Former UN ambassador Nikki Haley's suspension of her presidential campaign has prompted two very different statements from former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
While Trump did a victory lap on Truth Social and boasted to his followers that he "TROUNCED" the former South Carolina governor, Biden made an entreaty to Haley's voters in a public statement tweeted by Politico's Sam Stein.
"It takes a lot of courage to run for president — that's especially true in today's Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump," Biden stated. "Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin."
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"Donald Trump made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters. I want to be clear: There is a place for them in my campaign," he continued. "I know there is a lot we won't agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America's adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground."
"We all know this is no ordinary election. And the stakes for America couldn't be higher. I know that Democrats and Republicans and Independents disagree on many issues and hold strong convictions. That's a good thing," he added. "That's what America stands for. But I also know this: what unites Democrats and Republicans and Independents is a love for America."
Biden's statement could yield dividends, particularly in battleground states where the winner could be determined by a few thousand votes, like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. In 2020, for example, Biden flipped those five states from red to blue, and won Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin by just over 42,000 combined votes between those three states. Other states Trump won by a smaller margin, like Florida, Iowa and North Carolina, could also be in play if Biden manages to win over Haley's voters.
And even though Haley attacked Biden on the campaign trail, her voters may be warm to voting for him in the general election if Trump is the GOP nominee. Exit polling data from multiple Super Tuesday states found that many of the former UN ambassador's supporters were icy toward the 45th president, indicating an opening for Biden. ABC News found that nearly eight out of 10 Haley voters in North Carolina wouldn't commit to supporting the GOP nominee in November.
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Whether Biden is able to capture Haley's supporters could ultimately hinge on whom she endorses now that her campaign is over. Former congressman David Jolly (R-Florida), who left the Republican Party out of protest of Trump's dominance over it, issued a challenge to his fellow anti-Trump Republicans during a segment with MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace earlier this week: Endorse Biden now and campaign for him through November.
"Donald Trump beating Nikki Haley does not make Donald Trump more fit for office," Jolly said. "What changes the dynamic? It actually relies on leadership voices like Nikki Haley's and Chris Christie's, and Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to say, 'we are voting for Joe Biden in November.' And if they fail to do that, they fail the greatest test they've ever faced, probably."
To Jolly's point, of those four Republicans, only Kinzinger — a former Republican member of Congress from Illinois — has publicly vowed to support Biden if the general election is between him and Trump. Despite their open criticism of the ex-president, neither former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie nor former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming) have publicly committed to backing Biden in the general election.
That may change depending on the outcome of Trump's four upcoming criminal trials. He's due to stand trial in New York on March 25 for the alleged hush money scheme in which adult film star Stormy Daniels was paid $130,000 in exchange for her silence ahead of the 2016 election about her affair with Trump. And if Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis survives the attempt by defense lawyers to disqualify her, she may get a chance to try the former president in Georgia prior to the general election. So far, only the Manhattan trial has a concrete date.
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