Former President Donald Trump said that he wasn’t sure that his chief Republican primary rival was still in the race. Trump made the comments following a large victory in the South Carolina primary Saturday against that state’s former Gov. Nikki Haley (R).
Trump won a large victory in the state on Saturday. He was flanked by a number of supporters, including Sens. Tim Scott (R-SC) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) during the victory rally.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Graham “told me we received the largest vote by double — we beat the last record. So that’s a great compliment to all of the people and to making America great again.”
“I’m really thinking about we have to beat Joe Biden,” Trump said. “I don’t know if she’s in the race at all, because, you know, I have set records in every single state. I’m not sure that she’s really in the race.”
🚨 BREAKING: MASSIVE “TRUMP” chants break out as Donald Trump defeats Nikki Haley in South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/GWQc43M8G9
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 25, 2024
“This was a little sooner than we anticipated. And even a bigger win than we anticipated,” Trump said after the large win.
Trump carried the state by about 20%.
Trump’s comments came as a number of other Republican officials have called for Haley to exit the race and support the former president.
Despite staying in the race, Haley has not won any contests. Trump has won every race but one: in Nevada, he chose to participate in the state’s caucus and not its primary. In the primary, Haley lost to the option of ‘none of these candidates.’
Trump’s win in South Carolina also caps off similar wins in Iowa and New Hampshire. Trump also has a lead in every national poll over Haley and every major state-level poll.
Despite the loss, Haley said that she would not leave the race.
“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president — I’m a woman of my word,” Haley said on Saturday after the primary.
