UPDATE: Donald Trump mocked Nikki Haley‘s remarks to supporters after she lost the New Hampshire primary, telling supporters that “she was doing a speech like she won.”
“She didn’t win, she lost,” Trump said.
“Who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and claimed victory. She did very poorly. She had to win. The governor said, she is going to win. She is going to win. And she failed badly.”
He seemed especially irritated during the speech, telling the crowd, “I don’t get too angry. I get even.”
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He explained why he decided to focus on Haley in his speech, given that he’s all but assured to get the nomination.
“I find in life you can’t let people get away with bullshit. You just can’t do that. And when I watched her, in her fancy dress that probably wasn’t so fancy, I thought, ‘What is she doing. We won?'”
All of the news networks carried the speech, but MSNBC cut away and CNN eventually did as Trump brought on surrogates to the stage. Fox News carried the remarks live.
After MSNBC’s cutaway, Maddow called Trump’s speech “unusual,” and fact-checked him for claiming to have won New Hampshire in the general election. Chris Hayes then noted that Trump “seemed to suggest that the governor of New Hampshire [Chris Sununu] is on some sort of drug, which I think is utterly baseless, just to be clear.”
Trump attacked CNN and MSNBC for cutting away from his remarks after his Iowa caucus victory last week. But last night, even though the networks cut away, he was irked by Fox News’ coverage. He wrote on Truth Social, “CNN & MSDNC TREATED MY BIG, DOUBLE DIGIT VICTORY OVER BIRDBRAIN, BETTER THAN FOX!”
Among the Fox News commentators was Kayleigh McEnany, his former press secretary.
He wrote, “I don’t need any advice from RINO Kayleigh McEnany on Fox. Just had a GIANT VICTORY over a badly failing candidate, ‘Birdbrain,’ and she’s telling me what I can do better. Save your advice for Nikki!”
Other coverage highlights: On NBC News, Garrett Haake said that Trump is “going to keep attacking her because it’s the only way he knows how to run a campaign. Whether his advisors want it to be that way or not, they know they can’t stop it, and that’s what voters and viewers across the country are going to get in moments like this.”
An extended primary, though, may be in Trump’s interest, commentator Karl Rove said on Fox News, “Once Donald Trump, say he succeeds in winning the nomination early, the tension is going to drop off of him. To some degree, the longer the contest goes on a reasonable amount of time, the better off he is because it allows him to articulate a vision for the general election. What matters is not so much, you know, how much she says and what and what she’s doing as what he does. If he takes on the task of describing a general election message and positioning himself to beat Biden after winning the nomination, if he feels secure about getting the nomination, then he’s going to be better off.”
PREVIOUSLY: Nikki Haley said that “this race is far from over,” but conceded the New Hampshire primary to Donald Trump shortly after networks make their calls.
In the ballroom of a conference center in Concord, NH, Haley reiterated some of her attacks on Trump, predicting that he could not win an election against Joe Biden. As she said that Democrats “badly” want Trump as the nominee, given the “chaos” that has followed him, a Haley supporter shouted, “He’s a loser.”
But she also set her sites on the next big Republican contest, the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.
“South Carolina voters don’t want a coronation. They want an election,” she said.
She also called on Trump to debate, again digging at him for confusing her for Nancy Pelosi.
After she concluded her remarks, supporters began to leave. A number said that Haley did better than expected in the results, as polls had shown Trump with a double digit lead.
Melinda Tourangeau of Milford, NH, said, “This is fantastic. I am not disappointed in the least. This woman has momentum. We are on a roll.”
She said that she had considered voting for Trump until she met Haley. “She has the most brilliant platform. It’s crisp. It’s cogent. It meets all of my criteria.”
“We are going to go to the last state, and everyone is going to think it’s the man, and it’s going to be the woman,” she said. “I know it.”
Haley was governor of South Carolina, but polls show Trump with a big lead there. In the final week of the primary race, he received the endorsement of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and the state’s current GOP governor, Henry McMaster.
Joe Biden’s campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez said in a statement that, with his wins in Iowa and New Hampshire, Trump has “all but locked up the GOP nomination.”
PREVIOUSLY: Donald Trump won the New Hampshire primary over Nikki Haley, with networks calling the race in the half hour after polls closed.
He was called as the winner of the GOP’s New Hampshire primary by NewsNation at 5:01 p.m. PT/8:01 p.m. ET, by Fox News at 5:09 p.m. PT/8:09 p.m. ET, and by MSNBC three minutes later. CNN declared Trump the GOP primary winner at 5:19 p.m. PT/8:19 p.m. ET, just Haley took the stage to speak to supporters.
As Dana Perino discussed Trump’s win on the Rupert Murdoch-owned outlet, the on-screen lower third read “Indictments Consolidate GOP Support For Trump.”
For Democrats, Joe Biden has won New Hampshire primary.
In a primary that is not official for the Democrats and with no delegates on the line for the party, the incumbent swept the ballot as a write-in candidate.
Both CNN and Fox News kicked off their 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET hour with the announcement of Biden’s victory. Rival Rep. Dean Phillips was pulling in about 21.2% and spiritualist Marianne Williamson got 4.5%
The first real primary for Democrats comes on February 3 in South Carolina, followed by Nevada three days later. Both are expected to go strong for Biden.
PREVIOUSLY: Polls are closing in New Hampshire, with the final precincts shutting their doors at 8 p.m. ET./5 p.m. PT.
CNN was at at two polling locations as the results were phoned in aloud for tabulation. MSNBC went to correspondents at high schools and other voting locations. Fox News’ Laura Ingraham was in studio while she offered a live shot of ballot boxes in Londonderry, NH. BBC had a report on the situation in Gaza.
PREVIOUSLY: The release of a batch of New Hampshire exit poll data had network pundits trying to discern the dynamics of this evening’s primary, in particular figures that showed that 53% of the electorate was not Republican.
The data showed that 45% identified as independents and 8% as Democrats, compared to a non-Republican share of 45% in 2016, per NBC News’ Steve Kornacki.
“If this is what this electorate looks like, it’s 53% not Republican,” said NBC News’ Chuck Todd on NBC News Now. “You can already hear what MAGA world is going to say — ‘Democrats and independents are invading our primary.’ But my goodness, less than 50% Republican for Trump…this is a flashing yellow sign…Put it this way. This is not a race we are calling at poll close.”
A CNN exit poll showed that 64% answered “No” to the question, “Are you a part of the MAGA movement?” Another question: “Do you think Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election?” That was split 49%-49%.
The exit poll numbers change as more data comes in during the evening. Some polls close at 7 p.m. ET and some at 8 p.m.
“This EARLY round exit is a tell, if it holds. Means lots of non-base R voters showed up,” wrote political analyst Mike Murphy. “Good sign for Haley. I’m pretty dubious it’ll be enough for to win but should tighten things up. Potentially a lot.”
Trump seemed to have been watching the exit polls, too. He wrote on Truth Social, “SO RIDICULOUS THAT DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS ARE ALLOWED TO VOTE IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY, ESPECIALLY SINCE CROOKED JOE BIDEN HAS ABANDONED NEW HAMPSHIRE—BUT WORD IS WE ARE DOING REALLY WELL!!!” Voters had to have changed their party affiliation months ago, but undeclared voters have the choice of casting a ballot in either primary.
Haley supporters began gathering at a conference center in Concord, NH, where her campaign had set up a lectern in front of a large video screen showing Fox News coverage, and hung a banner with the slogan, “Strong & Proud.”
Trump’s supporters are gathering about 35 miles to the south, at the Sheraton in Nashua, NH.
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