Super Tuesday results: Trump, Biden win big
- Trump holds substantial lead but Haley has vowed to stay in race
- Biden calls Trump a threat to democracy
- Haley: I'm first woman to win 2 Republican primaries
(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each scored a number of sweeping Super Tuesday wins that brought them closer to their presumed 2024 presidential candidate rematch.
Trailing behind is former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who defeated Trump in the Vermont Republican primary. The victory delivers Haley her biggest win since the start of the GOP primary season. Until Tuesday, the only GOP nominating contest she had won was in Washington, D.C.
Biden and Trump each won California, Texas, Alabama, Colorado, Maine, Oklahoma, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Minnesota and Massachusetts. Biden also won the Democratic primaries in Utah, Vermont and Iowa.
Both 81-year-old Biden and 77-year-old Trump continue to dominate their parties despite facing questions about age and neither having broad popularity across the general electorate.
The only contest Biden lost Tuesday was the Democratic caucus in American Samoa, a tiny U.S. territory in the South Pacific Ocean. Biden was defeated by previously unknown candidate Jason Palmer, 51 votes to 40.
Following Tuesday’s results, Trump addressed his supporters at Mar-a-Lago. The speech hit many familiar notes from Trump’s campaign, including immigration and the economy.
“They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one,” Trump said. “This was an amazing night, an amazing day, it’s been an incredible period of time in our country’s history. It’s been sad in many ways, but I think it’s going to be inspiring because we’re gonna do something that nobody’s been able to do for a long time.”
In a statement, President Joe Biden called former President Donald Trump a threat to democracy, saying he would bring chaos and division to the country.
“If Donald Trump returns to the White House, all of this progress is at risk. He is driven by grievance and grift, focused on his own revenge and retribution, not the American people,” Biden said. “He is determined to destroy our democracy, rip away fundamental freedoms like the ability for women to make their own health care decisions, and pass another round of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy — and he’ll do or say anything to put himself in power.”
Biden will make his case to the American people as to why he should get to serve another term during this Thursday’s State of the Union address, during which he will lay out his administration’s priorities and accomplishments. After that, he heads to Philadelphia, where he will kick his campaign into full gear.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley thanked supporters Tuesday night and noted that she is the first woman to win two Republican primaries.
Haley said her showing in the primaries is a sign there are Republicans who have deep concerns about Donald Trump that need to be addressed.
“There remains a large block of Republican primary voters who are expressing deep concerns about Donald Trump,” said Haley national spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas. “That is not the unity our party needs for success. Addressing those voters’ concerns will make the Republican Party and America better.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.