The ultra-favorite of the American right Donald Trump and his former ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, face each other Tuesday evening during the Republican primary in New Hampshire, a vote which should decide the rest of the race for the White House among the conservatives.
Tuesday, “get out of bed and go vote!” the ex-president urged Monday evening during a campaign rally in Laconia, in this northeastern state. “Catch your neighbor, catch everyone, we have to go because we have to win by a large margin,” he added.
Mr. Trump is ahead of Nikki Haley by nearly 20 points in the polls for this second primary.
“Now we are just two people and I think one of them will probably not be here tomorrow,” he predicted, in front of a small noisy crowd, affirming that “the time has come to rally for the Republican Party.
The withdrawal this weekend of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, once considered Donald Trump’s main right-wing rival before the collapse of his campaign, brought the leading trio back to a duel. But the battle is very unequal.
Mr. Trump, supported by a solid base of fervent supporters, has already handily won the Iowa primary on January 15, far ahead of Ron DeSantis (second) and Nikki Haley (third). If he crushes his rival at the polls in New Hampshire, it would be extremely difficult for the former South Carolina governor to recover.
The road for Donald Trump, 77, towards his official nomination as Republican candidate against Democrat Joe Biden in the November presidential election could then be completely clear.
But if Nikki Haley, 52, narrows the gap significantly, or even manages to pull off a miraculous victory in this state with a significant proportion of independents, this would place her in a good position for the next election at the end of February in her state of Carolina. from South.
It’s not a win
Patricia Ferrante, a 68-year-old retiree from Hudson, New Hampshire, says she “doesn’t like” Nikki Haley very much and predicts a “large victory” Tuesday evening for Mr. Trump.
Ms. Haley “seems to be on the side of the people who have money, the people who look down on” others, she told AFP.
While the retiree has the impression that Donald Trump “stands with us, the workers,” she says. “He does not despise us.”
While waiting for the vote, Donald Trump boasted of his lead in the polls on his Truth Social network and brought out the nickname he gives to Nikki Haley: “Sparrow brain”.
This weekend, he also said that “she was not tough enough (…), not intelligent enough (…), not respected enough”.
Although Donald Trump continued to bully him, Ron DeSantis called for people to vote for him.
“It is clear to me that the majority of Republican voters in the primary want to give Donald Trump another chance,” he said, throwing in the towel on Sunday.
Nikki Haley, for her part, must engage in a balancing act: criticize Donald Trump without alienating the Trumpists.
She notably challenged his cognitive abilities after he confused her, in a speech, with the former Democratic President of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi.
Donald Trump “is just not at the same level as in 2016”, she attacked on CBS, judging the former president in “decline” and at risk of causing “chaos”.
A shame for Mr. Trump who never stops making fun of Joe Biden, his age (81) and his blunders, even imitating his sometimes hesitant approach during his campaign rallies.
New Hampshire only represents 22 delegates. To be officially designated, the Republican winner must obtain 1,215.
But compared to more conservative states, it gives a better indication of possible national electoral success and subsequent primaries. Independent voters are authorized to vote in the primaries of both the Republican and Democratic parties, without being affiliated with them.
Donald Trump, prosecuted in several cases, including one for attempting to reverse the results of the 2020 election, must spend the next few months between courts and meetings. He was scheduled to attend a hearing in his defamation trial in New York on Monday, but the hearing was postponed.
