It was a powerful argument. The problem is that most Republicans are now Trump Republicans, not buying into her brand of conservatism. In fact, with the majority of votes counted on Saturday night (Sunday AEDT), Trump won about a 60 percent share in South Carolina, giving him a clean sweep of all presidential nominating contests so far this year, and putting him in the lead. He is likely to clinch the party's nomination within the next month.
US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump.credit: AP
Once that happens, the rematch between Trump and Biden that few Americans seem to want will begin.
However, Haley insists she will remain in the race, and will move on to the Michigan primary this week, followed by Super Tuesday on March 5. That's when 15 states hold their primaries and a third of the delegates — 1,215 of them — are needed for the primary. Candidate to secure the presidential nomination – now within everyone's reach.
In a somber speech in Charleston on Saturday night, Haley said that her 40 percent of the vote was not insignificant, and that withdrawing so early would consign the country to the coronation of two men who were relics of the past.
“I will not give up this fight when the majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden,” she said.
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South Carolina has spoken. We are the fourth country to do so. In the next 10 days, 21 more states and territories will speak [in their primary races]. They have the right to a real choice – not Soviet-style elections that include only one candidate. “It is my duty to give them that choice.”
It was a defiant move that once again demonstrated the tenacity of a woman who this week described her anti-Trump campaign as “David taking on Goliath.”
But while David ultimately won his battle, it is difficult to see a path forward for Haley to overtake Trump, especially if her donors — whom she needs to keep her campaign alive in other states — begin to withdraw.
Moreover, Republican voters have so far shown little sign of turning away from the former president, even as he faces 91 criminal charges in four trials and is likely to spend as much time in the courtroom as he will on the campaign trail.
Donald Trump, with attorneys Christopher Case and Alina Haba, attends closing arguments in the Trump Organization's civil fraud trial in the New York State Supreme Court.credit: AP
In fact, many of the voters this masthead spoke to supported Trump's view that he was the target of a politically motivated witch hunt, and often viewed attacks on him as an attack on themselves.
For Trump, this latest resounding victory will only strengthen his hold on a Republican Party that has been firmly shaped in his image.
For Haley, the defeat raised further uncertainty about her political future, although she insisted the stakes were much higher.
“Our country seems to be falling apart,” she says. “But here's the thing: America will fall apart if we make the wrong choices. It was never about me or my political future. We need to beat Joe Biden in November, and I don't think Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden.”
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