Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley held a press conference on Tuesday to address the state of the 2024 presidential race, where she informed people that she was defying calls to drop out.
Speaking in front of a small group of supporters from Greenville, South Carolina, Haley said that she was “far” from being forced to leave the race, even though she has yet to win a single contest and is down to former President Donald Trump by approximately 60 points nationally.
Today I’m in Greenville SC, where there are chairs for 50 supporters – who might be outnumbered by the number of journalists here – for @NikkiHaley’s “State of the Race” speech.
Spoiler alert: This is not going to be a drop out speech.
4 days to South Carolina’s GOP primary. pic.twitter.com/x8GRodvmaW
— Meg Kinnard (@MegKinnardAP) February 20, 2024
Haley said “the political elite, the party bosses, [and] the cheerleaders in the commentator world” all wanted her to “cave” and drop out of the race.
“They say…that my path to victory is slim,” she said. “They point to the primary polls and say I’m only delaying the inevitable.”
Haley said that she felt “no need to kiss the ring,” had “no fear of Trump’s retribution,” and she wasn’t “looking for anything from him. My own political future is of zero concern.”
“I refuse to quit,” she added. “South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for President. I’m not going anywhere.”
Haley suggested that the “other fellas” in the race were running for “bogus reasons” because they had already dropped out. “They have their own plans,” she said. “I don’t judge them. But I’m still here.”
Haley said that Trump was “getting meaner and more offensive by the day” by “bullying” her and her supporters as she proceeded to highlight her concerns about him, including spending campaign contributions on his legal battles and his remarks about Russia.
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“He’s gotten more unstable and unhinged,” Haley said. “He spends more time in courtrooms than he does on the campaign trail. He refuses to debate. He’s completely distracted, and everything is about him. He’s so obsessed with his own demons from the past. He can’t focus on delivering a future Americans deserve.”
Haley repeatedly compared Trump and President Joe Biden, suggesting they were effectively different sides of the same coin.
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