Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump slammed fellow GOP candidate Nikki Haley Tuesday during his victory speech for the New Hampshire primary, stating she had a “very bad night.”
Trump took the New Hampshire stage following his win in the state as the GOP nominee, greeting a crowd of supporters as he stood on stage with fellow politicians who have endorsed him. The former president started off by stating how important New Hampshire is, reflecting on his previous wins in the state.
Trump continued to note that while he thought he had a “great victory,” he noted how Haley had taken to her stage early appearing to give a victory speech. (RELATED: Trump Cruises To Victory Against Nikki Haley In New Hampshire)
“[New Hampshire] is a very, very special place to me. It’s very important. If you remember in 2016, we came here and we needed that win, and we won by 21 points and it was great. And today I have to tell you, it was very interesting, because I said, ‘Wow, what a great victory.’ But then somebody ran up to the stage all dressed up nicely when it was at seven, but now I just walked up and it said 14. But she ran up when it was seven. And you know, we have to do what’s good for our party. And she was up and I said, ‘Wow, she’s doing a speech like she won.’ She didn’t win. She lost,” Trump said.
The former president continued to call out Haley emphasizing that the former South Carolina governor had “pretended she won Iowa.” Trump additionally noted that while his statements were not a “typical victory speech,” he didn’t want Haley to “take a victory” when she “had a very bad night.” (RELATED: Nikki Haley Says ‘Race Is Far From Over’ After Trump Wins New Hampshire)
“And you know, last week, we had a little bit of a problem. And if you remember Ron was very upset because she ran up and she pretended she won Iowa. And I looked around, I said, ‘Didn’t she come in third?’ Yeah, she came in third. And then I looked at the polls, she was talking about most win ability — who’s going to win — and I had one put up …We’ve won almost every single poll in the last three months against crooked Joe Biden,” Trump stated. “This is not your typical victory speech. But let’s not have somebody take a victory when she had a very bad night. She had a very bad night.”
Earlier in January, the former president had won the Iowa caucus in a landslide victory as the GOP nominee candidate, ending with 51% as Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis came in second at around 21% and Haley in third at 19.1% of the votes.
Following the New Hampshire primary results being called in Trump’s favor, Haley quickly took to the stage to congratulate the former president, however, noted that she would still be continuing in the race. Polls indicated Trump won by roughly 54% of the vote, sitting at an estimated eight points ahead of Haley and claiming 12 delegates, according to CNN.
Republicans will be looking to the South Carolina primaries next on Feb. 24, where Trump is predicted to have a roughly 40-point lead on the former South Carolina governor, according to a Super PAC poll conducted by former Trump chief pollster Tony Fabrizio.