Former President Donald Trump revealed Thursday that his campaign is planning some massive rallies in South Carolina as he looks to trounce former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) in her home state’s primary.
In a post on Truth Social, the 45th president revealed the forthcoming rallies, noting they will be bigger than ones he held in New Hampshire and Iowa, where “a large scale TRUMP RALLY was not in the cards” due to “cold weather and smaller venues.”
“But in South Carolina, we are planning some really BIG ones. Get ready South Carolina, we’re going to have some fun!!!” he added.
A recent Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll conducted for the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC found Trump dominating Haley — his last remaining primary competitor — in a head-to-head matchup in South Carolina. He took 68 percent of the response, to Haley’s 28 percent, marking a towering 40-point advantage. Another four percent of respondents were undecided in the poll, first reported by Axios.
Notably, 60 percent of all likely voters surveyed said they would “definitely” vote for Trump, while 7 percent said they “probably” would. Conversely, just 22 percent “definitely” plan to support Haley, and 6 percent said they leaned her way.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley walks past members of the media while greeting people, on January 23, 2024, near a polling place at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
The “Bottom Line” of the memo states that “President Trump is set to deliver a South Carolina smackdown to Nikki Haley in her home state where she is best known.”
The pollster sampled 600 likely Republican voters in South Carolina on January 17-18, before Trump’s double-digit win in New Hampshire. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.
Trump also has a huge endorsement edge over Haley among their former campaign rivals and among politicians in the Palmetto State, where she served as governor from 2011-2017 before he appointed her U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 2017.
After departing the race, Govs. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Doug Burgum (R-ND), Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), conservative radio host Larry Elder, and businessman Perry Johnson all announced their support for Trump.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to his supporters after his win at a New Hampshire primary night watch party in Nashua, New Hampshire on January 23, 2023. (Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
In South Carolina, he is backed by Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC), Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Scott, most of the Republican Congressional delegation, Attorney General Alan Wilson, Secretary of State Mark Hammond, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette, and more, as FiveThirtyEight noted.
Haley’s only notable endorsement in her home state is from Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), as she faces a chorus of calls from top conservatives around the country to unify behind Trump.
Trump currently leads Haley in the delegate count 20-12, the New York Times noted, after a historic, roughly 30-point win in Iowa and his roughly 11-point New Hampshire victory.
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