After winning the New Hampshire primary, Donald Trump almost certainly secured a rematch with President Joe Biden, promising ten months of unprecedented tension and hatred.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining competitor, promised Wednesday to battle on despite her defeat, but no Republican has ever won both initial contests and failed to clinch the party’s candidacy.
A rambling Trump foreshadowed the divisive rhetoric with a victory speech in which he criticized Haley for having a “very bad night” and even mocked her attire.
“I don’t get too angry, I get even,” the 77-year-old said.
Biden, 81, said it was “now clear” that Trump will be the Republican nominee for the November election, and he cautioned that the outcome would determine the future of American democracy.
While surveys suggest that most Americans do not want a rematch between the two oldest presidents in US history, Biden’s team says it is eager for another go at the man he defeated in 2020.
“Donald Trump is running a campaign of revenge and retribution,” Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez told reporters Wednesday. “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are running to move the country forward.”
‘Make America Normal Again’?
Haley had hoped for a dramatic upset in New Hampshire, but Trump — her former employer when she was UN ambassador — won by approximately 54% to 43%.
She went on the offense Wednesday, traveling to South Carolina and launching attack commercials describing Trump as “too much chaos” as she attempts to turn around dismal polling in her home state ahead of the February 24 primary.
“Trump is completely consumed by his own perpetual drama and grievances,” Haley’s communications director Nachama Soloveichik said.
Soloveichik, drawing on Trump’s popular “Make America Great Again” slogan, stated that voters must pick between “Make America Unhinged Again or Make America Normal Again.”
The twice-indicted former president has maintained his hard-right message, with no indication of reaching out to centrist voters who backed Haley.
Trump swore on primetime TV late Tuesday that the United States was a “failing country” and filled his address with gloomy warnings about immigration and bogus boasts about winning the 2020 presidential race.
On Wednesday morning, he again attacked “Birdbrain” Haley on social media.
‘Struggling’
Meanwhile, Biden easily won an unofficial Democratic primary in New Hampshire, giving him a symbolic boost.
As his economic message fails to resonate with inflation-stricken citizens, the president has shifted his focus to contentious matters such as abortion.
Following Trump’s victory, he stated, “the stakes could not be higher” in the upcoming election.
His campaign is now selling rematch apparel, such as a t-shirt that reads, “Together, we will beat Trump.” Again.”
The presidential contest is being keenly monitored globally, with US allies Ukraine and Israel mired in hostilities, and concerns about Trump’s foreign policy intentions, including a potential withdrawal from NATO.
US media said that the New Hampshire results gave Biden hope, despite polling showing him neck and neck or even trailing Trump.
Not only did Trump lose over half of the Republican vote, but his inability to win over independents and swing voters aided Democrats.
“He is struggling to make himself palatable to these key constituencies that will ultimately decide the election,” Biden campaign official Quentin Fulks explained.