Trump Promises ‘Full Fentanyl Blockade’
Speaking to supporters in Rochester, New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump vowed to impose a “full fentanyl blockade” using the full strength of the U.S. Navy if reelected.
“I will deploy the U.S. Navy to impose a full fentanyl blockade on the waters of our region,” President Trump said, noting that many of the precursor chemicals for fentanyl come into Mexico by ship.
China is the main manufacturer of the chemicals that are eventually used by drug cartels to make fentanyl, which then floods into cities across the U.S. after coming across the border.
“Drug cartels are waging war in America and we will wage [war] and destroy … the drug cartels.”
—Joseph Lord
Tulsi Gabbard Urges Against Haley
Former Hawai’i Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard took to X (formerly Twitter) with a warning for New Hampshire primary voters about Nikki Haley as the Republican voting pool is left with only two candidates from which to choose.
“Nikki Haley is no different from Liz Cheney and Hillary Clinton—women who have never served in the military and feel the need to “prove” how tough they are by always advocating for more war,” she wrote. “To the voters of New Hampshire, please know that a vote for Haley is a vote for endless and bigger wars.”
—T.J. Muscaro
Haley: Trump, Biden ‘Equally Bad’ for Country
Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley took another swing at former President Donald Trump mere hours after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race.
During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash, she equated the former president with President Joe Biden, and claimed she was in the race because both men were “equally bad” for the country.
“If either one of them was good, I wouldn’t be running,” she said. “Yes, they are equally bad, that’s why I’m running… because I don’t think we need to have Biden or Trump.”
Rather than having to choose between “two 80-year-olds,” she said she’s giving people another choice.
“We need to know they’re at the top of their game,” she said. “We need to know that they can take care of our national security and our economy. Right now, I don’t know that people feel like that with either one.”
She also argued that both President Trump and President Biden would make the election about “the past” and legal problems rather than about solving the problems facing Americans today.
Ms. Haley remains the only Republican challenger to President Trump in the final days before the first-in-the-nation primary election in New Hampshire. Mr. DeSantis, upon announcing the suspension of his campaign, also denounced Ms. Haley and endorsed President Trump.
“[President Trump] has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear–a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism–that Nikki Haley represents,” the Florida governor said. “The days of putting Americans last, of kowtowing to large corporations, of caving to woke ideology, are over.”
—T.J. Muscaro
Trump Criticizes US Military Strikes in Yemen
During a campaign rally in Rochester, New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump sniped at U.S. military activity targeting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
President Trump, who has made anti-interventionist and anti-war positions a key part of his political identity, criticized the United States for carrying out missile strikes in Yemen, saying the activity constituted a new “endless war.” Were he in the White House, he said, he could solve the problem with a phone call.
President Trump was referencing a series of joint strikes carried out by the United States, U.K., and other U.S. allies on Houthi rebels in Yemen after the Houthis attacked ships in the Red Sea.
Specifically, while criticizing the Republican establishment, President Trump said they “spend trillions and trillions of dollars on really dumb endless wars.”
“They never end. They go on for … 24 years.”
Now, President Trump said, “we have a new war going on in the Middle East. We’re dropping bombs all over the place again.”
“You can do it with a telephone call and be much tougher if you know what you’re doing,” he added.
—Joseph Lord
Haley Takes Shot at South Carolina Governor
EXETER, N.H.—At a rally at Exeter High School just two days before the first-in-the nation primary, Nikki Haley took a shot at Henry McMaster, her successor as South Carolina governor, who has endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Mr. McMaster, who served as a lieutenant governor under Ms. Haley, campaigned with President Trump in New Hampshire on Jan. 20.
“They said, ‘What do you say about the fact that the governor of South Carolina came to New Hampshire to campaign against you?’ And I would say, ‘you mean the guy that I beat when I ran for governor?’” she said.
Ms. Haley defeated Mr. McMaster in the 2010 South Carolina gubernatorial GOP primary that was seen as an upset by Ms. Haley, who defeated bigger-name candidates as a Tea Party candidate.
—Jackson Richman
Judge Judy Stumps for Haley
EXETER, N.H.— In a packed high-school auditorium and just two days to go until the first-in-nation primary in New Hampshire, after a delay following Gov. Chris Sununu’s firing up the crowd, Judge Judy appeared onstage with a message: It’s time for a leader to save America from former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
“And for me, finding the person that we can be proud of not only domestically, but on the national stage in 2024 is probably the most important decision that all of us are going to have to make in our current history,” Judith Sheindlin told the crowd at Exeter High School, which included someone who called on her to throw President Trump, who is facing 91 criminal charges across four cases, behind bars.
