President Joe Biden praised Nikki Haley’s “courage” in challenging Donald Trump after she withdrew from the Republican presidential primaries, and he also made a case for her Republican voters.
“It takes a lot of courage to become president – especially in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump. Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump,” he said in a statement.
“Donald Trump has made it clear that he does not want Nikki Haley’s supporters. “I want to be clear: there is a place for them in my campaign,” he added.
Many of Haley’s voters described their support for her more as a vote against Donald Trump, who Biden’s reelection team sees as an opening to win them over.
President Joe Biden made a play for Nikki Haley voters
Haley did not endorse Trump in her remarks Wednesday announcing her departure from the presidential race.
Instead, she said the former president must earn her support and that of her voters.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond who did not support him. And I hope he does,” she said.
‘At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not rejecting them. And our conservative cause desperately needs more people. Now is his time to choose.”
Haley won only two states in her primaries, but won support from independent voters and from moderate Republicans who were disappointed with Trump.
It is those voters for whom Biden plays a role.
“I know there’s a lot we won’t agree on,” the president said.
But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, standing up for the rule of law, treating each other with respect, preserving NATO, and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground . .’
The Biden campaign has studied Haley’s performances in suburban areas and among independent voters.
Tuesday night’s abandoned polls showed Haley voters voting more against Trump than for her, a sign of hope for Biden’s efforts to win a second term.
She also led two-to-one among moderate Republican voters. Although this group only makes up 20% of the Republican Party’s primary voters, it will have a much greater influence in the general election.
In addition, exit polls on Tuesday showed that 78% of Haley voters in the Republican presidential primaries in North Carolina, 69% in California and 68% in Virginia said they were unwilling to support the Republican Party’s candidate, no matter who he is. .
Nikki Haley did not endorse Donald Trump in her speech, but said he had to earn her support
Donald Trump also made a joke to Nikki Haley’s voters, but insulted her in the process
A Quinnipiac University poll found that about half of Republicans and Republican voters who supported Haley would vote for Trump, while 37 percent would vote for Biden.
Twelve percent said they would abstain, vote for someone else or had not yet decided what to do.
Trump also made a joke to Haley supporters, but he insulted the former governor of South Carolina.
“Nikki Haley got JACKED off in record fashion last night,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Right now I hope she stays in the ‘race’ and fights until the end! I would like to thank my family, friends and the Great Republican Party for helping us create by far the most successful Super Tuesday in HISTORY, and would further invite all Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in history. the history of our nation. BIDEN IS THE ENEMY, HE IS DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!’
In his remarks Tuesday night at Mar-a-Lago, Trump turned his fire on Biden. He did not mention Haley by name.
Meanwhile, Biden’s The re-election campaign portrayed Trump as a “wounded, dangerous and unpopular candidate” in a new memo.
The memo, written by Biden campaign chairman Jen O’Malley Dillon and campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez, said Nikki Haley’s resilience in the Republican primaries was a sign that Trump faces a hard ceiling in terms of support from traditional Republican voters.
“A significant share of moderate and Haley voters across the country say Trump cannot count on their votes in a general election,” the memo said.
They noted that these are the voters the Biden campaign will “aggressively target.”
The memo also downplays a slew of polls that have bad news for the sitting president.
A new New York Times poll this weekend showed Biden trailing Trump, 48%-43%.
Biden chastised reporters on Tuesday for not reporting on the polls he is winning but only looking at the New York Times numbers.
‘The last five polls haven’t reported that I’m winning. Five. Five in a row. All you guys are looking at is the New York Times,” Biden told reporters as he returned to the White House from Camp David.
But it is unclear which five polls the president was referring to.
Both The RealClearPolitics polling average And Five Thirty-Eight’s polling average show Trump leading Biden in the majority of recent national polls on the 2024 presidential race.
HowSomeday, a combination of polls in individual states, mixed with national polls, will paint a better picture for the president.
Biden’s team expressed confidence and has argued that the race is in earnest now that Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee.
“We have a clear path to victory,” the memo said.