Former President Donald Trump.
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Former President Trump is upset that Nikki Haley used his 2016 NH strategy.Trump is frustrated that independents have boosted Haley in the primary.Haley sought to appeal to the critical independent bloc and traditional conservatives in the state.
In 2016, Donald Trump won the New Hampshire GOP primary on the strength of his support with both Republican voters and undeclared voters. Under New Hampshire law, undeclared voters — or independents — can vote in the GOP primary.
But Trump is incensed that his remaining GOP rival, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, utilized his 2016 campaign strategy this year. And he took to Truth Social minutes before the polls closed in the state to slam Haley over her efforts to appeal to Republicans and independents.
“SO RIDICULOUS THAT DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY, ESPECIALLY SINCE CROOKED JOE BIDEN HAS ABANDONED NEW HAMPSHIRE— BUT WORD IS WE ARE DOING REALLY WELL!!!” he wrote.
In another post, Trump wrote that his poll numbers against President Joe Biden were stronger than Haley’s matchups against the incumbent president.
“I GET MUCH BETTER POLL NUMBERS AGAINST BIDEN THAN NIKKI HALEY, NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!,” he wrote.
But the numbers tell a more nuanced story.
In a slew of state and national polls taken in recent months, matchups between Biden and Trump often produce tied results, or results where one candidate has a slight edge. But when Biden is paired against Haley, she often performs stronger than Trump, largely due to her stronger support among independents compared with the former president.
Trump is aiming to best Haley by a significant margin in Tuesday’s primary, but the former UN ambassador has wanted a two-person race with the former president from the beginning. With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ exit from the presidential race on Sunday, she now has it.