“Nikki Haley has to be that candidate.”
Ms. Sheindlin endorsed Ms. Haley earlier this month.
Upon taking the stage, Ms. Haley continued to celebrate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropping out of the race.
“What a crowd! Thank you so much for coming out! Can you hear that sound?” she said.
“That’s the sound of a two-person race.”
—Jackson Richman
DeSantis ‘Ran A Great Campaign’: Trump
Speaking to supporters in Rochester, New Hampshire, former President Donald Trump congratulated his erstwhile GOP opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Mr. DeSantis announced earlier today that he was dropping his bid for the White House after he failed to achieve an upset in Iowa, where he finished at a distant second.
Mr. DeSantis immediately endorsed President Trump upon leaving the race.
President Trump reacted graciously to the departure of the Florida governor, thanking him for his endorsement and announcing that he was officially retiring his nickname for the candidate, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
“He ran a really great campaign,” President Trump told his supporters in Rochester, complimenting both Mr. DeSantis and his wife, Casey DeSantis.
“As you know, he left the campaign trail today … And in so doing he was very gracious and endorsed me, so I appreciate that,” President Trump added.
He concluded, “I look forward to working with Ron … to defeat crooked Joe Biden.”
—Joseph Lord
New Hampshire Crowd Chants “V.P.!” for Kari Lake of Arizona
ROCHESTER, N.H.–When Kari Lake showed up at the rally for former President Donald Trump here, just before he took the stage, the audience showered her with cheers and applause.
Ms. Lake, who formerly ran for the Arizona governorship, now is campaigning to represent that state in the U.S. Senate.
But many of the former president’s supporters would like to see her as his running mate.
The crowd at the Rochester Opera House chanted, “V.P.!” to indicate that they wanted her to be vice president under President Trump.
In between giving interviews to TV crews, Ms. Lake leaned over a balcony and waved to the supporters below who were waving signs and shouting. She chanted along with them, “Trump! Trump! Trump!”
—Janice Hisle
Every ‘Patriot’ Needs to Help Trump Win Primary, Community Leader Says
ROCHESTER, N.H.–Each of former President Donald Trump’s supporters needs to take action to ensure that he wins the primary election on Tuesday, a longtime community leader and business owner said.
Lou Gargiulo, co-chair of President Trump’s reelection effort in New Hampshire, told an overflow crowd at the Rochester Opera House: “We are the people who can bring back the American Dream, led by Donald J. Trump.”
He asked the crowd of about 760 people: “What are you going to do to make Trump our next president?”
He reminded the audience that the election is less than two days away, and now is not the time to coast to victory.
The Republican frontrunner’s chances of winning the primary improved after an opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, dropped out of the race, Mr. Gargiulo said, leaving only Nikki Haley, former U.N. ambassador and South Carolina governor.
But he said each person who backs the former president needs to take action.
“We need people at all of the polls holding signs; People need to see the support the president has,” Mr. Gargiulo said.
“The people in this room, the patriots, are very engaged,” he said, but not everyone is.
He urged rallygoers to call their friends and neighbors, remind them to vote, and offer to drive people to the polls.
“Get anybody and everybody who can vote and get them to the polls…that’s what the Democrats do,” Mr.Gargiulo said. “We have to do the same.”
He implored the audience to “please understand how important this is,” because the future of the nation is at stake.
“We have to fight, fight, fight…We have an army of patriots across the country who are sick and tired of the direction of the country,” he said.
Biden to Launch Pro-Abortion Campaign on Roe Anniversary
President Joe Biden on Monday will mark the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, which was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2022.
The Biden campaign is ramping up efforts to promote abortion access in the 2024 presidential race. On Tuesday, the president and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to hold a campaign rally in Northern Virginia, where they plan to highlight what they describe as threats to reproductive freedom and condemn former President Donald Trump for his role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
As part of the effort, the Biden campaign released an ad on Jan. 21 featuring Dr. Austin Dennard, a Texas woman who had to travel out of state for an abortion because her fetus had a fatal development condition, highlighting the challenges faced by some women seeking abortions.
“In Texas, you are forced to carry that pregnancy, and that is because of Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade,” she says in the emotional ad.
—Emel Akan
Chant at Rally: ‘We Believe That Trump Will Win’
ROCHESTER, N.H.–Supporters of former President Donald Trump expressed optimism after one of his two remaining Republican rivals dropped out of the race.
Asked to react to the news that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his campaign and endorsed President Trump, Linda Morancy, 66, of Dover, N.H., told The Epoch Times: “I think Trump’s got it in the bag.”
