In her native South Carolina, Haley has launched a challenge to Trump ahead of the Republican primary

In her native South Carolina, Haley has launched a challenge to Trump ahead of the Republican primary

In an attempt to undermine Trump's candidacy, Nikki Haley faced up against him in the South Carolina primary, setting up a pivotal contest before to the nomination.

In the SC primary, Nikki Haley opposes Trump. By impeding the last contender's attempt to win the nomination, Trump hopes to establish dominance.

Two weeks remain before the South Carolina Republican primary, and Nikki Haley is attempting to take on Donald Trump on her home ground as the former president looks to disrupt the limited road taken by his last significant opponent to the nomination.

Trump has moved the emphasis of his campaign to the southern state in an attempt to invigorate his fans during a rally on Saturday afternoon in Conway, which is close to Myrtle Beach, after his comfortable victory in Nevada.

OurDuring his rally address, Trump complimented South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, who had originally backed him, and mocked Haley by calling her "Birdbrain". Trump said that the main reason he picked Haley to be his running partner at the UN in 2017 and to represent the US internationally was because she encouraged his second-in-command, McMaster, to run for South Carolina governor. were.

"She did the job," he remarked. She was OK. She was OK. However, I didn't keep her here since I preferred to have her in the US." "I intended to elevate your Lieutenant Governor, who is present, to the position of Governor."

"I wanted him because I thought he deserved it," Trump said.

Having won three straight states, Trump, who has long been the front-runner in the GOP presidential contest, hopes to use South Carolina's primary on February 24 to sabotage Haley's prospects and focus entirely on the election. It's as if the Democratic president wants to concentrate on the anticipated general election rematch with Joe Biden.

Haley began a two-week bus tour around South Carolina, her home state as governor from 2011 to 2017, and boycotted the Nevada caucuses, accusing the process of being rigged for Trump.

Speaking on Saturday to an audience of around a hundred people outside a historic opera theater in Newberry, Haley painted Trump as a volatile, conceited individual who didn't give a damn about the citizens of the United States.

He cited his exertion of power inside the Republican Party this week, when he openly accused Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, of contemplating resigning from her position and successfully pushed Republican legislators in Washington to reject a bipartisan border security agreement. forced to carry out.

"What is happening?" stated Haley. "Those days of all those losses, their fingerprints were everywhere," he said.

Haley persisted in raising concerns about Trump's mental state. She has intensified her attacks on him since a speech on January 19 during which she frequently confused him with the late California congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

Throughout her campaign, 52-year-old Haley has advocated for mental fitness testing for politicians, citing parallels between 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump.

"Why is it necessary for someone who is older than 80 to run for office?" He enquired.

"Why can't they give up their power?"

Among the throng, one guy said, "Because they're grumpy old men!"

"A sullen old man," Haley said.

Later, in a statement to reporters, Haley reiterated her position by referring to a special counsel's investigation, which was made public on Thursday, which looked into Biden's possession of secret materials. Biden's recall was characterized as "poor" in the study.

"You could do better than two 80-year-olds running for leader of the United States," Haley said. Retired fireman Bob Pollard said that he could not back Trump because "he's a maniac" and that his campaign "has turned into personal vendetta" because of his frequent references to "vindictiveness" and his personal complaints.

Harley O'Connell, a citizen of South Carolina and a devoted Haley fan, said that although she intends to back the ultimate GOP candidate, she would rather see someone younger.

Mike O'Connell, her husband, drew attention to the disparities in the foreign policy stances of the candidates and expressed his preference for the US to keep supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia, as Haley has pledged.

His statement on foreign relations was, "We need to encourage friendships, not discourage them."

In his speech and a social media post on Saturday, Trump slammed foreign assistance in general as well as a proposal in Congress to provide around $100 billion in aid for Israel and Ukraine.

He called Hungarian nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán "one of the harshest people," Chinese President Xi Jinping "smart" since he "controls 1.4 billion people," and Russian President Vladimir Putin "very smart, very sharp." continuous exaltation of foreign powers. firmly and ironically".

Hours before the arena doors opened in Conway, thousands were lined up to see Trump. He was supposed to speak there later.

The event is expected to be crowded, so the organizers have placed up screens outside so that everyone in attendance can see Trump's arrival.

The city is situated along the Grand Strand, a broad length of the north coast of South Carolina that is home to Horry County and Myrtle Beach, two of the state's most consistently conservative communities and the stronghold of Trump's support base. A center region exists. previous campaign.

Tim Carter, who lives close to Murrells Inlet, said that he would continue to support Trump this year, just as he did in 2016.

Carter is a preacher and former military man who oversees an addiction treatment organization. "We're here to stand up to Trump," Carter said."To restore our economy, to close the border of our country to create more jobs for our people."

Cheryl Savage of Conway's, who was waiting for Trump to speak from the bleachers, said that the former president is "here to help us."

Although Savage claimed he backed Haley during her first 2010 campaign for governor, he now believes Haley is being detrimental to herself by continuing to run.

Savage said of Trump, "He accomplished a great job for four years," and "He deserves a second term.”