☰
HomeLiving Beyond BordersGZERO WorldSignalIn 60 SecondsPuppet RegimeGZERO World PodcastContact UsAbout UsCareersPrivacy PolicyTerms

Haley’s last stand

January 21, 2024
Tasha Kheiriddin
Nikki Haley, former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate, delivers remarks during a campaign event in Derry, New Hampshire on Jan. 21, 2023.
Nikki Haley, former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate, delivers remarks during a campaign event in Derry, New Hampshire on Jan. 21, 2023.
Nathan Howard/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Is a Donald Trump triumph inevitable? After the former president’s crushing victory in the Iowa caucuses, where he obtained a never-before-seen 51% of the vote, all eyes turn to Tuesday’s contest in New Hampshire.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his campaign on Sunday and endorsed the former president. The man who emulated Trump right down to his hand gestures while on the political rise was at one point considered the leading candidate to take him on, coming within 15 percentage points of Trump in polls from March, 2023. But he wound up 30 points behind in Iowa — and his choice to endorse Trump shows just how firmly the former president controls the Republican Party.

So now, it’s a do-or-die moment for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the last contender with even the slightest chance of rivaling the former president. The former UN ambassador placed third against Trump in Iowa and must perform well on Tuesday – she probably needs to win outright – if her campaign is to continue.

The Granite State offers Haley her best chance. A significant number of New Hampshire Republicans are staunchly anti-Trump. The state is also famous for its political independence and open primary system. Haley’s strategy hinges on wooing moderate Republicans and mobilizing independent voters disillusioned with Trump's polarizing politics.

Despite this, Haley has a fight on her hands. Trump took the state with 35% of the vote in 2016, and the most recent poll shows him leading Haley by eleven points. At a recent rally in Concord, NH, Trump trotted out an endorsement from South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. And Trump has shamelessly played the race card: In a post on his Truth Social account, Trump repeatedly referred to Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, as “Nimbra.” (She was born Nimarata Nikki Randhawa but has always used her middle name.)

The anti-Trump forces know what’s at stake. In the words of Gordon J. Humphrey, a former New Hampshire senator now campaigning against Trump. “If he wins here, Trump will be unstoppable.”

And the world is watching

A Trump triumph wouldn’t just upset the apple cart in America. It would mean challenges for many world leaders – including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

A bipartisan deal in the Senate that would get more aid to Ukraine in exchange for tougher immigration measures desired by the GOP looks like it may stall after Trump expressed his opposition to it on social media. It’s the kind of curveball that should make foreign leaders wonder which of their key interests with the United States might be held hostage to domestic political priorities should Trump win again in November.

More from GZERO Media

US and China limp toward trade war thaw

A 3D-printed miniature model depicting US President Donald Trump, the Chinese flag, and the word "tariffs" in this illustration taken on April 17, 2025.

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

The US economy contracted 0.3% at an annualized rate in the first quarter of 2025, while China’s manufacturing plants saw their sharpest monthly slowdown in over a year. Behind the scenes, the world’s two largest economies are backing away from their extraordinary trade war.

The US-Ukraine minerals deal is finally done

A photovoltaic power station with a capacity of 0.8 MW covers an area of more than 3,000 square metres at the industrial site of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Kyiv region, Ukraine, on April 12, 2025.
Volodymyr Tarasov/Ukrinform/ABACAPRESS.COM

Two months after their infamous White House fight, the US and Ukraine announced on Wednesday that they had finally struck a long-awaited minerals deal.

India and Pakistan inch toward a major clash

Indian paramilitary soldiers patrol along a road in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 29, 2025.
Firdous Nazir via Reuters Connect

Nerves are fraught throughout Pakistan after authorities said Wednesday they have “credible intelligence” that India plans to launch military strikes on its soil by Friday.

Hamas: Then & Now

Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters form a human chain in front of the crowd gathered near the family home of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, where the Hamas militant group prepares to hand over Israeli and Thai hostages to a Red Cross team in Khan Yunis, on January 30, 2025, as part of their third hostage-prisoner exchange..
Photo by Majdi Fathi/NurPhot

Israel hunted Yahya Sinwar — the Hamas leader and mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack — for over a year. He was hidden deep within Gaza’s shadowy tunnel networks.

Israel strikes Syrian security forces

A gunman stands as Syrian security forces check vehicles entering Druze town of Jaramana, following deadly clashes sparked by a purported recording of a Druze man cursing the Prophet Mohammad which angered Sunni gunmen, as rescuers and security sources say, in southeast of Damascus, Syria April 29, 2025.
REUTERS/Yamam Al Shaar

Israel said the deadly drone strike was carried out on behalf of Syria's Druze community.

Will King Charles give the throne speech in Canada?

Britain's King Charles holds an audience with the Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney at Buckingham Palace, on March 17, 2025.

Aaron Chown/Pool via REUTERS

King Charles is rumored to have been invited to Canada to deliver the speech from the throne, likely in late May, although whether he attends may depend on sensitivities in the office of UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

North America is facing an energy emergency, says Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel

Enbridge

Getting access to energy, whether it's renewables, oil and gas, or other sources, is increasingly challenging because of long lead times to get things built in the US and elsewhere, says Greg Ebel, Enbridge's CEO, on the latest "Energized: The Future of Energy" podcast episode. And it's not just problems with access. “There is an energy emergency, if we're not careful, when it comes to price,” says Ebel. “There's definitely an energy emergency when it comes to having a resilient grid, whether it's a pipeline grid, an electric grid. That's something I think people have to take seriously.” Ebel believes that finding "the intersection of rhetoric, policy, and capital" can lead to affordability and profitability for the energy transition. His discussion with host JJ Ramberg and Arjun Murti, founder of the energy transition newsletter Super-Spiked, addresses where North America stands in the global energy transition, the implication of the revised energy policies by President Trump, and the potential consequences of tariffs and trade tension on the energy sector. “Energized: The Future of Energy” is a podcast series produced by GZERO Media's Blue Circle Studios in partnership with Enbridge. Listen to this episode at gzeromedia.com/energized, or on Apple, Spotify,Goodpods, or wherever you get your podcasts.

About UsCareers PressContact Us Privacy PolicyTerms of Use
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.