Ms. Morancy said she is a former lifelong Democrat but became a fan of then-candidate Donald Trump after his first run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
She suspects that the remaining challenger to President Trump, candidate Nikki Haley, will benefit from Democrats who changed their party affiliation to vote in the state’s “semi-open” Republican party on Tuesday, Jan. 23. But, Ms. Morancy said she believes President Trump will prevail in the primary.
Moments later, the crowd echoed her sentiments.
Standing in the front of the crowded theater, a man in a light blue suit and cowboy hat led a chant, “We believe that Trump will win!”
President Trump is due to speak at 7 p.m. ET.
—Janice Hisle
Trump Officially Retires ‘DeSanctimonious’ Nickname
Former President Donald Trump announced after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s departure from the presidential race that he was officially retiring his nickname for the Florida Republican, “Ron DeSanctimonious.”
Earlier, DeSantis dropped out of the race, saying he had no path to victory after failing to achieve an upset in Iowa. He immediately endorsed President Trump.
President Trump’s campaign responded to the departure graciously, thanking the Florida governor for his endorsement and calling on the Republican Party to come together behind the clear frontrunner.
Later, during a campaign stop in New Hampshire, President Trump announced he would go a step further in a show of forgiveness for his erstwhile adversary.
Asked whether he would continue using his nickname for Mr. DeSantis, President Trump announced, “That nickname is officially retired.”
The announcement was met with a chorus of cheers from those in attendance, and marks a potential first step in a rapprochement between the two one-time allies.
—Joseph Lord
House Freedom Caucus Chair Endorses Trump After DeSantis Drops Out
The House Freedom Caucus chairman, who previously backed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, has officially endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.) did so shortly after Mr. DeSantis suspended his campaign and offered his own endorsement to President Trump..
“It is my privilege to provide my complete and total endorsement for Donald J. Trump as the 47th President of the United States,” said Mr. Good on X, formerly Twitter. “President Trump was the greatest President of my lifetime, and we need him to reinstate the policies that were working so well for America.”
Mr. Good also thanked Mr. DeSantis for running an “outstanding campaign” and being “a tremendous conservative leader.”
He said he hopes the governor runs again in 2028 “to build on the great work of President Trump and bring the Florida model to Washington.”
Mr. Good had originally given Mr. DeSantis his endorsement, saying on May 9, 2023, “That strength in the face of adversity is needed more today than ever before, and it is why I am unequivocally endorsing and encouraging Governor DeSantis to run for president.”
—T.J. Muscaro
Poll: DeSantis Supporters Were More Likely to Choose Trump Over Haley
With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis out of the running in the GOP presidential primary, a recent poll suggests his supporters are more likely to go with his recommendation and back former President DonaldTrump over former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley–and were already planning to do so before he dropped out.
The poll, conducted by CNN and the University of New Hampshire, was released just hours before Mr. DeSantis’s announcement. While the governor was already far behind President Trump and Ms.Haley, 62 percent of voters who claimed he was their first choice chose President Trump as their second choice, with only 30 percent choosing Ms. Haley.
The poll also shows that 63 percent of Mr. DeSantis’s primary supporters said they would be enthusiastic or satisfied if President Trump got the Republican nomination, while only 40 percent said they would feel the same if the nomination were given to Ms. Haley.
With 2,348 participants, the poll was taken between Jan. 16 and Jan. 19, and has a margin of error of +/- 2 percent.
“I signed a pledge to support the Republican nominee and I will honor that pledge,” Mr. DeSantis said in his speech. “He [President Trump] has my endorsement because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear–a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism–that Nikki Haley represents.”
—T.J. Muscaro
Trump Campaign Responds
Former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign reacted to the news of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s departure from the 2024 race in an email sent out to supporters.
Mr. DeSantis, after failing to achieve the upset he hoped for in Iowa, on Jan. 21 announced in a post on X that he was leaving the race and endorsing President Trump for the White House over former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, who remains in the race.
“With only a few days left until President Donald J. Trump’s victory in New Hampshire, we are honored by the endorsement from Governor Ron DeSantis and so many other former presidential candidates,” the statement read.
The campaign repeated calls from President Trump and others for the GOP to come together behind President Trump and focus their attention on defeating President Joe Biden.
“It is now time for all Republicans to rally behind President Trump to defeat Crooked Joe Biden and end his disastrous presidency.”
The campaign also continued President Trump’s posturing against Ms. Haley, the only notable challenger for the nomination still in the race.
