Former President Donald Trump targeted former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) during a speech in New Hampshire just days before the Granite State’s crucial Republican primary. The former president sharply criticized his former ambassador to the United Nations, alleging that she was leveraging the support of Democrats during the primary.
Trump predicted victory in the New Hampshire primary, telling voters that it is a step to “crush” President Joe Biden, whom he referred to as “Crooked Joe” and to make the United States great again.
“Nikki Haley is counting on Democrats and liberals to infiltrate your Republican Primary to put her over the top in this state — which is no surprise since her campaign is funded by Democrats,” he said.
The former president accused Haley’s supporters of being “pro-Amnesty, pro-China, pro-open borders, pro-war and pro-Biden.” He also said that some registered Democrats were backing Haley because “they know she’s easy to beat.”
He cited a recent poll that showed many of Haley’s supporters stating that they would back Biden in a general election over Trump.
Trump’s comments came as an American Research Group poll found the two candidates tied in the Granite State primary.
The poll placed both Haley and Trump at 40%, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) coming in a distant third at 4%. All other significant candidates have since left the race, with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy exiting following a fourth-place finish in the Iowa caucus.
Both Haley and Trump gained significant support over the last several weeks, with Haley going from being behind by 4% to the current tie.
In particular, Trump is highlighting New Hampshire’s GOP primary status, which allows for non-Republicans to cast their ballot for the nomination. There is the same rule for the Democratic primary in the state, as well.
While New Hampshire is not the only state that uses this rule, it is the first state during the GOP primary to do so. Should Haley gain enough support from Democrats and independents, it could change the course of the race.
NEW: Donald Trump says Democrats are infiltrating the Republican primary and voting for Nikki Haley in an attempt to take him out.
Democrats just love rigging elections.
Trump’s not wrong. According to CBS News, the situation was so bad in Iowa that in one precinct, they ran… pic.twitter.com/iyu9BJTtCG
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 18, 2024
Should Haley finish stronger than expected in the state, a number of the upcoming Republican primaries will be in ‘closed’ states, which only allow those who registered with the GOP to vote. It is likely that this set of rules will heavily favor the former president.
