Nikki Haley on Monday rejected the idea that she must win New Hampshire's presidential primary to continue challenging former President Donald Trump.
The former South Carolina governor said in an interview with NewsNation that the “political class” has declared Trump the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, but that what the Trump campaign needs to do Tuesday night is “stronger than Iowa.” He said all he wanted to do was finish.
“We started at 2% in Iowa and finished at 20%. We need to be stronger in New Hampshire and then stronger in South Carolina,” Haley told NewsNation anchor Leland Bittert on Monday. I told Mr. The former U.N. ambassador said it's “absolutely not fair” to say that the New Hampshire primary, the first in the nation, will be decided by his presidential race.
“This is not a coronation. This is an election. And we're going state by state. We're going to take it one step at a time,” Haley said.
New Hampshire primary clash: Can Nikki Haley slow Donald Trump's bid for the Republican presidential nomination?
Nikki Haley and former President Trump are standing side by side. Both men are campaigning in New Hampshire ahead of the primary election. (Getty Images/AP)
The Iowa Republican Party last week loudly elected Trump as the party's standard bearer in 2024, winning a landslide 30-point victory in the caucuses. The former president is hoping for a repeat performance in the Granite State, riding strong momentum after second-place finisher Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. .
At a campaign event in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday, President Trump said, “Now we're down to two, and I think tomorrow we'll probably be one down…It's time for the Republican Party to come together.” Ta.
Haley vows to 'play the long game' in race against Trump
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, former ambassador to the United Nations, speaks at a town hall campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bucati)
Ms. Haley said Monday that Mr. Trump's victory would not be representative of a broad swath of voters, saying that Mr. Trump would have received “only” 1.5% of the total votes cast in Iowa, a state of more than 3 million people. He claimed that there was no.
Haley said New Hampshire (where independent voters, who make up about 40% of the electorate and can vote for either major party's race but tend to reject the winner of Iowa), is likely to win in November's general election. I hope that he will prove himself more qualified for the job. Confrontation with Democratic President Biden.
Haley reveals her proposal to DeSantis supporters
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley receives an endorsement from New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu during an election town hall in Manchester, New Hampshire, December 12, 2023. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
“What we have to remember is that Donald Trump only won Iowa with 1.5% of the vote. 56,000 people out of a population of 3 million voted for him.” said Haley. “That's not a representative of the country. And the political class will say, 'Oh, it's him. It has to be him. No, this is not a coronation. This is an election.'”
Haley said her campaign intends to conduct primaries in “one state at a time” and looks forward to campaigning in “my beloved South Carolina” after the New Hampshire primary. he said.
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Fox News Digital's Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
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