Donald Trump is taking steps to establish his complete control over the Republican Party, which may be seen as a precursor to the autocratic rule he envisions for his potential second term, following his victories in New Hampshire and Iowa.
A former president is attempting to scare Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley into dropping out of the race. Contributors who support the ex-governor of South Carolina will face social exclusion, he warns. Before Trump retreated over concerns from his aides that it could backfire, his supporters were trying to shock the Republican National Committee into making him the presumptive nominee after just two nominating races.
To prevent President Joe Biden from winning and to guarantee that he can use the border crisis as a campaign issue, the 45th president is currently lobbying Republican lawmakers in Congress to scuttle an immigration compromise. Trump has also been using the same tactics he used during his four years in office: browbeating Republican opponents and important decision-makers into fast endorsing him.
Just like his actions while in office, Trump is quickly asserting his increasing power as the probable nominee, which is a hallmark of his style: the destruction of limitations. During his brief tenure, which came to an end when he attempted to reverse an election that had already resulted in his removal from office, he was impeached twice. It fits in with Trump’s self-presentation as the unstoppable force that carried him through his career in business, reality TV, and as an ex-president.
Some of Trump’s detractors are becoming increasingly worried that a second term for the president could usher in a new era of totalitarianism. In keeping with his contempt for democratic procedures, Trump wants to force Haley to drop out of the campaign after only two elections, even though he has a 32–17 advantage in the number of delegates needed to win the GOP crown.
His intentions are being made clear by the former president. Take his repeated threats to wreak “retribution” on his opponents during his second time in office as an example. If he wants to avoid prosecution for trying to reverse the 2020 election and, more importantly, so he may do whatever he wants in a potential second term without fear of penalties, he practically demands full criminal immunity for presidents every day.
At a violently charged event in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday night, the former president lauded Viktor Orbán, prime minister of Hungary, as a “great man.” Political freedoms have been steadily degraded by Orbán, who has also suppressed the independent press and tarnished the credibility of the election process, the judicial system, and other potential avenues of power. For those who are part of the “Make America Great Again” movement, he represents the ideal American. The fact that he’s too strong is why some people dislike him. According to Trump, having a strong man as a country’s leader is beneficial. His remarks reinforced the idea that, compared to the harsh European dictators of the 1930s, to whom the former president has lately compared his language, particularly towards immigration, Orbán would serve as a better model for the autocratic leader that the former president aspires to be.
There are political dangers for Trump’s campaign due to his impatience.
This next election has all the makings of the most consequential in contemporary American history, and the dictatorial tendencies of the outgoing president are only one reason why.
However, Trump’s truculent style does not come without consequences. He could back Biden’s claims that he would threaten democracy if re-elected in November by threatening to use his weight in the election. Additionally, Haley may lose support from some of the more moderate, independent, suburban voters she is drawing in the GOP primary if he continues to intimidate her and uses sexist language. In his 2020 loss, Trump alienated precisely these types of voters. At the very least, he needs to narrow Biden’s lead among this demographic before November if he wants to win another term.
Former South Carolina GOP chair Katon Dawson discussed the possible outcomes of Trump’s actions with host Kasie Hunt on Thursday’s “State of the Race” on AWN International and AWN Max. With his “seedy little comments about what Nikki had on,” Trump will “polarise” women in South Carolina, according to Dawson, one of the few Palmetto State GOP heavyweights who is rooting for Haley. Further, he stated, “Donald Trump is running more like he wants to be the President of Cuba instead of the President of the United States.”
Even if Haley had won New Hampshire and Iowa, Trump would have won both states. But unlike other GOP contenders like South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, she did not immediately fold her campaign and embrace him, which infuriated him. During his egocentric victory speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Trump let his wrath be known. The former president is even more enraged by Haley’s ridicule of that performance.
“We went about our business and expressed our views, and then Donald Trump went public with his tantrum,” Haley stated in Charleston on Wednesday. “He had a tantrum. He was being cruel. I know that when he feels insecure, he does what he always does, but he was just being himself.
According to AWN’s Kaitlan Collins, Trump has shown signs of extreme frustration with Haley’s refusal to heed his demands that she withdraw from the race. He made fun of her Iowa caucus night attire in his New Hampshire campaign speech. Online, he has been disparagingly referring to her as a “birdbrain.”. Haley has repurposed Trump’s threat to “barred from the MAGA camp” as a fundraising pitch for her campaign, in which she threatens to punish anyone who donates to her financially.
After suffering such crushing losses to Trump, it is no wonder that Haley is facing demands to terminate her campaign. New Hampshire, which allows independents to vote in the GOP primary, had her greatest chance of winning. Once the outcome of the primary becomes clear, parties often prefer to swiftly unite behind a nominee in preparation for the general election. However, it is noteworthy that Trump’s worldview views Haley with such contempt.
One of Trump’s main backers, New York Representative Elise Stefanik, said in a statement that Haley’s campaign “must end” following the former president’s “monumental” triumph “for the sake of the republic.” This was before any polls had closed on Tuesday night. If you want to get Haley out of the race, it might be more successful to use respect and caution than threats, according to campaign history. Her chances may be slim, but it’s insulting to the democratic process for a candidate to drop out of the race after only two contests in a national primary season simply because the front-runner says so.
