Twelve hours after Donald Trump predicted his near sweep of Super Tuesday states would lead to unity “very quickly” in the Republican Party, the former president delivered a parting shot to his last remaining rival for the GOP nomination. On his social media site Truth Social, he called some of Nikki Haley’s supporters “radical left Democrats” and dismissed her Vermont victory the day before as less than legitimate.
“I hope she stays in the ‘race’ and fights it out until the end!” he added.
But by then, the former South Carolina governor was no longer in the race. A minute prior, Haley had suspended her presidential campaign, making Trump the presumptive Republican nominee on his way to a rematch with President Joe Biden.
As he emerges victorious from the Republican primary race, Trump faces considerable challenges both inside and outside the political arena. He is fighting to delay four criminal trials until after the November election, a battle that is headed to the US Supreme Court next month. Mounting legal bills and more than half a billion dollars in judgments against him have threatened his personal and campaign finances.
But chief among his priorities as a candidate over the next eight months will be rallying disenchanted Republicans around his third White House bid. Trump’s team is keenly aware of how polarizing their candidate is, and that every vote will count in what is expected to be a highly competitive general election rematch. Wednesday’s inauspicious start to Trump’s outreach efforts is reflective of the longstanding concerns about his temperament and style that inspired many Republicans to support Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other candidates over the former president.
Haley in her concession speech withheld an endorsement and instead encouraged Trump to…
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