Trump mocks Haley after South Carolina sweep as clock ticks on $500m bonds: Live
Trump tells Joe Biden ‘You’re fired’ as he wins South Carolina Republican primary
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Donald Trump has derided his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, Nikki Haley, after the Charles Koch-backed Americans for Prosperity Action donor network announced it would no longer be supporting her campaign after she lost the South Carolina primary.
A gleeful Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday that Mr Koch and his partners “got played for suckers right from the beginning”.
The GOP front-runner delivered a rambling victory speech after his fourth straight primary win on Saturday, deliberately neglecting to even mention Ms Haley as he turned his sights on Joe Biden, telling the president: “You’re fired!”
Earlier in the day, Mr Trump had addressed CPAC and compared himself to the notorious Depression-era gangster Al Capone, likening illegal immigrants to Hannibal Lecter, warning they threatened to bring fresh waves of crime to the United States and boasting about refusing to step aside in the face of his ever-mounting legal problems.
Meanwhile, the candidate is facing a cash crunch as deadlines loom on two court-ordered financial payouts: the $454m (including interest) he owes in the New York fraud case and the $83.3m defamation damages he owes to sexual assault accuser E Jean Carroll.
South Carolina primary: Haley’s home state comeback didn’t materialise. Now what?
Here’s John Bowden’s analysis on what Saturday’s result means for Trump’s dogged opponent, who is down but still not definitively out.
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 12:00
South Carolina primary: Trump supporters boo Lindsey Graham at victory party
Trump took to the stage roughly 10 minutes after the close of polls in South Carolina on Saturday night and introduced Republican senator Lindsey Graham, describing him as “a little bit further left than some people on this stage”.
“I always say, when I’m in trouble on the left, I call up Lindsey Graham and he straightens it out so fast,” he said, as loud boos unexpectedly erupted, the crowd incensed by the very idea of someone being “a little bit further left”.
“No, no. Remember, I love him, he’s a good man,” said Trump as he tried to soothe his supporters’ fury.
“Come up here Lindsey.”
Namita Singh reports on another worrying moment for moderate Republicans concerned about the MAGA takeover of their party.
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 11:30
South Carolina primary: Haley says she has ‘duty’ to stay in race despite latest loss
The former South Carolina governor vowed to fight on to Super Tuesday on 5 March, as she has consistently done, but things really are starting to look beyond hopeless for her now, particularly with high-profile donors beginning to desert.
You can see more from her latest concession speech below.
Nikki Haley says ‘I have duty’ to stay in race despite latest defeat to Trump
Nikki Haley believes she “has a duty” to challenge for the Republican presidential nomination, despite defeat to Donald Trump in the South Carolina primary. Addressing supporters on Saturday night (24 February), Ms Haley framed her candidacy as an alternative for the voters who do not want to see a rematch between Mr Trump and Joe Biden in November. “I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president. I’m a woman of my word,” Ms Haley said. “In the next 10 days, another 21 states and territories will speak. They have the right to a real choice, not a Soviet-style election with only one candidate. And I have a duty to give them that choice.”
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 11:00
South Carolina primary: Trump tells Biden ‘You’re fired’ after racing to victory
Let’s recap another big weekend in Trumpworld.
The GOP front-runner delivered a rambling victory speech after sewing up his fourth straight primary win in South Carolina on Saturday night, deliberately neglecting to even mention rival Nikku Haley as he turned his sights on Joe Biden instead.
“We’re going to be up here on 5 November, and we’re going to look at Joe Biden,” Mr Trump told his audience.
“He’s destroying our country and we’re gonna say ‘Joe, you’re fired. Get out. Get out, Joe. You’re fired.’”
Here he is, courtesy of IndyTV.
Trump tells Biden ‘You’re fired’ as he wins South Carolina Republican primary
Donald Trump celebrated his comfortable victory in the South Carolina Republican primary by predicting that he would beat Joe Biden in a likely presidential election rematch in November. The former president claimed his fourth straight primary win on Saturday night (24 February), beating rival Nikki Haley in her home state. “We’re going to be up here on 5 November, and we’re going to look at Joe Biden,” Mr Trump said as the crown loudly cheered him. “He’s destroying our country and we’re gonna say ‘Joe, you’re fired. Get out. Get out, Joe. You’re fired.’” Mr Trump also compared himself to Al Capone during a CPAC speech on Saturday.
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 10:30
Trump’s preposterous gold sneakers ridiculed on SNL with dual impersonations
Shane Gillis and the mighty James Austin Johnson were both impersonating Trump on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in a trailer for a spoof new movie version of 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump (which really was remade last year) courtesy of “Newsmax Studios”.
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 10:00
Truth Social: Trump mocks Haley as key donor deserts after South Carolina loss
Donald Trump has wasted on time in deriding Nikki Haley, his rival for the Republican presidential nomination, after Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP Action), the political wing of the conservative donor network led by billionaire Charles Koch, announced it would no longer be supporting her campaign after her defeat in South Carolina on Saturday.
APF senior adviser Emily Seidel said in a memo yesterday: “With the South Carolina presidential primary this weekend and the Senate engagement really heating up, it’s time to take stock of where we are and — as we always do — make sure we’re optimising our resources for maximum impact towards our goals.“
Trump relished the news, writing on Truth Social that “Charles Koch and his group got played for suckers right from the beginning” and demoting Haley from “Birdbrain” to “Braindead”.
He has otherwise been busy engaging in the usual messaging dump of favourable polling and issuing boilerplate whines about his legal problems.
Joe Sommerlad26 February 2024 09:30
Trump agrees with Putin that Biden should be president
Donald Trump appeared to say that Joe Biden should be president during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) 2024. Mr Trump repeated claims that he had a good personal relationship with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, saying they “got along well” during his term as president. “He did announce the other day that he’d much rather see Biden as president, and I agree with him” said Trump. It is not clear whether he misspoke, as he went on to make his usual attacks on Joe Biden calling him ‘Crooked Joe’ and accusing the president of being mentally impaired, during the speech on 24 February 2024.
Oliver O’Connell26 February 2024 08:45
Donald Trump calls wife Melania ‘Mercedes’ in CPAC speech
Former president Donald Trump called Melania ‘Mercedes’ as he praised his wife during a speech in Washington DC. The crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) gave the former First Lady a standing ovation as Mr Trump described how “people love her”. “Oh look at that Mercedes, that’s pretty good” he said as the audience stood and applauded. The GOP presidential hopeful was making the keynote speech on 24 February on the same day as voters head to the polls in the South Carolina primary.
Oliver O’Connell26 February 2024 05:45
‘Conservatives and people of faith’ will be ‘hunted’ under second Biden term, Trump claims
Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington, DC:
Oliver O’Connell26 February 2024 03:45
Read More:Trump mocks Haley after South Carolina sweep as clock ticks on $500m bonds: Live