By Ken Afor
The campaign organization of the former President of the United States, Donald Trump, has described ex-South Carolina governor, Mrs. Nikki Haley, whom they lost to in Washington DC’s first primary, as the ‘Queen of the Swamp’.
The organization made this statement shortly after the primary, where Mrs. Haley won by a wide margin of 1,274 votes against Trump’s 676 votes.
Sunday’s victory for Haley marked her first since entering the 2024 presidential race in the Republican Party against Trump.
Additionally, she is now the first woman in US history to win a Republican primary.
However, Haley’s campaign national spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas, shortly after the victory, said that the outcome suggests that Republicans who are heavily involved in Washington politics are distancing themselves from Trump and his disruptive behavior, which is not unexpected.
She said, “It’s not surprising that Republicans closest to Washington dysfunction are rejecting Donald Trump and all his chaos”.
In a swift response, Trump Campaign press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Haley, describing her as the “Queen of the Swamp,” and highlighted her unpopularity outside of Washington but her embrace by lobbyists and insiders.
According to Leavitt, “While Nikki has been soundly rejected throughout the rest of America, she was just crowned Queen of the Swamp by the lobbyists and DC insiders that want to protect the failed status quo. The swamp has claimed their queen.”
Despite Trump losing to Haley, the former president remains well ahead of his opponents and other aspirants in the Republican Party as he looks set to confront President Joe Biden in the November election.
A big test, however, awaits Trump to prove his dominance in the Republican Party, having won every state primary or caucus so far. He aims to secure more delegates on Super Tuesday, the largest day of nominating contests, with 874 Republican delegates up for grabs across 15 states and one US territory.
Haley plans to remain in the race until at least March 5th, when a significant number of voters will participate in casting their votes.
