Trump Already in General-Election Mode as Haley Pledges to Hang on Past South Carolina

Nikki Haley is acting like a candidate who will stay in the race well beyond her home state’s February 24 primary. “South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” she said during a defiant state-of-the-race speech Tuesday that seemed to preemptively acknowledge her fifth consecutive defeat to former President Donald Trump after losing to him in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and the Virgin Islands.

Haley is running ads in Michigan ahead of its February 27 primary. She’s announced state leadership teams in Vermont, Texas, Minnesota, and California and plans to traverse seven states and Washington, D.C., next week after the South Carolina primary. And she’s making it clearer by the day that she’s not going to maneuver back into the MAGA camp to preserve a future career path. “I feel no need to kiss the ring,” the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor said in Tuesday’s speech of the GOP front-runner, who now spends more time in courtrooms than on the campaign trail. “And I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him.”

About the Author

Audrey Fahlberg

Audrey Fahlberg was a politics reporter for National Review.

About the Author

Brittany Bernstein

Brittany Bernstein is the deputy news editor of National Review Online.

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Nikki Haley is acting like a candidate who will stay in the race well beyond her home state’s February 24 primary. “South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” she said during a defiant state-of-the-race speech Tuesday that seemed to preemptively acknowledge her fifth consecutive defeat to former President Donald Trump after losing to him in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and the Virgin Islands.

Haley is running ads in Michigan ahead of its February 27 primary. She’s announced state leadership teams in Vermont, Texas, Minnesota, and California and plans to traverse seven states and Washington, D.C., next week after the South Carolina primary. And she’s making it clearer by the day that she’s not going to maneuver back into the MAGA camp to preserve a future career path. “I feel no need to kiss the ring,” the former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor said in Tuesday’s speech of the GOP front-runner, who now spends more time in courtrooms than on the campaign trail. “And I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him.”