The statement dismissed Ms. Haley as “the candidate of the globalists and Democrats who will do everything to stop the America First movement,” adding that “she represents the views of Democrats more than the views of Republicans.
“It’s time to choose wisely.”
—Joseph Lord
Florida Politicians Follow DeSantis and Endorse Trump
Moments after suspending his campaign, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis endorsed former President Donald Trump, and other politicians in the Sunshine State followed suit.
Those Floridians include members of Mr. DeSantis’s administration, including Florida’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“There has never been a more corrupt, more inept Administration than the Biden Crime family,” Florida’s CFO, Jimmy Patronis, said on X , formerly Twitter. “The swamp is deep and there is only one man who can return this country to its greatness and dismantle this atrocity the elites have built: VOTE DONALD TRUMP.”
“There is no greater governor in America than Ron DeSantis. I am proud to have fought alongside him to achieve major policy victories, and I look forward to his continued leadership for our great state of Florida and our country,” said Speaker Paul Renner on X.”It is time for us to unite and support Donald J. Trump as our nominee for President of the United States.”
Other members of Florida’s State Legislature also joined in endorsing President Trump.
“@GovRonDeSantis has fought against Biden’s radical anti-American policies and gotten BIG things done in Florida. I’ve been proud to stand with him,” said State Sen. Jay Collins on X. “Now it’s time to unite beside @realDonaldTrump and save this great nation. Let’s come together to finish the fight.”
“I am proud to endorse Donald J. Trump to be the next President of the United States,” said State Rep. Daniel Perez on X. Floridians have delivered for President Trump twice before, and we will work nonstop to do so again this November.”
Having Mr. DeSantis and President Trump running against each other had left the Sunshine State divided, but now, more Floridians follow Mr. DeSantis’s lead, remembering in his endorsement of President Trump, the promise he made to support the party nominee.
The Republican Party of Florida reacted to his address on X, saying they were “Thankful for Governor @RonDeSantis and his commitment to ensuring a Republican victory this November and supporting our GOP nominee. We are proud of our governor and all he’s accomplished for our state and look forward to his continued leadership in the Sunshine State.”
—T.J. Muscaro
Democrats React to DeSantis Dropping Out
In response to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to suspend his 2024 Republican primary campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) issued a statement.
“Ron DeSantis pinned his entire campaign’s hopes on the same extreme MAGA agenda that both Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are still running on, and now he is the latest member of the GOP to fall in line behind the original MAGA brand,” DNC press secretary Sarafina Chitika said in the statement.
“Just like Trump, DeSantis ran a campaign pledging to ban abortion nationwide, rip away access to health care, and gut Social Security and Medicare, while embracing election deniers and whitewashing January 6. Whichever candidate wins the race for the MAGA base will be left running on the same dangerous and unpopular anti-freedom agenda that voters will reject in November.”
President Joe Biden’s name will not appear on the ballot in New Hampshire’s primary on Jan. 23. His campaign said he will hold a rally in Northern Virginia instead to highlight threats to reproductive freedom, “including the threat of a MAGA Republican-led national abortion ban.”
—Emel Akan
Gaetz Praises DeSantis for Suspending Campaign, Calls Him ‘Diet Trump’
KEENE, N.H.—Just minutes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the presidential race, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) praised his state executive’s decision at a restaurant in Keene, New Hampshire.
“Welcome back!” he said.
“I guess we figured out we wanted Trump instead of Diet Trump,” he said, drawing laughter from an enthusiastic crowd..
He also questioned why former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley was still in the race.
–Nathan Worcester
Republicans React to DeSantis’s Exit
News that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had dropped out of the GOP presidential primary race set the Republican Party ablaze on Jan. 21.
Reaction from campaign staffers and other Republicans poured in on X as news of the governor’s announcement and endorsement of former President Donald Trump spread.
“I’ve worked for many public servants, but only one who was truly selfless in his service to country,” wrote James Uthmeier, Mr. DeSantis’s chief of staff.
“[Ron DeSantis] is the real deal. As someone who loves executing good policy to help people, supporting this guy has been fulfilling. We fought the good fight, and we aren’t done.”
Mr. DeSantis’s Rapid Response Director Christina Pushaw and Press Secretary Bryan Griffin likewise expressed in separate posts that they were “honored” to have stood alongside the candidate in his bid for the White House.
Meanwhile, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), an ardent supporter of President Trump, was ready and waiting to welcome Mr. DeSantis back into the “MAGA” fold.
“Welcome Home, Ron! It’s great to have America’s Governor back onside,” he wrote before adding in another post, “We’re getting the band back together!”
