Trump wasn’t fit for the job, though plenty of Republicans have said worse things about Trump and then endorsed him. (In 2016 Texas Senator Ted Cruz called Trump a “pathological liar” and then endorsed him.)
Democrats are also reveling in Haley’s impact, as her 20-40% wins among Republican primary voters in many states appeared to show that the GOP is not as MAGA as Trump claims. Haley’s voters polled as so devoutly Trump-resistant that President Joe Biden invited them into his tent, which he hopes to expand with ABT (Anybody But Trump) voters.
In a statement, Biden praised Haley for her willingness to “speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin.”
Statement From President Biden on Nikki Haley withdrawing from the Republican presidential primary pic.twitter.com/rBsQiNSJkH
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) March 6, 2024
The President asked Haley’s voters to join him, writing: “Donald Trump made it clear he doesn’t want Nikki Haley’s supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign. I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground.”
Trump posted: “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion, despite the fact that Democrats, for reasons unknown, are allowed to vote in Vermont, and various other Republican Primaries.” He asked Haley’s voters to join his movement, too, after previously saying he didn’t need her votes.
Those Haley voters, now adrift, may not be eager to jump on the Biden-Harris train, but many of them still celebrated the jolt she gave to Trump’s ego on the way out. In Utah, she got 42% of the vote, in North Carolina 23%, in Minnesota 28%.
You made Trump the first man to ever lose a Republican primary to a woman
— Travis Allen (@TravisAllen02) March 6, 2024
While groups including Republicans Against Trump pleaded with Haley not to endorse Trump, Travis Allen, a self-described “cyber hooligan” and “information security engineer,” replied to Haley: “You made Trump the first man to ever lose a Republican primary to a woman.” No other female Republican presidential candidate has stayed on the campaign trail for so long.
Haley’s comments about inspiring “the women and the girls” were made in that context, and in the shadow of Trump’s trouble with women voters, especially college graduates.
Trump has a long history of making controversial remarks about the opposite sex including the time he said of his female 2016 Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton: “If Hillary Clinton can’t satisfy her husband, what makes her think she can satisfy America?”
He also said of 2016 GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina: “Look at that face. Would anybody vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president? I mean, she’s a woman, and I’m not supposed to say bad things, but really, folks, come on. Are we serious?”