Donald Trump is all but the presumptive GOP nominee. Scratch that. Donald Trump is the GOP nominee. Whether one greets that information with cheers or groans is entirely inconsequential. Like death, taxes, and gravity, a Trump nomination is inescapable. The chances of his legal and financial woes crippling him is another discussion. But love or loathe him, he is cleaning up in the primaries.
Given her numbers, one is tempted to liken Nikki Haley to Custer, realizing that way more members of the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe nations showed up at Little Bighorn than he anticipated. But Haley, however, is still going strong. She had a cheerful, never-say-die attitude at a campaign whistle-stop at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Utah’s Caucus Night is March 5, and the final order of business for precinct chairs will be to hold the presidential preference poll, which will replace the traditional primary. Beehive State Republicans can choose between Trump, Haley, and the now-defunct Ryan Binkley.
The venue was packed, which was surprising for an event scheduled for 12:30 on a Wednesday afternoon. But aside from some political science students and a smattering of homeschooled kids and parents, I estimated the average age of the attendees at around 65-75. To be fair, that is normal for similar events in Utah.
So the '80s hits during the warm-up, including Def Leppard’s “Photograph” and the Go-Go’s “We Got the Beat,” did not resonate with the mostly elderly and LDS crowd. There was a half-hearted attempt to get a “USA! USA!” chant started. One enterprising individual tried to stoke the fire by gesturing wildly to “Raise the Roof” or perhaps invoke the wave. Sadly, no waves ensued, and no roofs were raised.
Haley took the stage following endorsements from Utah’s First Lady Abby Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson and a tacit video endorsement from former governor Gary Herbert. While the demographics skewed toward the geriatric, the audience met Haley with an enthusiastic response when she took the stage.
She made some interesting points, a few of which we have heard ad infinitum. Among them was the fact that the country is $34 trillion in debt, some of which our enemies hold. She added that Trump and the Republicans on his watch contributed to the problem, which the American public bears.
She also called for the government to claw back COVID funds, which are still “out there,” and send IRS agents to pursue COVID-19 fraud. And there was the requisite demand to decrease spending and balance the budget. Also included was the promise to take federal programs and “move them down to the state level.” This was coupled with a desire to decrease taxes on the middle class.
She further pledged to replace “catch and release” with “catch and deport” and a return to the “Remain in Mexico” policy. She touched on the fact that the country has 35,000 homeless veterans and rightfully commented on the sorry state of affairs within the VA. She suggested that members of Congress get their healthcare from the VA, which would greatly improve the agency. That is a valid, if somewhat fanciful, suggestion. She also had serious warnings about the wars abroad, the efforts of Russia and China to undermine the U.S., and the need for a leader with moral clarity.
Haley took the customary jabs at Biden, including a demand for mental competency tests for politicians over the age of 75. But she saved the bulk of her ire for Trump. She accused Trump of asking GOP legislators to hold off on passing a border bill until he was back in office. She stated that Trump encouraged Putin to invade our allies. She called it an “off-teleprompter moment” during which Trump chose to side with a dictator and madman over U.S. allies.
Haley also took time to comment that most Americans are not interested in a Trump-Biden rematch and touched on Trump’s comments that any Haley supporters would be permanently barred from MAGA. That remark, said Haley, was illustrative of Trump’s desire to divide, as opposed to unite the party, unless it is to bring voters together under the MAGA banner.
She also raised an issue that, to the ire of some, is worthy of discussion: Trump seems primarily interested in Trump, as opposed to the American people. Is that a legitimate complaint? To some, yes. But to those who feel dismissed and demonized by the American Patrician Class, the banishing of Trump to the outer darkness is tantamount to their disenfranchisement. And Americans should consider that, too.
It is entirely possible, as some have said, that Haley has her eye on 2028 and that this run is merely an effort to increase her exposure and boost her name recognition, or if time runs out for Trump in terms of legal and financial issues, she could position herself as the Last Elephant Standing. If 2028 is on Haley’s to-do list, she should spend her time revamping her platform. She has valid ideas.
Walking back to my car, I heard one young man who looked to be in his 30s remark, “It’s always the same thing. Fiscal this, fiscal that. Every Republican goes on about fiscal responsibility, and none of them ever do anything about it.” This is what makes Haley so appealing to some and so loathsome to others. Her sex aside, Haley represents a “return to normalcy” and, by implication, a return to sanity, which she maintains that Trump, as a narcissistic agent of chaos, is incapable of delivering. Many have observed that, at times, the Trump brand overshadows everything else.
On a deeper level, Haley fails to understand the main issues that power the engines of Trump supporters. As easy as it may be to dismiss Trump as a self-centered blowhard from Queens, he represents the anger and disconnect his supporters feel.
For example, PJ Media's Matt Margolis reported that on Wednesday, Cook County Judge Tracie Porter ruled Donald Trump could not appear on the Illinois primary ballot. An appeal is certainly in the works, but the message was clear: Democrats want to control not just who appears on their ballots, but on everyone’s ballot. And that point has not been lost on the most ferocious of Trump supporters or Never-Trump conservatives throughout the former president’s legal travails.
In the minds of Trump supporters, the disconnect of the elites is the problem from which all others flow. Haley seems to miss that point. Her inability to understand that motivation and tap into it has led to her dismal numbers at the polls.
At worst, Haley’s detractors see her as an agent of the Deep State who is hoping to use a turn behind the Resolute Desk as a chance to milk the military-industrial complex. At best, they view her as someone trying to salvage an irreparably broken system and somehow function within it.
