Former US President Donald Trump, candidate for the Republican primary, during a meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, January 23, 2024 (AFP / Timothy A. Cleary)
A new duel between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in November is more likely than ever, after the former president’s victory in the New Hampshire primary, which cemented his status as the favorite in the race for the Republican nomination.
The real estate mogul gave a “victory” speech after the results of the vote against Nikki Haley were announced. Her rival, a former ambassador to the UN, hopes to win this small state in the northeast, where conservative voters are considered more moderate.
After a clear victory in Iowa a few days ago, Donald Trump was leading by about 11 points, with more than 54% of the vote, where the participation rate was however low.
In the past, all Republicans who won these two primaries were subsequently nominated.
Joe Biden also won a less significant Democratic primary in New Hampshire. He was not officially registered, but voters, responding to a campaign to that effect, put his name on the ballot.
If Nikki Haley, the only woman in the running for the Republican nomination, wants to believe that the race with her 77-year-old rival is “too far,” the Democratic president immediately named Donald Trump as the opponent to beat.
– “Everything is at stake” –
“Our democracy. Our personal freedoms (…). Our economy (…). Everything is at stake,” the 81-year-old democrat responded.
His campaign manager, Julie Chavez, criticized Donald Trump on Wednesday for “leading a campaign of revenge and settling scores.”
Joe Biden, deeply unpopular, is still counting on the fear that Donald Trump inspires to rally Americans.
Democrats are banking on independent voters — those who might traditionally vote in New Hampshire’s Republican primary and who overwhelmingly cast their votes for Nikki Haley, according to a CNN exit poll.
Joe Biden’s victory in the New Hampshire primary, Democratic this time around, is symbolic — he has no serious competition for the nomination, set for August.
US President Joe Biden during a campaign rally for the Democratic primary in Manassas, Virginia, on January 23, 2024 (AFP / SAUL LOEB)
But his supporters will want to see this as a reassuring sign, especially since the president scored very poorly during the 2020 primary in the same state. He then defeated Donald Trump in the presidential election.
The real test for Joe Biden will be the South Carolina Democratic primary on February 3. Last time, it was there that he made his move to the White House carried by African-American voters.
As for Donald Trump, he believes he has a chance to “take revenge” – he himself used the term in reference to the November 2020 defeat, which he never recognized, and when he was surrounded by legal proceedings.
On Monday, Republicans, who have continued to widen the partisan divide since their victorious 2016 campaign, attacked Joe Biden, who was America’s “worst president.”
– “Anarchy” –
To face him again on November 5, Donald Trump will have to invest this summer through his party’s convention, after the primaries in all states.
Nikki Haley, candidate in the Republican primary against Donald Trump, during a meeting in Concord, New Hampshire, January 23, 2024 (AFP / Joseph Prezioso)
Nikki Haley, an exception to the Republican Party largely rallying behind Donald Trump, criticized the former populist president for bringing “chaos.”
The former governor of South Carolina, a state that will hold its Republican primaries on February 24, has also publicly questioned her “declining” cognitive abilities.
Shame on Donald Trump, who mocks Biden’s age and his mistakes.
The Democratic president chose Tuesday to speak on a theme considered his party’s best interest: defending abortion rights.
He accused Donald Trump of seeking to further restrict access to voluntary termination of pregnancy “at all costs.”
But his speech was interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, underscoring the tensions within progressive voters caused by the White House’s policy of too firm support for Israel.
On Wednesday, the Biden-Harris campaign team promised to meet with Americans of Arab origin, trying to persuade them to vote against Donald Trump “who is once again talking about banning Muslims from entering the region”.
