On Super Tuesday, the pivotal day of nominating contests for the U.S. Presidency, Donald Trump secured a significant victory. He triumphed in 14 primary elections across various states, positioning himself well ahead of his Republican rival, Nikki Haley. Notably, Haley chose to exit the race without endorsing her former boss.
On the Democratic side, U.S. President Joe Biden secured victories in 15 states, including a tie for first place in American Samoa. These wins have all but solidified the prospect of a Biden-Trump face-off in the November general elections.
As of now, Mr. Biden has 1,497 of the 1,968 delegates required to clinch the nomination. His path to victory has been relatively smooth, with only nominal opposition in certain states from self-help author Marianne Williamson and U.S. Congressman Dean Phillips.
“They call it Super Tuesday for a reason. This is a big one,” Mr. Trump said during a victory speech at his Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago. The former President, who is faced with 91 charges across several criminal and civil cases, emerged with 92% of delegates awarded on Tuesday, giving him a total of 995 delegates, more than ten times his opponent’s, who had 89 delegates at the end of Tuesday night. He did not mention Ms. Haley in his speech but said in a statement that Ms. Haley “got trounced”.
Mr. Trump, running on his nativist ‘MAGA’ (Make America Great Again) platform, asserted on Tuesday night that both the Russia-Ukraine war and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza would not have occurred during his tenure.
He criticized the lack of border security at the U.S.-Mexico border. Furthermore, he highlighted the weaponization of politics.
“We are a third-world country at our borders, and we are a third-world country at our elections,” Mr. Trump said as he criticised the political establishment and the press.
Citing former Conservative British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Ms. Haley hinted that she would not necessarily endorse Mr. Trump, as is customary. To secure the Republican nomination, a candidate must win 1,215 delegates.
It appears that Mr. Trump is on track to achieve this milestone as more states cast their votes next Tuesday.
“Our world is on fire because of America’s retreat. Standing by our allies in Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan is a moral imperative,” she said at a concession speech in Charleston, South Carolina, a State she was once Governor of.
She also highlighted the level of government spending. Of late, Ms. Haley, an accountant by training, had said Mr. Trump bore a significant amount of responsibility the national debt level. Ms. Haley won Vermont on Tuesday, losing everywhere else.
Ms. Haley, born into a Sikh family of immigrants from Amritsar, did not fully leverage all the available opportunities to engage with the Indian diaspora during the primary season.
A Democrat and the chair of the Indo American-IA PAC (Political Action Committee) Prakash Kopparapu in Iowa, revealed that his bipartisan organization faced unsuccessful attempts while trying to arrange a diaspora community meeting for Ms. Haley in Iowa during January, before the state’s caucuses.
“It’s quite disappointing,” Mr. Kopparapu expressed to The Hindu during a phone conversation, further noting, “She had a significant chance in Iowa.”
Although Mr. Trump secured a decisive victory in the internal GOP contest on Tuesday, the prospect of a Biden vs. Trump rematch remains highly uncertain. Exit polls reveal that Mr. Trump’s electoral vulnerabilities from 2020 persist, particularly in urban centers, suburban regions, and college towns.
An NBC News exit poll conducted in North Carolina revealed that Ms. Haley held a 2:1 lead among moderate voters. Interestingly, some of these moderates might lean toward Mr. Biden in the upcoming general election.
Notably, in January, Mr. Trump had declared that anyone contributing to Ms. Haley’s campaign would be excluded from the MAGA camp. However, on Wednesday morning, Mr. Biden, whose campaign boasts a substantial $117 million in cash, extended an invitation to Haley donors to support him.
Mr. Biden grapples with significant non-financial challenges: a dissatisfied base and voter apathy. As an 81-year-old incumbent, he faces scrutiny regarding his age and perceptions of his economic management compared to Mr. Trump.
Additionally, there’s discontent over his unwavering support for Israel during its attacks on Gaza.
Since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel and took hostages, the American public’s backing for Israel has waned. Israel’s retaliatory actions resulted in the mass slaughter of over 30,000 Palestinians. Notably, 63% of Democrats, according to an AP-NORC poll from early February, believe that Israel “had gone too far” in its response.
In a powerful display of dissent, over 100,000 primary voters in Michigan cast an ‘uncommitted’ vote to protest Mr. Biden’s stance on Israel.
In response to Tuesday’s results, Mr. Biden succinctly framed the situation for the American people: “Are we going to keep moving forward, or will we allow Donald Trump to drag us backwards into the chaos, division, and darkness that defined his term in office ?
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