Donald Trump’s campaign predicts that the former president will lock up the 2024 Republican presidential nomination by the middle of next month.
And pointing to the former president’s very large double-digit lead over Nikki Haley in the latest polls in Saturday’s South Carolina GOP primary, Trump’s campaign argued Tuesday in a memo that Haley’s White House bid will end “fittingly, in her home state.”
But Haley, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, on Tuesday said in a major speech in this Upstate South Carolina city that “some of you—perhaps a few of you in the media—came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race. Well, I’m not. Far from it.”
TRUMP HOLDS LARGE DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD OVER HALEY AHEAD OF CRUCIAL SHOWDOWN
“I refuse to quit. South Carolina will vote on Saturday. But on Sunday, I’ll still be running for president. I’m not going anywhere,” Haley emphasized.
And she added that “I have no fear of Trump’s retribution.”
LAST RIVAL STANDING: HALEY FACES BIG CHALLENGE IN HER HOME STATE AGAINST TRUMP
But the Trump campaign memo forecasts an “a—kicking in the making in South Carolina” for Haley, and that “the end is near” for her presidential run due to “a very serious math problem” she has in the race to lock up enough delegates to win the GOP nomination.
Looking ahead to next month, when nearly 800 delegates are up for grabs on Super Tuesday as 15 states hold Republican presidential contests on March 5, with over 150 at stake over the following two weeks, the Trump campaign predicted the former president would secure the nomination on March 19, even under a “most-generous model” for Haley.
Trump’s campaign memo came out hours before Trump returns to South Carolina on Tuesday to headline a Fox News town hall in Greenville hosted by Laura Ingraham. The pre-taped one-hour event, which will focus on both domestic issues and overseas conflicts, will air at 7 p.m. ET.
Haley’s speech on Tuesday followed a campaign rally in the city on Monday night, when Haley emphasized “I promise you this, I am in this fight. I will take the bruises. I will take the cuts,” she told supporters at a large rally in this city in upstate South Carolina on Monday night. “This is going to be messy and I’ll take the hurt because I believe nothing good comes easy. Sometimes we have to feel pain to appreciate the blessing.”
Fox News’ Kirill Clark and Deirdre Heavey contributed to this story
