3 months ago
36
Coming out of the Iowa caucuses, there was a moment when Donald Trump seemed almost gracious. His victory speech largely ignored the campaigns of Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley as Trump concentrated on thanking his supporters and wandering into a strange interlude about how former President Jimmy Carter must be happy despite his wife’s recent death. That line drew applause and cheers from the Republican crowd.
Trump lavished admiration on withdrawn candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and barely mentioned DeSantis or Haley. For Trump, that’s as good as it gets.
But things changed in New Hampshire. In the aftermath of an unimpressive win, Trump ripped into not just Haley but her supporters. Now Trump is warning that anyone who gives Haley a contribution will be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.” Any illusion that someone could be a Republican but not totally loyal to Trump is over.
