After losing the Michigan primary, Donald Trump attacked Nikki Haley on his social media platform. Haley had previously acknowledged the GOP has shifted towards Trump’s positions after losing early primaries.
Trump criticized Haley’s defeat in Michigan and said people don’t like her and polls show she can’t beat Biden.
Trump posted, “Haley got trounced last night, losing the Great State of Michigan by over 42 Points. Looking forward to Super Tuesday where she is doing even worse, if that’s possible. I’m leading every State by over 60 Points! People don’t like her, and they know, as per the polls, that she can’t beat Biden, or any Democrat.”
CNN’s Dana Bash recently asked Haley, ”Isn’t it possible the party has moved, and the party is about Donald Trump and not what you’re describing, which might be the party of yesterday?”
Haley replied, “It is very possible. What I am saying to my Republican Party family is, we are in a ship with a hole in it, and we can either go down with the ship and watch the country go socialist left, or we can see that we need to take the life raft and move in a new direction.”
She added, “We’ve only seen a handful of states vote. I’ve said this before as much as the media wants to jump ahead, we’re taking this one state, one day at a time. I’m doing what I believe 70% of Americans want me to do.”
Newt Gingrich also called on Haley to drop out, citing her loss in Nevada where Trump wasn’t running as evidence she couldn’t win over Trump supporters. Gingrich said no “MAGA Republican” would pick Haley.
Gingrich said, “She’s hanging around in case something happens to Trump, so she can then be the choice.”
“No MAGA Republican, no Trump delegate is ever gonna pick Nikki Haley. They will pick any other dozen or 50 Republicans who are acceptable, but they aren’t going to pick her,” he continued.
Gingrich explained, “And you saw that in Nevada, where she lost by two to one by none of these candidates. When none of these candidates beat you, by two to one, there’s a there’s a hint that maybe you’re in the wrong game this year. I hope she’ll drop out.”
The former Speaker said, “I hope she will become part of the effort to beat Joe Biden.”
He added, “I do not think it’s helpful to have her out there and saying nasty things about the Republican nominee. And as far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump tonight is the Republican nominee. This is over and the issue is to focus on the general election, and why Trump would be a dramatically better president in 2025 than Joe Biden.”
Haley’s campaign continued making the case for her to stay in, arguing Trump is losing more Republican votes than Biden and has led to losses for the party in Michigan elections.
They said as long as Trump leads the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the “socialist left.”
Nikki Haley’s campaign wrote in a statement, “Joe Biden is losing about 20 percent of the Democratic vote today, and many say it’s a sign of his weakness in November. Donald Trump is losing about 35 percent of the vote. That’s a flashing warning sign for Trump in November. Since Trump became president in 2016, he lost Michigan Republicans the state House, state Senate, and Governor’s mansion. What was once a beacon for the conservative cause, the Michigan Republican Party is now fractured and divided.”
The campaign added, “Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country. So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”