Mr. DeSantis’s exit paves the way for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to become the primary Republican alternative to President Trump in the race.
Ms. Haley was all smiles while announcing the news at a campaign event in Seabrook, New Hampshire.
“We just heard that Ron DeSantis has dropped out of the race. He ran a great race, he’s been a good governor, and we wish him well. Having said that, it’s now one fella and one lady left.”
–Samantha Flom
Ron DeSantis Drops Out
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the 2024 primary election on Jan. 21 and endorsed President Donald Trump.
Mr. DeSantis made the announcement in a video posted on X, the platform he used to launch his campaign in May last year.
The Florida governor made his exit official two days prior to the New Hampshire primary election, in which he polled in the single digits, well behind former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and President Donald Trump.
“Following our second-place finish in Iowa, we’ve prayed and deliberated on the way forward. If there was anything I could do to produce a favorable outcome—more campaign stops, more interviews — I would do it. But I can’t ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don’t have a clear path to victory,” Mr. DeSantis said in his video message. “Accordingly, I am now, today suspending my campaign.”
In the same announcement, Mr. DeSantis endorsed former President Donald Trump.
“He has my endorsement because we cannot go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear,” Mr. DeSantis said. “A repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism that Nikki Haley represents.”
With Mr. DeSantis’ withdrawal, only former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stands in the way of President Trump reclaiming the GOP nomination. That would set up a rematch of the 2020 presidential election.
“It’s now one fella and one lady,” Haley said at a seafood restaurant in Seabrook, N.H., in reaction to news of DeSantis dropping out.
—Austin Alonzo, Jackson Richman, and Ivan Pentchoukov
.@NikkiHaley on @RonDeSantis dropping: “It’s now one fella and one lady.” pic.twitter.com/4kXKXpXmMp
— Jackson Richman (@jacksonrichman) January 21, 2024
Haley Explains Why She’s Not in Nevada Caucus
EPPING, N.H.—Nikki Haley explained on Jan. 21 why she will be in the Nevada primary on Feb. 6 that, unlike the caucus on Feb. 8, will not allocate delegates.
“Talk to the people in Nevada, they will tell you the caucuses have been sealed up, bought and paid for for a long time. And so that’s why we got into the primary,” she said in response to a question from The Epoch Times.
“But we know the caucus is what it is,” she said. “And these are people who are involved in it that tried to stop it. But that’s the Trump train rolling through that, but we’re gonna focus on the states that are fair.”
Former President Donald Trump is expected to win the Nevada Caucus, by which the state GOP will allocate delegates, as opposed to the primary that was mandated under state law—until a judge allowed Nevada GOP to have its caucus.
In Nevada, 26 delegates are up for grabs, while South Carolina has 50 for the taking.
Gov. Chris Sununu Says Haley Can Still Win New Hampshire’s Primary
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu has “no doubt” that Nikki Haley can still win the Granite State’s first-in-the-nation primary.
On a Jan. 21 appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Mr. Sununu, a Republican, said the former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. has knocked out all the other candidates and can score a surprise victory on Jan. 23.
NBC’s Kristen Welker played a clip of Mr. Sununu’s earlier statements to the press predicting a “no doubt” win in a “landslide.”
“I think she can still win. There’s no doubt about it,” Mr. Sununu said.
Mr. Sununu went on to call the race for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nomination, a contest between Ms. Haley and former President Donald Trump.
“I’ve always said you want a one-on-one race going into Super Tuesday,” Mr. Sununu said. “I think Super Tuesday is probably where you actually have to start winning states.”
Pressed on his previous predictions, Mr. Sununu said Ms. Haley doesn’t necessarily need to win. He pointed to the fact she polled in the single digits in December and is now running much closer to President Trump.
He said Ms. Haley, whom he’s endorsed and is campaigning with in New Hampshire, is going to run a strong race through Super Tuesday and beyond.
“People don’t realize that South Carolina isn’t next week. It’s like three or four weeks away,” Mr. Sununu said. “Nikki is going to have a lot of time to build on the momentum she’s already created.”
Emulating Ms. Haley’s comments elsewhere on Sunday morning, Mr. Sununu went after a recent gaffe made by President Trump on the campaign trail.
A misidentification of Ms. Haley, when he likely meant to say Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), shows Donald Trump is not as mentally sharp as he was eight years ago, he said.
“This is not Donald Trump, the disrupter of 2016. This guy has lost his fastball.”
Mr. Sununu made similar remarks about President Joe Biden. He said he would not support him even if his preferred candidate does not get the nod at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this July.
