Trump under pump from judge and rival
Donald Trump’s presidential run has suffered two blows after a judge ordered the release of 2020 election interference findings, and his fiercest Republican rival yet announced she will challenge him for the party’s nomination in 2024.
Former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley said she would fight Mr Trump for the Republican nomination, making her the GOP’s first viable alternative to contest the 2024 presidential election.
The 51-year-old made her announcement on Valentine’s Day in a move expected to open the floodgates to other challenges from rivals such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former vice-president Mike Pence, and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
While the first Republican challenger, former national security adviser John Bolton, announced a run in January, Ms Haley is considered the first serious, and so far fiercest, attempt to dislodge Mr Trump as de facto leader of the party.
“It’s time for a new generation of leadership – to rediscover fiscal responsibility, secure our border and strengthen our country, our pride and our purpose,” she said in the video shot in Bamberg, the South Carolina town of her birth.
She also took a swipe at Joe Biden, saying the President’s record was “abysmal”.
“But that shouldn’t come as a surprise. The Washington establishment has failed us over and over and over again,” she said.
The next challenger is expected to be South Carolina senator Tim Scott, who has an event planned for Thursday (local time) to announce his “vision of hope”, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Ms Haley’s candidacy comes after a judge in Georgia ordered the public release of a special grand jury report on whether Mr Trump pressured local officials to overturn the 2020 election results.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the public release of three sections of a grand jury report on whether or not Mr Trump and his allies broke state law, as well as discussed concerns that “some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony”.
The report had been sealed by the District Attorney to protect the rights of potential “defendants” in the case, which observers took to mean the grand jury hearing could result in imminent charges against Mr Trump or members of his administration.
The judge ruled that parts of the report recommending whether to charge an individual would remain private.