The former president and former South Carolina governor have their final full day of campaigning ahead of Tuesday’s primary in the Granite State.
Trump: ‘Unlikely’ DeSantis Has Role in Future Administration
Former President Donald Trump said he was “honored” that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was quick to endorse him upon dropping out of the GOP presidential primary race.
“I was honored that he endorsed me this quickly,” he told Fox News on Jan. 21.
“It’s not easy—look, it’s not easy,” he said. “He fought hard, spent a lot of money, and a lot of people thought he’d do well. I was leading from the beginning—just so you understand. … But he was doing well, and I think he did the right thing.”
The former president has had a strained relationship with the governor ever since the latter hinted that he might be exploring a presidential run in 2022.
“To me, when you say, ‘No comment,’ that means you’re running,” President Trump said. “I think I took it quite seriously.”
But the tensions, he said, are “totally” a thing of the past now that he has Mr. DeSantis’s support.
“Look, he endorsed me, and we have policies very similar, actually. I think [DeSantis’s supporters] will all come to me.”
President Trump noted that he and the governor shared similar positions on the border, taxes, the military, and foreign policy. “A lot of the things that he wanted, I wanted,” he said.
As for whether Mr. DeSantis has any role to play in a future Trump administration, the former president said it was possible but “probably unlikely.”
“I have to be honest, everything’s a possibility. But I think it’s highly unlikely. I have a lot of great people, and I have people that have been with me right from the beginning.”
—Samantha Flom
Haley: ‘I Know I’m Getting to’ Trump
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she believes former President Donald Trump, the GOP front-runner, feels “threatened” by her presence in the race.
“I know I’m getting to him … because I know him very well. And the second he feels insecure, or the second he feels threatened, he starts lashing out,” she told “Fox & Friends” while campaigning at a University of New Hampshire hockey game on Jan. 21.
“I have said, head-to-head, Trump loses to Biden, I win by double digits,” she said. “This is about how do we win in November, and you know you can’t win with Donald Trump. We’re going to make sure you win with Nikki Haley.”
Ms. Haley, who served as ambassador to the U.N. under President Trump, has touted herself as the best Republican alternative to the former president. And with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s decision to suspend his campaign on Jan. 21, she said the race is now officially a “two-person race,” though pastor Ryan Binkley is still technically in the fray.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu—on the stump with Ms. Haley ahead of the New Hampshire primary—said he expects the GOP to win “everything, up and down the ballot” if the former South Carolina governor is on the ballot.
“We’re tired of losers; we’re tired of losing. Nikki brings a winning attitude to the entire team—it’s awesome,” Mr. Sununu said.
GOP Candidates, Democratic Longshots Hold Final Events Ahead of Tuesday’s Vote
The polls open in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23. The remaining Republican candidates and upstart Democratic challengers to President Joe Biden are dashing to the finish.
Former president Donald Trump is scheduled to appear at an event in Laconia, New Hampshire, at 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 22. His oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is set to host a Team Trump event in Hollis, New Hampshire, at 3 p.m. ET. Both are within an hour’s drive of the Granite State’s most populous city, Manchester.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley is planning on holding two official events today. At 10 a.m. ET, she will be in Franklin, New Hampshire, with New Hampshire Commissioner of Labor Ken Merrifield for a meet-and-greet event.
In the evening, she is expected to campaign with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in Salem, New Hampshire, at 6 p.m. ET in a get-out-the-vote rally.
According to the campaign’s press messages, Ms. Haley is making three smaller stops with Mr. Sununu throughout the day. At noon, she’s due to appear in Concord, New Hampshire. At 2 p.m. ET in Manchester. The pair will hold an additional get-out-the-vote event in Windham, New Hampshire, at 3:45 p.m. ET.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who dropped from the race on Jan. 21, scratched his remaining New Hampshire events.
On the Democratic side, longshot candidates Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and self-help author Marianne Williamson are both set to appear in New Hampshire on Monday evening.
Mr. Phillips scheduled a town hall in Manchester at 6 p.m. ET. Later in the evening, Ms. Williamson will convene with supporters in Hooksett, New Hampshire, at 7 p.m. ET.
Trump Picks Up Another South Carolina Endorsement
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is the latest South Carolina Republican to back former President Donald Trump for president over the state’s former governor, Nikki Haley.
The congresswoman had remained mum on her preferred nominee as two of her fellow South Carolinians—Ms. Haley and Sen. Tim Scott—entered the primary race last year. But on Jan. 22, a day before the New Hampshire primary, she told The Associated Press that she would be supporting President Trump.
“I don’t see eye to eye perfectly with any candidate. And until now I’ve stayed out of it,” Ms. Mace said. “But the time has come to unite behind our nominee.”
The New Hampshire contest, where Ms. Haley is polling better than in other states, will likely make or break Ms. Haley’s chances of becoming the GOP presidential nominee. An upset victory would establish her as a serious competitor to President Trump, while a loss could mean the end of her campaign.
Ms. Mace is just one of many South Carolina leaders to have backed President Trump, many of whom have joined him on the campaign trail. Her endorsement comes just days after Mr. Scott, having dropped out of the race, threw his weight behind the former president.
