According to sources close to the former president, Donald Trump’s growing frustration with Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor, continues to escalate. Haley’s refusal to withdraw from the 2024 Republican nomination race is causing operational challenges for Trump’s campaign.
Trump was annoyed with Haley after she finished second in the New Hampshire primary and delivered a speech he perceived as her taking a victory lap. This annoyance has turned into darker frustration as Trump realizes that her persistence will require him to campaign more aggressively for the South Carolina primary, diverting resources from preparing for a general election against Joe Biden.
Trump’s increasing frustration with Haley could lead to a more contentious fight in the weeks ahead. He is becoming more determined to see her exit, using harsher language to describe her while attempting to dominate the early voting states and secure the nomination as quickly as possible.
During the New Hampshire primary, Trump appeared genuinely surprised that Haley did not withdraw and instead spun her defeat as an unexpected win in her speech that night. This caught Trump off guard as he expected her to fold, similar to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who dropped out and endorsed him after his second-place finish in Iowa the week before. Trump took Haley’s defiance personally.
The frustration grows more acute as the Trump campaign gears up for the upcoming contests before Super Tuesday. Trump realizes that he may need to make multiple trips to South Carolina to battle the Haley campaign, which he sees as a waste of time since internal and public polling shows little chance for Haley to beat him.
Haley, who describes herself as “scrappy,” continues to hold rallies where her denunciations of Trump have become increasingly hostile. She recently launched a $4 million advertising campaign in South Carolina, calling a Biden vs. Trump election “a rematch no one wants.”
Trump’s team has expressed concern that the more time and resources they spend fighting Haley, the less they can focus on pivoting to the general election and targeting Biden. Trump views Haley as an additional burden he shouldn’t have to deal with but is forced to as long as she remains in the race.
Underscoring Trump’s irritation is his perception of betrayal from Haley. In conversations with allies, he criticized her for not withdrawing and used derogatory language to describe her perceived disloyalty.
