Donald Trump paraded a series of defeated opponents-turned-signatories Monday night in a final raw show of power ahead of the New Hampshire primary.
Hundreds of people crammed into a small, overheated hotel basement with no phone signal to hear Vivek Ramaswamy, Senator Tim Scott and Governor Doug Burgum make a rousing phone call to kill his latest rival, Nikki Haley.
“You do your part. Come out on Tuesday night,” said Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the 2024 presidential race seven days ago. “End this primary here.”
The presence of former rivals on stage has been a key part of Trump’s closing strategy as he looks to crush his last remaining opponent in record time.
“Avengers gather,” is how a senior Trump adviser described the plan.
New Hampshire is Haley’s best chance to draw blood, but a slew of polls suggests Trump could be out of sight by the time votes are counted late Tuesday.
Avengers converge: Donald Trump brought three of his former rivals to the stage Monday at his final rally ahead of the New Hampshire primary. He was joined by (l-r) Senator Tim Scott, Governor Doug Burgum and Vivek Ramswamy. All three stepped out and supported the former president
Trump made a final show of force in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday evening, urging his supporters to finish off Haley during Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary.
And it will bring Trump one step closer to avenging his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
“Now is the time for the Republican Party to come together,” Trump said as he introduced his new allies to the stage.
‘We must unite. That’s why I’m happy to be joined today by some outstanding leaders, great leaders, powerful leaders, highly respected leaders.”
Sen. Scott, a 58-year-old bachelor, received a special mention from Trump after announcing his engagement a day earlier.
“The biggest story there is,” said Trump, an avid headline watcher.
Without missing a beat, he added, “We thought this would never happen.”
He addressed his supporters in Laconia, a small town in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. He told them to ignore the big lead in the polls and pretend he was one point behind.
“And get out of bed and just go vote, get your neighbor, get everyone, you have to get out because we have to win by big margins,” he said.
That would send a message to Washington and Biden that he is in for a fight.
“We thought it would never happen,” Trump said of Scott’s recent engagement
“You do your part. Come out Tuesday night,” said biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the race last week. ‘End this primary here’
Trump’s speech was briefly interrupted by a protester holding an “Oil Sellout” sign
When Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race on Sunday, he left former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley as the last person to run against Trump. Now Trump is urging his supporters to deliver a knockout blow to her in Tuesday’s primaries
He previously told Fox News that he thought Biden would not even be his 2024 opponent and would drop out before the election.
“Personally, I think so,” he told Martha MacCallum.
The former president had an easier day than expected. His defamation trial in New York, which involved traveling back and forth to New Hampshire, was postponed for two days after a juror became ill.
That allowed him to focus on New Hampshire, where he is on his way to victory in New Hampshire’s first primary.
His last rally was not without problems. The venue lost internet connection during the day, no one had a phone signal, and Trump was clearly impressed by the basement’s low ceiling.
“This is not a meeting,” he said, adding that it was just a lot of people in a small room.
After closing out the Iowa caucuses last week with a 30-point victory, a JL Partners/DailyMail.com poll of New Hampshire primary voters released Monday showed him with a 10-point lead over Haley.
JL Partners surveyed 651 registered Republicans and unreported voters in New Hampshire from January 17 to 21. The results have a margin of error of plus/minus 3.9 percentage points
Chris Banks, a supporter of Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, stands across the street from the Margate Resort where Donald Trump was scheduled to appear
But he has made clear that his intention is not just to win on Tuesday, but to blow her out of the race as quickly as possible, the sooner to defeat President Joe Biden in November’s general election.
He has used the past week to parade heavy supporters in front of crowds, including candidates who ran against him before dropping out.
He claimed an assassination on Sunday when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced he would suspend his campaign and throw his support behind the former president.
That was the reason for a whole series of expressions of support. They included Representative Bob Good of Virginia and Ashley Moody, Florida’s attorney general, both of whom had endorsed DeSantis.
Rep. Jeff Duncan of South Carolina became the latest member of the state’s Republican congressional delegation to announce his support for Trump.
After New Hampshire, the race continues to South Carolina. It’s Haley’s home state, but Trump is outperforming her in the polls and has amassed an intimidating number of endorsements.
A Trump insider said, “That’s a message to Haley. Leave now or you will be humiliated in your own backyard.”
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley holds 16-month-old Arthur Colette during a campaign stop at T-Bones ahead of the New Hampshire primary in Concord
James Johnson, co-founder of JL Partners who conducted the poll, said New Hampshire was the best state for Haley in terms of the demographic groups that tend to support her.
“If she can’t win here, she has no chance of winning overall and is headed for a crushing defeat in South Carolina,” he said.
“If Trump wins on Tuesday, even by single digits, the Trump train will have left the station — and Nikki Haley will be on the platform.”
That was the theme of Monday evening’s meeting.
Reps. Marjorie Taylor-Greene and Byron Donalds chatted with supporters and posed for selfies, while Kari Lake, who is running for Senate in Arizona, worked in media.
Their message was the same.
As Don Jr., Trump’s eldest son, put it: What we have to do is we have to end this tomorrow.”