Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
S.C. leaders rally with Trump in N.H.
Republican frontrunner tries to undercut Haley ahead of primary
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — Donald Trump surrounded himself with leaders from Nikki Haley’s home state in a show of strength ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.
Trump was joined at a rally at the NHU Arena in Manchester Saturday night by South Carolina Gov. Henry Mcmaster, the state’s lieutenant governor and a slew of other senior officials, including the state’s attorney general, treasurer and House speaker. The statewide officials, along with U.S. Reps. Joe Wilson, William Timmons and Russell Fry, appeared on stage with Trump.
“Almost every politician from South Carolina’s endorsing me,” Trump declared.
The South Carolinians urged the voters to carry Trump to a win in New Hampshire before the contest moves to their state and its decisive early contest set for next month.
“If you do that and you win by a big margin here, we’ll finish the job in South Carolina,” said Murrell Smith, the speaker of the South Carolina House of Representatives.
The appearances are yet another blow from South Carolina against Haley, who is hoping her appeal among independent and unaffiliated voters will propel her to a strong enough finish in New Hampshire to turn the race into a two-person contest against Trump.
Mcmaster and other top officials had already endorsed Trump. Haley has a famously fractious relationship with many of her state’s Republican power brokers even as she was twice elected governor — defeating Mcmaster in the GOP primary the first time.
Her response on Saturday made clear she hadn’t forgotten that rivalry.
“I’m sorry, is that the person I ran against for governor and beat?” she said. “Just checking.
Trump on Saturday repeatedly railed against Haley and New Hampshire’s voting laws, which allow unaffiliated voters to participate in either the Republican or
Democratic primary. The state’s more moderate electorate is expected to make the contest much closer than it was in leadoff Iowa.
“Don’t listen to polls. Get out and vote. We need a big big win against these terrible people,” Trump said.
Haley, meanwhile, highlighted on Saturday a gaffe Trump made at his rally the night before.
Trump repeatedly suggested Haley had been in charge of keeping the Capitol secure on Jan. 6, 2021, when a mob of Trump supporters stormed the building to try to stop his election loss from being certified. Haley was not at the Capitol that day. And Trump has consistently downplayed his administration’s failure to keep the Capitol safe or his delay in trying to call off the rioters.
“They’re saying he got confused. That he was talking about something else, that he was talking about Nancy Pelosi,” Haley said. “When you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else where we question whether they’re mentally fit to do this.”