US

First shots fired in what may become the most toxic US presidential campaign since the civil war

Former South Carolina governor offers a guarded congratulations to Trump without offering an endorsement

Republican US presidential candidate Nikki Haley takes the stage to announce the suspension of her presidential campaign on Wednesday. Photograph: Richard Ellis/EPA

Keith Duggan in Washington
Wed Mar 6 2024 - 18:45

The first shots of what is set to become the most toxic and embittered US presidential campaign since the civil war sounded on Wednesday even as Republican candidate Nikki Haley announced her withdrawal from the race.

As anticipated, the former governor of South Carolina found the road ahead effectively blocked by the deluge of voters who are wedded to Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again (Maga) version of Republicanism, with 14 of the 15 states returning an overwhelming mandate in the Super Tuesday primaries. It left Mr Trump with 995 of the 1,215 delegates required to Haley’s 89. Her lone victory was in Vermont and she departed offering a guarded congratulations to Trump without offering an endorsement for her support base to follow.

“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of our party and beyond it of those who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” she told her supporters in South Carolina.

“At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away.”

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In responses reflective of the ideological and personal chasm between the remaining candidates, President Joe Biden issued a message praising Haley’s courage.

“Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump, about the chaos that follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin.”

Furthermore, he assured Haley voters that “there is a place for them in my campaign”. Mr Trump offered a similar invitation while persevering with his attack on Haley, his former protege, telling supporters that “Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion” before signing off with his familiar refrain that: “Biden is the enemy. He is destroying our country.”

An overnight projection based on Super Tuesday results suggested that if the presidential election were held today, Mr Trump would win comfortably on electoral college votes. Making ground with voters lost or disillusioned since 2020 becomes Mr Biden’s chief task, beginning with his State of the Union address on Thursday. Haley’s “suspension” – rather than ending – of her campaign clears the way for Mr Trump to access the GOP funding he badly needs as he deals with myriad criminal charges and mammoth fines.

The closing month of Ms Haley’s primary campaign distinguished her as one of the very few Republicans willing to be critical of Mr Trump. She exited with a final warning about America’s international obligations, even as Congress dawdles over its bipartisan aid to Ukraine amid reports that the Ukrainian military is now desperately short of ammunition.

“Our world is on fire because of America’s retreat. Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative. But it is also more than that. If we retreat further, there will be more war, not less.”

Keith Duggan

Keith Duggan

Keith Duggan is Washington Correspondent of The Irish Times

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