(NewsNation) — Former President Donald Trump, who is projected to win the New Hampshire primary, said former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had a “very bad night.”
“She had to win.” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu “said she’s going to win, she’s going to win, she’s going to win. Then she failed badly,” Trump told his supporters.
Near the end of his victory speech, Trump doubled down on attacking his Republican rival.
“You can’t let people get away with (expletive),” he said, criticizing Haley for not exiting the GOP race.
Trump also tore into President Joe Biden.
“We’re way up on everybody. We’re way up on Biden,” Trump said, later adding: “If you took the 10 worst presidents and put them together … they would not have done the damage that crooked Joe Biden has done to our wonderful country.”
Trump told his supporters he had “no choice” but to win the 2024 election.
“If we don’t win, I think our country is finished. I do — I believe our country is finished,” Trump said.
Trump is projected to secure his second election victory of 2024, winning the New Hampshire primary. He prevailed over Haley, who furiously campaigned in the state.
Haley is vowing to move her campaign forward, insisting the race “is far from over.”
“There are dozens of states left to go, and the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina,” Haley said.
She continued: “At one point in this campaign, there were 14 of us running, and we were at 2% in the polls. Well, I’m a fighter, and I’m scrappy. And now, we’re the last one standing next to Donald Trump.”
Haley is hoping her second-place finish can give her enough momentum to continue to South Carolina’s Feb. 24 primary. She’s currently polling at 27% there, 34 points behind Trump, according to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ.
NewsNation’s Tyler Wornell and The Associated Press contributed to this report.