February 20, 2024

Nikki Haley Refuses to Drop Out, Even as She Prepares to Lose South Carolina

“I feel no need to kiss the ring.”

She's...still running.Jim Lo Scalzo/EFE/ZUMA

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Nikki Haley is…still running. Even if she’s almost certain to lose her home state. 

That’s essentially the summary of a speech the former South Carolina governor delivered Tuesday in Greenville, South Carolina, ahead of the state’s Republican primary on Saturday, as multiple polls predict a loss to Trump by a margin of anywhere from 20 to more than 30 points. 

But Haley remained defiant and criticized Republicans who privately complain about Trump’s ironclad grip on the GOP, only to bow to “herd mentality” and publicly endorse him.

“I feel no need to kiss the ring,” Haley told a crowd of supporters. “I have no fear of Trump’s retribution.” 

Resisting calls for her to drop out, Haley proceeded to list a litany of reasons she’s staying in the race. They included:

  • Democracy’s at stake (“We don’t anoint kings in this country, we have elections.”) 
  • Biden and Trump are too old to be president (“We’re talking about the most demanding job in human history—you don’t give it to someone who’s at risk of dementia.”)
  • A Biden-Trump rematch is unpopular (“Seventy percent of Americans don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch.”) 

Those points might, indeed, be true. But Haley’s vow to keep fighting Trump appears to ignore the hard fact that Trump is 60 to 70 points ahead of her in multiple polls. And while Haley is right that the United States doesn’t anoint kings, she may want to face the music: a majority of her party would anoint Trump as a dictator for a day. 

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