Here’s the thing about Nikki Haley dropping out
Nikki Haley suspended her campaign today. She was the last Republican primary candidate of any note in the race other than Donald Trump, meaning Trump now stands alone in the Republican field. But truth be told, this doesn’t change much.
It’s always been the case that if Trump is going to lose the nomination, it’s going to happen at this summer’s Republican National Convention. He was always going to go into the convention with the largest number of delegates. But given that he was only ever going to get about 55-60% of the Republican primary vote, and that he’ll be going into the convention as a senile convicted criminal, he has to worry about the nomination being taken away from him at the convention. Will it happen? That’s anyone’s guess. They call it a floor fight for a reason.
If Nikki Haley (or Ron DeSantis or anyone else) is going to end up with the nomination, it was always going to be a result of that kind of floor fight. So it makes sense for Haley to drop out now, disappear for a minute, stop being seen as someone who’s losing to Trump, and wait in the wings for the convention. And that’s what we’re now seeing.
As for Haley’s decision not to endorse Trump, that’s quite the giveaway. She’s obviously waiting to see how things shake out with Trump’s worsening senility and criminal trials. If Trump does get cast aside, and the nomination is up for grabs at the convention, Haley just might end up with it. And if she does, she won’t want to have to spend the general election explaining why she endorsed a monster like Donald Trump.
But the story isn’t Nikki Haley, just like the story was never Ron DeSantis back when he was in contention a year ago. The story is that nearly half of Republican primary voters desperately want anyone but Trump to be their nominee. And a good chunk of those Republicans say that if it’s Trump vs. Biden, they’ll either stay home or vote for Biden. So if the Republican Party wants to go through with nominating Trump, so be it.
