South Carolina: Nikki Haley loves Joan Jett.
While campaigning against Donald Trump, she often cites her adoration for the pioneering hit musician I love rock and roll A blast can usually be heard from the speakers at Haley's march before she even hits the stage.
Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in North Augusta, South Carolina. credit: AP
Jett was “one of the first real rock singers,” says the Republican presidential nominee, but she was constantly rejected by record company executives who “didn't like the way she looked, didn't like the way she acted, didn't like it.” Look at the talent.”
“But she never gave up,” Haley told the crowd at a recent event at City Hall.
“What's that lesson, right? People are going to discount you your whole life. But the fact that she was persistent, the fact that she kept moving forward, the fact that she was just a badass — I love every bit of that.”
After decades of Jett's uphill battle with the giants of the American music industry, Haley faces what she describes as her own “David and Goliath” contest.
This weekend, the former UN ambassador faces Trump head-to-head in a primary in her home state of South Carolina, but she trails the former president by about 30 percentage points, according to most polls.
A defeat in her hometown would be humiliating for Haley, who grew up in Bamberg, South Carolina, as the “proud daughter of Indian immigrants,” began her political career in the state Legislature and later became a two-term governor.
Then-US President Donald Trump in a White House meeting with Nikki Haley, who was the US ambassador to the United Nations, in 2018.credit: Bloomberg
However, despite Haley running an impressive campaign – even beating Trump in donations last month – most political observers believe she is on track for a landslide defeat, which would deepen her losses in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.
What's more, many can't name another state where she would defeat Trump and secure enough delegates to win the nomination to run against President Joe Biden in November.
Is this the last stand for Haley?
“I think, from her perspective, if she doesn't get too close in South Carolina or some of the Super Tuesday races [in March] “I don't think that's going to happen,” says Danielle Vinson, a professor of politics and international affairs at Furman University in South Carolina. “I think she's going to clearly realize that there's no real chance of winning.”
“The only reason she's still in it, at that point, is to try to convey to the party that if, for some reason, Trump has to be removed as the nominee before November, she's going to be a good candidate.” The choice is theirs.”
However, for now, Hailey insists she's “not going anywhere.” In fact, this week, just as the Trump campaign issued a memo titled “The End is Near for Nikki Haley” and called on her to resign, she summoned the national press to an event in Greenville and gave a full speech explaining why she was leaving. never back down.
“Some of you — and maybe a few of you in the media — came here today to see if I would drop out of the race,” she said with a slight smile. “Well I don't. Far from it.”
Its causes vary. Most voters do not want a rematch between Trump and Biden, and Haley said they deserve a better choice than “two old men getting older.”
She added that there were still many primaries to be held, and withdrawing this early would put the country in a “bad state of Biden-Trump fatigue” and a chaotic future regardless of who wins.
As for Trump's iron grip on the party? Haley said some Republicans have succumbed to “herd mentality,” but she won't.
“I don't feel the need to kiss the ring,” she said. “I have no fear of retaliation from Trump. I am not looking for anything from him.”
It was a forceful rebuke from a woman who began her presidential campaign much like most of Trump's other rivals: offering lukewarm criticism of the former president for fear of alienating his base.
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But those who know Haley say she doesn't mind a fight, pointing to the time she held the governorship of South Carolina for nearly 30 years, then later ousted a string of male political heavyweights to become the state's first female governor in 2016. 2010.
Now, with little to lose in the face of Trump's momentum, the gloves are off.
On the campaign trail this week, the 52-year-old Republican candidate pushed a new slogan — “Make America Normal Again” — a reference to the “chaos” she says surrounds the former president. It shed light on the series of cases he filed before the courts, and the money he spent financing them. At a recent rally, her staff distributed mental competency tests — something she says every presidential candidate over the age of 75 must take. That would include Trump, who is 77, and Biden, who is 81.
We've all seen them stumble over their words and get confused about world leaders. “This is not the person you want in the Oval Office when Russia launches a nuclear weapon at our satellites, or when China shuts down our power grid,” she added. “We're talking about the most demanding job in human history. Don't give it to someone at risk of dementia.
Not surprisingly, Trump has also been escalating his attacks. After spending the past few months calling his former UN ambassador a “bird brain” and spreading conspiracy theories about her heritage, Trump this month questioned why Haley's husband, Michael, who is currently deployed in Africa with the South Carolina Army National Guard, was not by her side. . side.
In a country where military members are generally met with universal gratitude, Haley and her supporters were angry. On social media, the hashtag #WheresMelania also began trending – a reference to Trump's wife, who has been noticeably absent since he left office.
Donald Trump poses for a photo during an event in Greer, South Carolina, this week. credit: AP
“A president who cannot honor her dead and those who served our country is someone who should not be president of the United States,” said retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc, a friend of Haley who is running as a Republican candidate for Congress in 2022. .
But while the Trump campaign insists Haley has no path to victory, others hope there are enough anti-Trump voters to help her narrow the margin and thwart his momentum as they head toward Super Tuesday, which takes place on March 5 when 16 states and territories participate. They will hold primaries and more than a third of all Republican delegates will be at stake.
South Carolina also has an “open primary,” meaning any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in this contest — as long as they didn't cast a ballot in the state's Democratic primary earlier this month.
Among them is Chris Richardson, a former diplomat and traditional Democratic supporter who plans to vote for Haley in an attempt to thwart the former president's potential return.
Richardson claims this would never happen “in normal political times” – citing Haley's refusal to expand Medicaid when she was governor, and her confusion about slavery as a cause of the Civil War as reasons he would not normally vote for her.
But he said that these are not normal political times, and that Trump's second term will be bolder than ever. The former president has already promised to fire federal employees and initiate mass deportations of migrants crossing the US-Mexico border.
He asked, “What if he wins this year's elections and refuses to transfer power in the next elections?” Asked.
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“It really boils down to: What will our country look like in 2028? And I fear that elections as we know them may not be possible if Donald Trump gets a second term.”
In many ways, Richardson is a symbol of the broad coalition Haley hopes to attract to stay in the race. It is also attracting thousands of donors to pay for much-needed advertising and campaign costs, raising $16.5 million ($25.1 million) in January alone – including from some donors who previously contributed to Biden's 2020 campaign.
On the other hand, her strongest rhetoric to Republicans is that Trump has a history of losing — in the 2020 presidential election, and in the 2018 and 2022 midterms — and “we can't change this country if we don't win.” .
While she admits she faces an uphill battle, she's used to being the underdog.
“I've always been David versus Goliath,” she said this week. “And like David, I'm not just fighting someone bigger than me. I'm fighting for something bigger than myself.”
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