Trump taunts Nikki Haley after humiliating loss to ‘none of the above’ in Nevada
Donald Trump has torn into his Republican rival Nikki Haley after she suffered a humiliating defeat in a “one-horse race” in Nevada.
Ms Haley, a former UN ambassador, is the last remaining rival to the frontrunner Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, and was the only major candidate contesting the party’s Nevada primary on Tuesday.
Despite the primary appearing to be a foregone conclusion, Ms Haley was roundly defeated. Trump voters used the contest to express their dissatisfaction with the options, awarding her fewer votes than “none of these candidates”.
With 86 per cent reported, “None” won 63 per cent of votes compared with 31 per cent for Ms Haley.
The Nevada primary is a largely symbolic contest because the GOP also holds a caucus, which Mr Trump will stand in on Thursday.
After opting to take part in the primary, Ms Haley was barred from participating in the caucus. All of the state’s 26 delegates are awarded in the caucus.
However, the result was still hugely embarrassing for Ms Haley, who is still hoping to position herself as a serious rival to Mr Trump.
The result makes her the first presidential candidate from either party to lose a race to “none of these candidates” since the option was introduced in Nevada in 1975.
Ms Haley had said before the vote that she would “focus on the states that are fair” and did not campaign in Nevada in the weeks leading up to the vote.
The defeat has prompted growing calls among her Republican rivals to end her campaign for the nomination.
Mr Trump branded the result on Tuesday a “bad night” for her in a social media post, adding: “Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!”, mocking her again over her positive reaction to finishing second to him in the New Hampshire primary contest last month.
“This race is far from over,” Ms Haley told supporters after the loss in New Hampshire. “There are dozens of states left to go. And the next one is my sweet state of South Carolina.”
In response, Mr Trump branded her “delusional”. He said: “Who the hell was that imposter that went up on that stage that went before and claimed victory.
Before the Nevada vote, Governor Joe Lombardo, Nevada’s Republican chief executive, appeared to lead the way, endorsing Mr Trump and publicly indicating his intent to cast his ballot for “None of these candidates.”
Several Republicans interviewed heading to the polls had also said they intended to do the same.
Sean Davis, founder of the US magazine The Federalist, tweeted after the result: “Nikki Haley ran against nobody in Nevada’s no-delegate primary on Tuesday and STILL LOST (Trump ignored the primary and was not on the ballot).
“It was a one-person race and Nikki Haley still managed to lose.”
“Trump’s supporters will follow that man through the gates of hell,” Chuck Muth, a former Nevada Republican Party executive director and conservative activist and writer, told Politico.
After the Nevada loss, Ms Haley’s team dismissed the result, saying it was still “full steam ahead” for South Carolina.
Meanwhile, Joe Biden easily won the Democratic primary in Nevada on Tuesday, using the victory to warn about the risks posed by another Trump presidency.
He said: “I want to thank the voters of Nevada for sending me and Kamala Harris to the White House four years ago, and for setting us one step further on that same path again tonight.
“We must organise, mobilise, and vote. Because one day, when we look back, we’ll be able to say, when American democracy was a risk, we saved it — together.”
