After a humiliating defeat in the Super Tuesday primaries, Republican candidate Nikki Haley announced on the morning of March 6 that she would withdraw from the race for the Republican nomination. For this reason, both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump released their respective messages to persuade a group of voters who were left orphaned.
The first to jump was Donald Trump, who went out to persuade Nikki Haley's voters shortly before the news of Haley's withdrawal became known—although it was already rumored because all her campaign events were canceled that night.
In a message posted on his TRUTH account, the former president spoke of Haley's "crushing" defeat and said: "I would like to invite all Haley supporters to join the largest movement in the history of our nation."
"BIDEN IS THE ENEMY! HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY!" he also said in the message.
Trump took the opportunity to remind everyone that Haley performed better in those states where Democrats and independents could vote in the Republican primaries.
Then, in a very different tone but with a similar intention, Joe Biden, without any shame, published a statement asking Haley's supporters to support him to avoid what he claimed would be the threat from Donald Trump.
"It takes a lot of courage to run for president — especially in today's Republican Party, where very few dare to tell the truth about Donald Trump. Nikki Haley was willing to tell the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always accompanies him, his inability to differentiate good from bad, and his submission to Vladimir Putin," reads the statement published by Biden.
🚨 | El mensaje de Joe Biden a los partidarios de Nikki Haley:
“Hay espacio en mi campaña para quienes apoyan a Nikki Haley” pic.twitter.com/rn58VPNUfs
— VOZ (@VozMediaUSA) March 6, 2024
"Donald Trump made it very clear that he doesn't want Nikki Haley supporters," Biden said, "and let me be quite clear: There is room for them in my campaign."
Biden said in the statement that, although there are differences that separate them on "fundamental issues such as preserving democracy, respecting the rule of law, treating others with decency, dignity and respect, preserving NATO and confronting the adversaries of the United States, I know we found common ground."
Finally, President Biden said that the November election is not just another election; what is at stake is the Republic, and, therefore, he asks everyone who loves this country, whether Democrats, Republicans, or independents, to join.
Of the primaries and caucuses played so far, Nikki Haley obtained just 89 delegates, compared to the more than a thousand obtained by Trump, who is less than 200 away from officially becoming the Republican Party nominee.
Haley's performance in the elections was quite poor, always losing by a very wide margin. However, she had a couple of wins, first in Washington, D.C., and on Super Tuesday in Vermont.
With both victories, Haley made history by becoming the first Republican woman to win a presidential primary or caucus. However, her detractors claim that both arenas suited her in Vermont, they say, because they were under the modality of open primaries, where Democrats and independents could participate, and in D.C., where just over 2,000 Republicans participated because it is where the anti-Trump establishment dominates—and also the Democratic Party.
And, according to polls, many of Nikki Haley's voters were either independents or Democrats.
According to a New York Times poll, the vast majority of Haley voters (48%) supported Biden in 2020 rather than Trump. On the other hand, 48% of those who voted for the then-candidate in Virginia approved of Joe Biden's management.
48% of Nikki Haley supporters in Virginia "approve of Biden's job as president."
Only 1% of Trump voters approve of Biden. pic.twitter.com/eMgNfzqq6b
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 5, 2024
The exit polls about Nikki Haley's voters' views on Biden and the economy are WILD.
These results, which are from Virginia, show that 92 PERCENT of Haley's voters approve of Joe Biden's performance as president, and 87 PERCENT of Haley's voters say they're satisfied with how… pic.twitter.com/KwgtUkxHxE
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) March 6, 2024
Considering these numbers, it is a bit uncertain to say that if Haley refuses to support Donald Trump for the November elections, this would really hurt the former president. However, Trump tried to persuade those within the Republican Party who trusted the opposite option.
And the Democratic Party, beyond Biden, did the same. With a statement, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) asked Haley's supporters to support the president.
"Haley's supporters know that Trump has failed the American people," read a statement released by DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison.
"For them, there is only one candidate left in this race who has shown that he has what it takes to beat Donald Trump: Joe Biden."
