Donald Trump on Tuesday dismissed Nikki Haley’s vow to stay in the presidential race no matter how she does in the New Hampshire primary, saying he was “confident” in his victory.
“I’m very confident,” he said Tuesday afternoon during an unannounced stop at a polling place in Londonderry, N.H.
“Let her do whatever she wants, it doesn’t matter,” he added.
“I’m very confident,” Donald Trump said Tuesday afternoon during an unannounced stop at a polling place in Londonderry, N.H.
Trump also predicted that Haley’s desire to have a two-person race — him and her — would actually hurt her chances in the state’s first primary.
“I think it actually hurts her. I think she’s going to be hurt and probably suffer a great loss today,” the former president said.
Haley, meanwhile, has vowed to keep fighting.
‘I don’t do what he tells me to do. I never did what he tells me to do,” she said Tuesday morning about calls from Team Trump to quit.
Trump and Haley on Tuesday followed the tradition of candidates to visit polling places in New Hampshire on the day voters went to the polls.
There are 24 Republicans on the ballot in New Hampshire, including those who registered before withdrawing from the election: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Governor Chris Christie, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Sen. Tim Scott.
New Hampshire voters had a cloudy day to cast their ballots, but temperatures crept into the 30s after being in the single digits for the past week. The majority of all polling places in the state will close at 7:00 PM ET, with a few more closing at 8:00 PM ET.
Donald Trump addressed the media during his stop in Londonderry, NH
‘I don’t do what he tells me to do. I never did what he tells me to do,” Nikki Haley said Tuesday morning about calls from Team Trump to drop her.
Trump has led by double digits in the polls leading up to the primaries. He said he would never ask Haley to quit.
‘It’s up to her. I would never ask anyone to back off. I didn’t ask Ron to back off, I didn’t ask Vivek to back off, no one. But we have a lot of support and most of the people who have withdrawn have already supported me. So it’s actually quite fun,” he said.
DeSantis, Scott, Burgum and Ramaswamy all endorsed Trump after ending their own presidential bids.
Part of Trump’s team has called on Haley to end her campaign. Trump himself has appealed for party unity.
“I think we’ll see the end of the primaries, hopefully later tonight,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greeene said Tuesday morning as she campaigned for Trump at the Red Arrow Diner in Manchester. “It would be a good choice for Nikki Haley if she drops out after this election. Things aren’t going to go well for her.’
However, Haley has announced that she will hold a campaign event in Charleston on Wednesday, the day after the New Hampshire primary, ahead of the South Carolina primary. Haley’s home state will hold its nominating contest a month from now on Feb. 24.
Trump will head west after the primaries to campaign in Nevada, where, due to a quirk in the rules, only he and DeSantis are on the ballot. He is also still involved in the defamation trial against Jean Carroll in New York.
Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump, right, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., left, greet young supporters during a campaign stop in Londonderry
Donald Trump greets a voter during his stop in Londonberry, NH
The former president said he had no hard feelings against his rivals, even DeSantis, who criticized him during the primaries. ‘I am a very caring person. I try.’
And Trump shrugged off Republican voters who supported him in 2020 but said they wouldn’t vote for him again in 2024.
‘They’re all going to vote for me again, they’re all going to vote for me again. I’m not sure we need too many. Biden is the worst president in the history of this country. But we will all come back, all come back, and I think you see that here. I think you see it. Thanks everyone. They’ll all come back.’