It's one thing to lose a state primary. It's another to lose to none of the above.
That's what happened to Nikki Haley in Nevada. While Trump wasn't on the ballot, "none of these candidates" received almost two-thirds of the vote compared to Haley's 30.5%, Mike Pence's 4.0% and Tim Scott's 1.4%.
Congratulations to Donald "None Of These Candidates" Trump.
Whether you like it or not, Trump is going to win the GOP nomination to provide us with a 2020 rematch with Joe Biden. Hope Washington D.C. is stocking up on apple sauce and Depends...
Sure, Nikki Haley does technically have a path to victory. But here's the problem: they all involve outcomes that are ... less than optimal. Put simply, Trump either needs to be dead (God forbid) or in jail for him not to be the nominee come November. And given that he's somehow healthier than the average college student, and given that he's likely to avoid jail time in the coming months (despite the efforts of his bikini-clad Instagram lawyer), relying on either of these two horrendous outcomes is about as cynical as it gets.
But also, who would want to be the second-place consolation prize when the vast majority of American conservatives want someone else? It's like ordering a glistening glass of ice-cold Coca-Cola and receiving a lukewarm paper cup of dishwater with a hair floating in it.
(Yes, Nikki Haley is running to be that dishwater.)
Trigger warning: Look, I didn't want Donald Trump to be the nominee for 2024.
He was the perfect man for the moment in 2016, but I believe that it was time to move on. But the brutal fact is that the primary race is over, and given that Trump is going to be the nominee, the time has come for us to unite with one mission in mind: Defeat the quivering clump of barely-conscious, face-lifted skin that is Joe Biden.
(And no, I don't want Nikki Haley to be the nominee either.)
Nikki Haley is, of course, well within her rights to continue to run for office. But perhaps the millions of dollars she's continuing to pointlessly throw down the drain could go towards something more productive, like beating the Democrats in November?
It's time for Nikki Haley to face reality: It doesn't matter how often she talks about being bullied or threatens random people with her stillettos or reminds us that, yes, she is a woman!
Trump is our man for 2024. When you're losing to "anyone else," it's time to focus on what's next.
Follow Ian on X (@ighaworth).
