Haley Warns Republicans That Trump Will Make Them Lose Again

(Bloomberg) -- Nikki Haley presented Donald Trump as a candidate who will deliver only more defeats to Republicans as she tries to change the dynamic of the campaign before next week’s crucial presidential primary in South Carolina.

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“Everything he touches, we lose,” Haley said Thursday night at a campaign rally in Dallas, Texas.

Haley’s speech, which was interrupted multiple times by protesters, tried to meld the former president’s political setbacks with his legal difficulties. Earlier Thursday, a criminal trial where Trump is the defendant was scheduled to begin March 25 for a case revolving around alleged payments made to an adult firm star.

“Donald Trump lost in 2018. He lost it for us in 2020. He lost it for us in 2022. But look at what happened last week. Last week, he loses his case on immunity. He’s now going to be Citizen Trump,” Haley said. She was referring to an appeals court ruling that rejected Trump’s argument that the presidency protected him from prosecution in a federal case arising out of the insurrection at the US Capitol.

Haley, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador, told the audience that the former president has “already said he’s going to spend most of the year in a courtroom, not on the campaign trail. That’s not a way you win.”

Before the rally, Scott and Kaye Lawman, who are from Arlington, Texas, described themselves as Reagan Republicans. “We are ready to turn a new page,” Scott Lawman said.

Earlier: Trump Faces March 25 Trial in Hush-Money Criminal Case

And Tonja Cooper, a Dallas County resident who described herself as lifelong Democrat, said “I love that she is persistent. We all know she’s the underdog. She is showing strength. The tide is going to turn.”

Fundraising Blitz

The rally in Dallas followed a high-profile fundraiser for Haley, where she raised money from prominent Texas business executives. Real estate developer Harlan Crow, oil and gas producer Ray Lee Hunt and billionaire Trevor Rees-Jones were among dozens of co-hosts listed on the invitation.

Trump, buoyed by wins in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, is on the cusp of clinching the GOP presidential nomination, and recent polls show him leading Haley, his last major challenger, by over 30 percentage points in South Carolina.

Haley has poured her resources into the state where she was born and served as governor in the hope of a strong showing that will keep the fundraising spigot open. But she has struggled to chip away at Trump’s lead.

Earlier: Haley Risks Humiliation at Home Despite a Flood of Spending

Haley says she intends to stay in the race at least until next month, when more than a dozen states — including Texas — hold primaries on March 5. Recent polls show Trump with a more than 60 percentage point lead in the Lone Star State and he has the endorsement of key state leaders including Governor Greg Abbott, Attorney General Ken Paxton, and US Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.

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