Donald Trump is heading directly towards a rematch with Joe Biden in the presidential elections, after his last Republican rival, Nikki Haley, according to American media, decided to surrender after suffering a crushing defeat on Super Tuesday.
The former US ambassador to the United Nations is preparing to end her campaign, reports said Wednesday Wall Street Journal And CNN.
She is expected to announce her decision in a speech on Wednesday, around 10 a.m. EST, from Charleston, the main city in South Carolina where she was governor, according to the major US business daily.
Former President Trump (2017-2021), the nominee for the November election, won nearly all of the states — 14 of 15 — at stake during Tuesday's big Election Day. Among them are California, North Carolina, Texas and Alaska.
Donald Trump, among his supporters gathered at his luxurious residence in Florida, praised the “wonderful evening and amazing day.”
Nikki did not mention Haley once, and devoted all of his attacks to her potential presidential rival, Joe Biden.
But the fifty-year-old deprived Donald Trump (77 years old) of one of the four major championships by winning the sparsely populated state of Vermont, which borders Canada.
“Destroying our democracy”
On the Democratic side, President Biden (81 years old) is seeking to win a second term and does not face any serious opposition.
It was not surprising that on Tuesday he won all the states where his party was at stake, conceding an unexpected defeat to an unknown person in American Samoa, a Pacific territory.
As he also set off toward an expected duel with Donald Trump, Joe Biden stressed that his rival is “determined to destroy our democracy,” accusing him of being “focused on his revenge and retaliation, not on the American people.”
The 2020 rematch, which does not arouse the interest of Americans according to opinion polls, is almost certain, even if the Republican race is not officially over.
Since January 15, despite his legal troubles, Donald Trump has won almost all of his party's primaries.
Nikki Haley presented herself as a candidate capable of restoring “normalcy” in the face of “Trump’s chaos.” But most Republican voters are turning a deaf ear to his appeal.
His campaign team said in a statement that there remains “a significant number of Republican voters expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump.”
“last stop”
At the ceremony, which was organized at Mr. Trump's home in Florida, there was no doubt about the latter's final victory.
In the Mar-a-Lago Ballroom, under huge chandeliers and gold decorations, many guests proudly displayed their red “Make America Great Again” hats.
“President Trump will be the last person to run in the Republican primary,” said Kenny Neal, head of a local Republican Party chapter.
Donald Trump wants to be able to focus as quickly as possible on his duel with President Biden, before he gets swept up in his legal meetings.
His first criminal trial begins on March 25 in New York.
Donald Trump claims he is “more popular” since he has been indicted four times on criminal charges, but several polls show support for his candidacy would largely collapse if he is convicted in one of these criminal cases.
Joe Biden, struggling in the polls, will defend his record and unveil his vision for America on Thursday in his traditional State of the Union address to Congress.
Political scientist Wendy Schiller said that the outgoing president “should seize this last opportunity to address millions of Americans to present the contradiction between his vision and what life would be like under Donald Trump.”
