Trump has gained such momentum in the election race that it is almost impossible to stop him in a fair fight.
Photo: REUTERS
Donald Trump took a very important step on Saturday towards becoming a United States presidential candidate. In the South Carolina primary, he completely crushed his only rival in the Republican Party, Nikki Haley, taking 60% of the vote, leaving her competitor with only 39.9%. He already has 107 delegate votes at the party’s next convention in July, nearly a tenth of the 1,215 required. But for Haley, this defeat was doubly offensive, because the “Palm State”, as South Carolina is called, is not just her Homeland, she is there. She also served as governor for six years. And about you: “black ingratitude” on the part of former compatriots!
But there is nothing surprising here. Trump has gained such momentum in the election race that it is almost impossible to stop him in a fair fight. First of all, he, as experts say, managed to “eat” the Republican Party. In the sense that he practically subjugated her to himself. “Most key members of the party have already publicly supported Trump or are afraid to contradict him,” Politico notes. He himself, speaking after the primary results were announced, said with his usual coquettishness that he “didn’t expect to see the Republican Party so united.” For complete triumph, the winner only needed to see his opponent kneeling in front of him, throwing his banner of defeat at her feet.
But Trump never saw this triumphant scene. Nikki Haley, although she admitted defeat, categorically refused to leave the race. “Forty percent is not a small group. In our Republican primaries, a large number of voters say they want an alternative,” she preens. But do you overestimate the degree of your support? After all, under South Carolina law, Democratic partisans (who did not vote in their own primary elections), as well as independent voters, could participate in the primary elections. So it is possible that it was them, the Trump haters, who added votes to his treasury. Most other states will not have this option.
And yet, Haley doesn’t give up the fight. Why, if the chances of success tend to zero? Yes, because she and all of Donald’s other opponents in the United States are hoping that Trump will withdraw from the electoral race and become a victim of the numerous trials that await him in the coming months. The first of them, about the “illegal payment of compensation” to porn actress Stephanie Clifford (better known as Stormy Daniels), will begin on March 25. They are going to charge a criminal article against the former president for bribing a witness. And there are still hearings ahead regarding the events of January 6, 2021, when the “Trumpists” stormed the Capitol in Washington. If the court decides that the former head of state is involved in this, his fate will not be enviable. This is where Hayley’s best moment will come. Her candidacy for the party congress may be the only one.
Meanwhile, Trump is preparing for a general battle on “Super Tuesday” of March 5, when Republican primaries will be held in 15 states and one US island territory. The votes of 874 convention delegates are at stake. Donald opted for the most painful problem that now worries the majority of Americans: the prevalence of illegal immigrants. He promised to begin the largest deportation of uninvited guests in American history if he returned to the White House. “This will be the largest deportation in the history of our country. And we have no choice,” Trump said.
We will soon find out if this ballot measure worked.
