Donald Trump didn’t just want to win in New Hampshire; he wanted to defeat Nikki Haley so severely that his lone challenger for the Republican presidential nomination would withdraw before the next competitive contest in South Carolina, which is a month away.
On Tuesday, the former president comfortably defeated the former South Carolina governor, but his meticulously constructed plot to knock Haley out of the race failed, depriving Trump the opportunity to focus only on Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and the November general election.
Trump, 77, was furious when Haley, 52, promised to fight on Tuesday night, only two days after the other main Republican contender, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, called off his candidacy.
“Who the hell was the imposter who went up on the stage before, and like, claimed a victory?” Trump asked a crowd of supporters in New Hampshire, adding, “I don’t get too angry. I get even.”
As he campaigned in snow-covered New Hampshire over the past week, Trump kept his eye on South Carolina, 700 miles (1,100 km) to the south, which will hold the next large contested primary on Feb. 24.
The Trump campaign spent weeks planning a show of support aimed at knocking Haley out of the race before the South Carolina contest, said Jason Miller, a senior Trump campaign adviser.
