Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) called on Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley to drop out of the race after she was easily defeated in the Michigan GOP primary Tuesday.
Projections indicate former President Trump beat Haley in Michigan on Tuesday, just days after winning the primary in South Carolina, Haley’s home state, securing another win before multiple Super Tuesday next week.
Gingrich called on the former United Nations ambassador to abandon her bid, pointing to her loss in the Nevada GOP primary in which Trump was not on the ballot, stating she cannot gather support from the Trump flank of the GOP electorate.
“She’s hanging around in case something happens to Trump, so she can then be the choice,” Gingrich said Tuesday night during his appearance on “Hannity” on Fox News. “No MAGA Republican, no Trump delegate is ever gonna pick Nikki Haley. They will pick any other dozen or 50 Republicans who are acceptable, but they aren’t going to pick her.
“And you saw that in Nevada, where she lost by 2-to-1 by ‘none of these candidates.’ When ‘none of these candidates’ beat you, by 2-to-1, there’s a there’s a hint that maybe you’re in the wrong game this year. I hope she’ll drop out.”
The former House speaker said Haley, the former South Carolina governor, should shift her focus to helping Republicans defeat President Biden, Trump’s likely rival, in November. Gingrich declared the former president as the GOP “nominee.”
“I hope she will become part of the effort to beat Joe Biden,” Gingrich said. “I do not think it’s helpful to have her out there and saying nasty things about the Republican nominee. And as far as I’m concerned, Donald Trump tonight is the Republican nominee. This is over, and the issue is to focus on the general election, and why Trump would be a dramatically better president in 2025 than Joe Biden.”
When reached for comment about Gingrich’s remarks, Haley’s spokesperson pointed The Hill to a statement issued by the campaign’s national spokesperson, Olivia Perez-Cubas, in the aftermath of the Michigan GOP primary.
“Joe Biden is losing about 20 percent of the Democratic vote today, and many say it’s a sign of his weakness in November,” Perez-Cubas said in the statement. “Donald Trump is losing about 35 percent of the vote. That’s a flashing warning sign for Trump in November. Since Trump became president in 2016, he lost Michigan Republicans the state House, state Senate, and Governor’s mansion. What was once a beacon for the conservative cause, the Michigan Republican Party is now fractured and divided.”
“Let this serve as another warning sign that what has happened in Michigan will continue to play out across the country. So long as Donald Trump is at the top of the ticket, Republicans will keep losing to the socialist left. Our children deserve better.”