“This is how bad [President] Biden has been. This is how incompetent he’s been. The guy can barely get off the stage,” Mr. Sununu said. “Nobody wants what has gone on, and everyone is scared of a President Kamala Harris.”
–Austin Alonzo
‘Wow’: Lifelong Democrat Shares Takeaway After Going to Trump Rally
CONCORD, N.H.–A political consultant and lifelong Democrat, Steve Marchand, said going to a rally for former President Donald Trump was an eye-opener.
Mr. Marchand told WMUR-TV that he attended the former President’s rally in Manchester on Jan. 20 to see what it was like. He began his comments with: “Wow.”
“These people are ready to rock-and-roll,” Mr. Marchand said about President Trump’s supporters. “The energy level, the devotion, I better understand after being there.”
He also can see now how difficult it will be for other candidates to make headway against the former president, the clear frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination.
“They’re trying to climb a mountain,” Mr. Marchand said of the former president’s political rivals, “and I’m not sure it’s climbable.”
Sen. Tim Scott Says He Told Nikki Haley About His Trump Endorsement Plans
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) said he texted Nikki Haley the day before he endorsed former President Donald Trump’s bid for the Republican Party’s 2024 nomination.
In an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Jan. 21, the senator explained why he chose to support President Trump over the former South Carolina governor who appointed him to the Senate. Scott also spoke about his relationship with Ms. Haley and sounded off on speculation about being President Trump’s running mate.
When CNN’s Dana Bash asked Mr. Scott why he chose President Trump, he replied it came down to “what does America need for the next president.”
“We had a stronger economy, a healthy military, and a safer world. Like compare and contrast,” Mr. Scott said. “The only conclusion is Donald Trump.”
Mr. Scott was also asked whether or not he informed Ms. Haley of his decision to endorse President Trump. He said he “texted her the day before I made my announcement.”
“I think President Donald Trump is a strong president will be a strong president again, and will have the kind of accomplishments that will unite this nation around economic opportunity,” Scott said.
When asked about whether he “would like to be Donald Trump’s running mate,” Mr. Scott gave a noncommittal answer.
“I want the kids to look to their future and believe that America is their oyster, they can have whatever they want. That’s what I really want,” Mr. Scott said. “And if I can help achieve that, through my endorsement by being on the campaign trail in my home state of South Carolina for the next four or five weeks, and then beyond, that’s the goal.
“If you don’t think about yourself, but think about the country first. We’ll be in good shape.”
—Austin Alonzo
Biden is ‘Only Dem’ Trump Can Beat, Rival Says
CONCORD, N.H.–A Democrat candidate for president told a New Hampshire TV station that his political rival, President Joe Biden, is vulnerable and could be defeated in the general election this fall if he faces former President Donald Trump.
U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) said President Trump appears poised to become the Republican nominee for president. But if the two men compete against each other in a rematch of the 2020 election this year, President Biden is “the only Democrat who can and will lose to that man.”
Mr. Phillips, who announced his candidacy in October, made his remarks to Manchester-based WMUR-TV, Channel 9, on Jan. 21.
Mr. Phillips is also critical of Mr. Biden’s absence from New Hampshire, an early primary state that many people watch closely.
President Biden has not been campaigning in the Granite State. His name will not appear on the ballot for New Hampshire voters.
That’s because Democrats moved their first-in-nation primary election to South Carolina. That left the traditional first-place state, New Hampshire, with an unofficial “meaningless” contest this Tuesday, Jan. 23, according to the Democratic National Committee.
The committee also discouraged the party’s presidential candidates from participating in this “nonbinding presidential preference event.”
Mr. Phillips also raised concerns that neither President Biden nor President Trump would make a good leader for the nation, partly because they’re “two old men.” President Biden is 81 and President Trump is 77. He said neither of them is “ready for artificial intelligence” and other advanced technologies and challenges in the modern world.
Mr. Phillips is considered a longshot candidate; in the RealClearPolitics average of opinion polls, he was drawing only 3 percent support. Fellow challenger Marianne Williamson wasn’t faring much better, with 7 percent, in contrast to the incumbent president attracting 70 percent support.
—Janice Hisle
Haley Attacks Trump’s Age, Mental Fitness
Nikki Haley stepped up her attacks on former President Donald Trump calling out his age and pointing out multiple misidentifications the GOP frontrunner made on the campaign trail.
On an appearance on CBS’ “Face The Nation” on Jan. 21, Ms. Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the UN, said most Americans do not want to see a rematch of the 2020 general election.
