Nikki Haley challenges Trump on her home turf in South Carolina

With two weeks to go before the South Carolina Republican primary Nikki Haley is trying to challenge Donald Trump on her home turf while the former president tries to quash his last major rivals narrow path to the nominationTrump turning his campaign focus to the southern state days after an easy victory in Nevada is expected to rev up his supporters at a Saturday afternoon rally in Conway near Myrtle BeachTrump who has long been the frontrunner in the GOP presidential race won three contests in a row and is looking to use South Carolinas Feb 24 primary to close out Haleys chances and turn his focus fully on an expected rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden in the general electionHaley skipped the Nevada caucuses condemning the contest as rigged for Trump and has instead focused on South Carolina kicking off a twoweek bus tour across the state where she served as governor from 2011 to 2017Speaking to about a couple hundred people gathered outside a historic opera house in Newberry Haley on Saturday portrayed Trump as an erratic and selfabsorbed figure not focused on the American peopleShe pointed to the way he flexed his influence over the Republican Party this past week successfully pressuring GOP lawmakers in Washington to reject a bipartisan border security deal and publicly pressed Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel to consider leaving her jobWhat is happening Haley said On that day of all those losses he had his fingerprints all over it she addedHaley reprised her questions of Trumps mental fitness an attack she has sharpened since a Jan 19 speech in which he repeatedly confused her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi DCalif Haley 52 has called throughout her campaign for mental competency tests for politicians a way to contrast with 77yearold Trump and 81yearold BidenWhy do we have to have someone in their 80s run for office she asked Why cant they let go of their powerA person in the crowd shouted out Because theyre grumpy old menThey are grumpy old men Haley saidHaley continued the argument when speaking to reporters afterward citing a report released Thursday by the special counsel investigating Bidens possession of classified documents The report described Bidens memory as poorAmerican can do better than two 80yearolds for president Haley saidHarlie OConnell a longtime South Carolina resident who backs Haley said she is excited to vote in the presidential primary for a woman from her home stateWhile OConnell plans to support the eventual GOP nominee she said she would prefer someone youngerIts just time for some fresh blood OConnell saidHer husband Mike OConnell credited Haley for courting major manufacturers such as Volvo and Samsung to the state while she was governor bringing jobs and investment He drew a contrast between the candidates approach to foreign policy and said he wants the US to continue assisting Ukraine in its war with Russia as Haley has pledgedWe need to encourage friendships and not discourage them he said of international relationsBob Pollard a retired firefighter said Haley showed levelheadedness that Trump lacks in the way she responded to the 2015 shooting at a Charleston church in which a white supremacist killed nine Black members of the congregationPollard said he cannot support Trump because hes a maniac adding that Trumps campaign in which he speaks frequently of retribution and his personal grievances has turned into a personal vendettaIn Conway people began lining up to see Trump hours before the doors opened to the arena where he was set to take the stage laterOrganizers expecting a capacity crowd set up screens outside where an overflow crowd would be able to watch Trumps appearance On his way in Trump stopped and briefly spoke to the crowd gathered outsideHe repeated his false claims of the 2020 presidential election having been rigged thanked the South Carolina Gov Henry McMaster who endorsed him early and said McMaster had been a better governor than Haley Trump then urged his supporters to take advantage of early voting that starts MondayThe city sits along the Grand Strand a broad expanse of South Carolinas northern coast that is home to Myrtle Beach and Horry County one of the most reliably conservative spots in the state and a central area of Trumps base of support in the state in his past campaignsTim Carter from nearby Murrells Inlet said he had backed Trump since 2016 and would do so again this yearWere here to stand for Trump get our economy better shut our border down more jobs for our people said Carter a pastor and military veteran who runs an addiction recovery ministryCheryl Savage from Conway who was waiting on the bleachers to hear from Trump said the former president is here to help us Savage said she backed Haley during her first run for governor in 2010 but now feels she is hurting herself by staying in the raceHe deserves a second term Savage said of Trump He did a fantastic job for four yearsThis story has 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