Worthy Christian News > US News > Nikki Haley Suspends Presidential Election Campaign; Wishes Trump Well

Nikki Haley Suspends Presidential Election Campaign; Wishes Trump Well

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

WASHINGTON (Worthy News) – Nikki Haley, the last main rival of Donald J. Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, has suspended her campaign.

Haley said it is up to Trump to “earn the votes” of those in the Republican party and beyond it, adding that she “hopes” he will do so.

From her home state of South Carolina, Haley said “in all likelihood” that Trump will be the Republican nominee, adding: “I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s president.”

It comes after President Joe Biden and Trump swept up most ballots on what is known as “Super Tuesday,” when the most significant number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses.

About one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominating conventions of the Republican and rival Democratic Party can be won on Super Tuesday, more than on any other day.

The outcome set former President Trump and current President Biden on course for a rematch in November.

NOMINATING RACES

The pair are now vying to appeal to Haley’s supporters – with Biden saying he has a “place for them” and Trump inviting them to join his movement.

Biden won Democratic nominating races in 14 states – plus Iowa, where people voted by post – but lost in the territory of American Samoa by 11 votes, results showed.

Trump was victorious in 14 Republican contests – although Haley secured a surprise win in Vermont, election officials said.

Immigration and the economy were critical issues for Republican voters, exit polls showed, despite America facing multi-billion dollar military challenges abroad ranging from the war in Ukraine and the Middle East to a potential standoff with China over Taiwan.

As he dominated the Super Tuesday battlefield, former President Trump warned of dark days ahead if President Biden were to win a second term. “We’re a third-world country,” he stressed repeatedly.

“We’ve watched our country take a great beating over the last three years,” Trump told supporters on Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida. “And nobody thought a thing like this would be possible.”

CHAOS WARNINGS

He did not mention his lone Republican rival Haley, his former United Nations ambassador, but focused on Biden’s presidency, saying the nation was descending toward chaos.

Trump not only spoke about the immigration crisis at the Mexican border, the economy, and security challenges with China, He singled out the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, where Trump recalled that the United States left “brand-new beautiful equipment behind.”

Over $7 billion of military equipment the US transferred to the Afghan government over 16 years remained in Afghanistan following the U.S. withdrawal from the country in August 2021, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Defense.

It included aircraft, air-to-ground munitions, military vehicles, weapons, communications equipment, and other materials, explained the report at the time.

The material was left behind after a war that killed over 2,400 American forces, including during the withdrawal when 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghans died in a suicide attack at Kabul airport.

“Jets and tanks and everything you can think of. Goggles. Night goggles” were left for Afghanistan’s Islamic Taliban rulers, he said.

NIGHT FIGHT

“They didn’t used to fight at night. Now they do because they have goggles. They have better goggles than we have,” Trump complained.

On a night when he won most Republican primary elections, Trump still raised doubts about the integrity of the voting process. “We’re a third-world country at our borders, and we’re a third-world country at our elections,” Trump warned.

His speech clarified that he already focused on the general election and an increasingly likely fight against Biden.

Trump still faces headwinds over his style comments and numerous court cases.

However, questions over Biden’s health added to doubts among voters whether the 81-year-old can lead the United States for another four years and could boost Trump’s chances.

Biden also faces criticism within his Democratic Party over his support for the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which was triggered by the Hamas attack in Israel that killed some 1,200 people.

With the election likely to be decided by tens of thousands of votes in a few battleground states, that frustration and diminished standing in critical constituencies could mean Biden faces a rocky road ahead, commentators warn.