Defiant Nikki Haley says she is the last hope to stop the ‘Trump-Biden nightmare’ after finishing third in Iowa: Says BOTH are consumed by ‘vendettas’ and ‘grievances’ as she heads to New Hampshire

Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley told supporters Monday night that she was the “last hope” to stop a rematch between Trump and Biden after finishing in third place in the Iowa caucuses.

The former U.N. ambassador said that despite Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis narrowly beating her for second place in Iowa, her trajectory in the subsequent primaries still made her the most formidable Republican candidate to face off against former President Donald Trump.

Trump defeated all his presidential rivals in Iowa, defeating DeSantis by about 30 points and forcing entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy to bow out.

‘The experts will analyze the results from every angle, we understand that. But if you look at how we’re doing in New Hampshire, in South Carolina and beyond, I can confidently say tonight that I’m going to make this Republican primary a two-person race,” Haley told a crowd gathered in the West Des Moines Marriott. .

She went after Trump more forcefully onstage Monday, linking him to President Joe Biden and pointing out that both were about 80 years old.

Presidential hopeful NIkki Haley hugs supporter during her Iowa caucus night event at the West Des Moines Marriott. Haley had surpassed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for second place in some recent Iowa polls, but finished a close third

“Trump and Biden have both put our country in trillions of dollars in debt, and our children will too. never forgive them,” she said.

“Trump and Biden both lack a vision for the future of our country because they are both consumed by the past by investigations, by retaliation by grievances,” she continued. ‘America deserves better.’

She called it a “hard truth.”

And noted that she too had voted for Trump twice in the past.

But she also pointed out that “70 percent of Americans don’t want another rematch between Trump and Biden.”

“Our campaign is the last hope to stop the Trump-Biden nightmare,” she said.

Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, pointed to polls showing her performing better against Biden than Trump and DeSantis in the general election.

A CBS/YouGov poll released Sunday showed her beating Biden by eight points, with DeSantis beating Biden by three points and Trump beating the current president by two points, within the margin of error.

“We’re winning by a landslide, it’s not even close,” Haley said. “That means no recounts, no lawsuits and no doubts.”

But Haley will have to get through Trump first — and that could be a steep climb.

The former U.N. ambassador gestures to the audience as she concludes a speech at a caucus night party at the Marriott Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa

Despite her third-place finish, Haley pointed to polls showing her performing better against Biden than Trump and DeSantis in the general election.

The former South Carolina governor speaks with supporter Chris Varney during a campaign stop earlier in the day at PB’s Pub in Newton, Iowa

She will head to the Granite State on Tuesday to try to close the gap before the New Hampshire primary on January 23.

Voters in New Hampshire have a habit of choosing a different candidate than the winner from Iowa — but Trump remains in first place there too, with an average of 14.2 points, according to the Polling Average for Real Clear Politics.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was in third place in the state and outperformed DeSantis, who focused on more conservative Iowa, but dropped out of the race on Wednesday.

About half of Christie’s supporters had told pollsters that Haley was their second choice.

But before dropping out of the race, Christie was caught on a hot mic slamming Haley, saying she would get “smoked” by Trump in the Republican race and adding, “She’s not up to this.”

On Monday evening, she warned her supporters: “As we head to New Hampshire, I have one more thing to say.”

“Underestimate me, because that’s always fun,” Haley said to cheers.

“I love you, Iowa, but we’re heading to New Hampshire,” the candidate added.