It all happened very quickly. Polls in South Carolina had just closed at 7 pm on Saturday, February 24, when US TV stations were already reporting a new victory for Donald Trump in the Republican primaries.
Shortly afterward, the winner showed up before his supporters and cameras to celebrate a result all the polls had predicted for weeks. He didn't even mention the name of his rival, Nikki Haley. She was trailing by around 22 points, with 83% of the votes counted. After Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, the former president pulled off a spectacular quadruple victory, confirming his overwhelming dominance among the Republican base.
Before the start of the primaries, Haley seemed to believe that things might work out for her in the early stages. It didn't happen. She has taken blow after blow, while the Trump camp calls for an early end to the competition to focus on the duel with Joe Biden. Haley, for her part, is refusing to fold, despite the setback in the state of which she was the governor (2011-2017). "I'm not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden," she explained. After politely congratulating the winner, she repeated one of her main arguments against him: "I don't believe Donald Trump can beat Joe Biden. Nearly every day, Trump drives people away, including with his comments just yesterday." At a rally in Columbia on Friday, the former president had welcomed the support of Black voters, with whom he claimed to have one thing in common: being a victim of discrimination, due to his judicial treatment.
Haley gave a classic battle speech, refusing to accept the inevitable outcome of the Republican primaries. She offered no explanation for her continued effort other than party members' right to a real choice. In reality, she knows that a turnaround at the ballot box is impossible. But she is making other bets. First, there is the possibility of a judicial short-circuit in Trump's political momentum in the coming months, in the event of a criminal conviction. Second, she wants to appear to be the former president's ultimate rival and alternative, for the future.
On February 20, four days before the vote in South Carolina, Haley gave a solemn speech on the "state of the race." The candidate intensified her vigor against Trump and confirmed that she would not give up, whatever the result in her state. Using a biblical metaphor, she explained that "like David, I'm not just fighting someone bigger than me. I'm fighting for something bigger than myself."
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