“Our kids are never going to forgive us for it. It’s more of the same,” Ms. Haley told CBS’s Margaret Brennan. “We’re going to have two presidential candidates in their eighties. That’s not what our kids want. That’s not what we should want.”
Ms. Brennan pointed out that President Trump repeatedly confused Ms. Haley for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) when speaking about the events of Jan. 6, 2021, at a recent rally.
In response, Ms. Haley pointed out that President Trump said President Joe Biden was going to lead the U.S. into World War II when he likely meant to say “world war three,” and that he ran against former President Barack Obama along with his remarks that were likely meant to be about Ms. Pelosi.
“If you have someone that’s 80 in an office, their mental stability is going to continue to decline,” Ms. Haley said. “That’s just human nature.”
Ms. Haley went on to say she didn’t know if President Trump was confused but the slip-ups should be a “warning sign.”
“Are we really going to go into a situation where we have wars around the world, and we’re trying to prevent war, and we’re going to have someone who we can’t be sure that they’re going to get confused? It’s a real issue,” Ms. Haley said. “That’s not being disrespectful. It’s just a fact.”
Ms. Brennan asked Ms. Haley if she observed any similar behavior from President Trump when she was part of his administration from 2017 to 2018. She said she would “call him out if he was doing something wrong” but “this is different.”
“We’re seeing he’s just not at the same level he was in 2016,” Ms. Haley said. “I think we’re seeing some of that decline.”
—Austin Alonzo
Climate Protesters Interrupt Haley Rally
DERRY, N.H. — A couple of climate protesters interrupted Nikki Haley’s rally at a Derry middle school.
The same happened at her rally in Nashua, N.H.
At both events, Ms. Haley noted that her husband, Michael Haley, and his fellow military members fought for the First Amendment. At her Derry rally, she noted that protesters wouldn’t be tolerated in Russia.
Haley Has a Full Slate of Events–Including One With Judge Judy
DERRY, N.H.—GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has a busy schedule on Jan. 21 that includes stumping with Judith Sheindlin, better known as Judge Judy.
Ms. Haley started the day at May Anne’s Diner in Derry–where she also made an appearance on Jan. 19. Other scheduled events include a rally at a middle school, followed by a handful of retail stops including an appearance at the University of New Hampshire’s hockey game against the University of Connecticut.
The rally with Ms. Sheindlin, in Exeter, will wrap up her public schedule for the day.
“I’m proud to endorse Nikki Haley because she is whip smart, has executive credentials and was a superb governor,” said Ms. Sheindlin in a statement released by the Haley campaign on Jan. 9.
“She has international gravitas as Ambassador to the United Nations. She is principled, measured and has that elusive quality of real common sense. I truly think she can restore America and believe she is the future of this great nation.”
Ms. Sheindlin endorsed former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Democrat, in the 2020 presidential election.
“Judge Judy is a no-nonsense lady who has earned the respect of millions of Americans from her courtroom by being thoughtful, fair, and honest. I’m honored to have her support,” said Ms. Haley in her campaign statement.
—Jackson Richman
Larry Sabato: Haley’s Attacks on Trump’s Mental Acuity Unlikely to Shift Race
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s swipes at former President Donald Trump’s mental fitness for the presidency are “too little, too late,” according to Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
Ms. Haley has seized upon the GOP front-runner’s apparent gaffe at a Jan. 19 campaign rally confusing her with Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as ammunition heading into the New Hampshire primary, where she is hoping to pull off an upset victory.
But her attacks, Mr. Sabato said, are unlikely to produce the desired result.
“It is definitely too little too late,” he told CNN on Jan. 20, noting that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was the only candidate to target President Trump from the outset. And Mr. Christie is now out of the race—an indicator of how difficult it is to land punches on the man commonly referred to as “Teflon Don.”
“This is the MAGA party—this is the Donald Trump party,” Mr. Sabato said. “And so, to get the nomination against Donald Trump, you have to somehow convince people that Trump is no longer up to the job or can’t win in November, but not offend them so much that they won’t vote for you. And it’s a near impossibility.”
While he conceded that Ms. Haley may have a better chance of swaying New Hampshire voters to her side, he stressed that such support was unlikely to continue in states like South Carolina, where evangelical voters—a strong subset of President Trump’s base—are a dominant voting bloc.
“I just don’t think this attack, like most of the others, will make all that much of a difference.”
—Samantha Flom
Asa Hutchinson Endorses Nikki Haley
CONCORD, N.H.—Former presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson has endorsed Nikki Haley’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
The former Arkansas governor gave Ms. Haley the nod in a social media post on Jan. 20, three days ahead of the New Hampshire primary election.
“Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been asleep over the last 8 years,” Mr. Hutchinson wrote on X. “Trump intentionally tries to divide America and will continue to do so.”
Mr. Hutchinson signed off with, “Go @NikkiHaley in New Hampshire” and the hashtag FITN, a reference to the Granite State’s primary election being the “first in the nation.”
The endorsement comes at a key moment for Ms. Haley, as she battles former President Donald Trump in a state where she is polling well.
Ms. Haley began to rise in New Hampshire polls in late December. A Jan. 15 poll by American Research Group, Inc., showed President Trump and Ms. Haley tied at 40 percent each.
Another poll, conducted by CNN and the University of New Hampshire, showed Mr. Trump leading Ms. Haley by a margin of 11 percent.
President Trump has collected a bevy of endorsements and has trickled them out over the last two weeks.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a former candidate in this race, endorsed the former president on Jan. 14, the day before the Iowa caucuses. Former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy endorsed President Trump on Jan. 16, immediately after dropping from the race.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) endorsed President Trump on Jan. 17, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), another former candidate in this cycle, did so on Jan. 19.
—Lawrence Wilson
Trump Keeps Lead Over Haley in Latest New Hampshire Polls
Former President Donald Trump continues to lead the field in New Hampshire, according to the latest polls out of the Granite State.
On Jan. 21, two days ahead of the primary, both the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and Suffolk University polls said President Trump maintains a solid lead in the state. However, it is not as large as the lead he held in the polls conducted ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa Caucus.
Two polls were released on Sunday. Both said President Trump maintains a more than 11 percent advantage heading into the country’s first presidential primary election.
The UNH poll indicated President Trump has 50 percent of likely Republican primary voters’ support. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley has 39 percent. In third place, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has 6 percent.
The poll, which surveyed 2,348 Granite Staters between Jan. 16 and Jan. 19, reports a 2.8 percent margin of error.
Sunday’s results, according to UNH, show that Ms. Haley has been able to grow her commitments to 39 percent from 32 percent since early January. However, President Trump saw his own rise to 50 percent from 39 percent.
The early January survey included candidates who have since dropped out of the race: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a harsh critic of President Trump, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who has gone on to endorse and campaign with President Trump.
The other Jan. 21 poll, the fifth daily poll conducted by Suffolk University and published by the Boston Globe, showed the pledges to vote for both President Trump and Ms. Haley are firming up.
The Sunday poll from Suffolk showed President Trump leading Ms. Haley with 55 percent of the vote over her 39 percent. Mr. DeSantis has 6 percent of the likely vote. The Wednesday, Jan. 17, edition of the poll showed President Trump had 50 percent and Ms. Haley had 34 percent.
The latest Suffolk poll surveyed 500 New Hampshire residents who will likely take part in its Republican primary between Jan. 19 and Jan. 20. It reported a margin of error of 4.4 percent.
—Austin Alonzo
DeSantis Cancels Sunday TV Appearances
CONCORD, N.H.—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has canceled appearances on two political talk shows this morning due to travel conflicts, according to a staff member.
Mr. DeSantis was scheduled to appear on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“The media hits were canceled due to a scheduling issue and will be rescheduled,” Bryan Griffin of the DeSantis campaign wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Saturday evening.
“The governor will be traveling Sunday morning with the campaign and has public events scheduled Sunday evening through Tuesday in NH.”
Mr. DeSantis finished second in the Iowa primary but had largely withdrawn from campaigning in New Hampshire to campaign in South Carolina, the next to vote. He trails both President Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley by a wide margin in both states.
The candidate is expected to appear at an event in Manchester at 5 p.m. today.
—Lawrence Wilson
Haley Snags Key New Hampshire Endorsement
The New Hampshire Union Leader says that “the world is ready for a change” in the White House, and that former ambassador to the U.N. and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the best candidate for the job.
The daily newspaper endorsed Ms. Haley in a Jan. 20 editorial, touting her background as a diplomat, governor, accountant, military spouse, and mother who also happens to be a child of immigrants.
While the outlet acknowledged that its chosen candidate has stumbled in recent weeks over “some unfriendly soundbites”—including neglecting to list slavery as the primary cause of the Civil War—it contended that Ms. Haley was still the most qualified candidate for the job and a better choice than “putting another octogenarian in the White House.”
“As the fictional Ian Malcolm says in Jurassic Park, ‘The dinosaurs had their shot, and nature selected them for extinction.’ The dinosaurs from the last two administrations have indeed had their shot and Nikki Haley is the fireball from the heavens to wipe them out.”
—Samantha Flom
From The Epoch Times