NASHUA, New Hampshire — High-profile Trump supporters gathered for his remarks after winning the New Hampshire primary all had the same message: It’s time to move on to the general election.
“Trump was our president for four years. He’s the one we know and trust. And we know that he can save America,” firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner at the Nashua hotel where former President Donald Trump spoke. “It’s a big victory speech, and Nikki Haley needs to drop out.”
The message was the same from two other members of Congress interviewed by the Washington Examiner, as well as supporters gathered for the watch party.
“It’s time for our party to unite,” Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) told the Washington Examiner. “The campaign season was last year, and it has really been a demonstration to the country that the Republican Party stands firmly behind Donald Trump.”
Yet another House Republican, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), added, “It was a great win. It’s time to close this thing down and get past the primary. It’s time to get ready for the general election.”
Trump, of course, added to the theme himself with a triumphant speech during which he referred to Haley as an imposter.
However, the race was actually closer than expected, with Haley drawing in about 46% support as Trump was speaking. She had been polling at only 36% and said Tuesday night that she will not drop out, will host a rally in South Carolina on Wednesday evening, and will spend $4 million on ads in the state.
“New Hampshire is first in the nation. It’s not last in the nation,” she told supporters at her own results watch party. “This race is far from over. There are dozens of states left to go. And the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina!”
Trump was having none of it.
“She’s taking a victory lap, and we beat her so badly,” he said.
President Joe Biden seemed to agree. His campaign released a statement saying, “It is now clear that Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee,” while warning that democracy as well as personal freedoms are at stake in November.
Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) wrote on X that Haley should either “drop out or help the Democrats,” while Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) sent out a statement saying it is “well past time” for her to leave the race.
If Trump is the nominee, it will set up a rematch with Biden, who defeated him four years ago. Greene said the fact that voters have now seen each man taking on the duties of the presidency is the reason Trump can emerge victorious this time out.
“I think it’s already happening,” she said. “We are seeing the polling numbers every single week. And we are seeing people coming out and saying, ‘We’re done with the Biden administration. We’re tired of seeing our hard-earned tax dollars spent on an open border and [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives, which is pure racism.”
Supporters almost unanimously mentioned immigration and the economy as the two top issues for the Trump campaign in 2024.
“The price of food, the price of fuel cannot continue to rise on the backs of the American people while we chase some crazy Green New Deal,” Donalds said. “It’s a strategy which, frankly, is not going to work. We can’t do that to our people.”
Immigration has been Trump’s calling card since he first rose to political prominence in 2015, and his lines on that topic drew the biggest reaction from crowds at his New Hampshire rallies.
“I would say that a very close if not equal problem [to the economy] is that southern border,” Collins said. “That invasion that we’ve got down there on our border, we have got to address that immediately. … We’ve had 8 million people pour across that border, over a million that we didn’t know about. Three hundred-plus were on the terrorist list.”
Another topic among Trump fans was who he might choose as a running mate. Names like Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and even political commentator Tucker Carlson have been floated.
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Donalds has been named as a possibility as well and says he’s up for the gig if Trump is.
“Yeah, I’ve been on the record saying [I’d accept it],” Donalds said. “But it’s not about me. It’s not about anybody here. It’s about the people.”
