NEW YORK. Donald Trump failed to close the race for the nomination in New Hampshire. And now he is betting everything on South Carolina, the state of which rival Nikki Haley was governor, while also trying to deal a blow to Joe Biden. But first she takes the witness stand in the defamation trial of the writer E. Jean Carroll: her testimony lasts a few minutes and is bound by the rigid limits imposed by judge Lewis Kaplan. Limitations that she criticized out loud – “I don’t know her, I don’t know who she is” – and was reprimanded by the judge. On the witness stand, the former president was sworn in, then sat down and answered three questions from his lawyer. “I just wanted to defend myself, defend my family and, frankly, the presidency,” he replied to the lawyer who asked him if she had ever wanted to harm Carroll. Trump therefore confirmed her previous testimony on the case “100%”: in fact, in her opinion, the writer had said things that she considered to be “false accusations”. Then he stood up and the court adjourned until Friday for closing arguments. Leaving the courtroom together with his lawyer – former First Lady Melania was once again absent, having disappeared from the public scene – the former president was heard openly complaining about his inability to express himself: “This is not America” .
His appearance in court was a parenthesis in the clash with Haley, against whom he intensified his attacks, going so far as to threaten those who finance her. “Anyone from this point on who contributes to ‘Birdbrain,’” Trump’s nickname for Haley, “will be permanently barred from Maga. We don’t want you, we won’t accept you because we put America First”, wrote the former president on his social network Truth, revealing all his frustration at the former South Carolina governor’s failure to withdraw from the race for the White House. However, it is unlikely that Trump will be able to follow through on his threat given that – according to observers – his electoral campaign needs financing and he will not be in a position to say no, also considering the former president’s legal expenses. To Trump’s intimidation, Haley responded with irony: “If that’s the case then continue to donate to me”, she replied on There is optimism among the staff and financiers of the former UN ambassador: the results of Iowa and New Hampshire have brought to light Trump’s weaknesses and opened an opening for his rival. A bumpy and uphill road that Haley doesn’t intend to give up, despite being aware that South Carolina is difficult for her to conquer. Precisely for this reason she is already engaged in a whirlwind of appointments and meetings in her state to convince voters that she is the better alternative to her despite Trump describing her as an “impostor”.
While Haley and Trump are busy battling it out, Joe Biden accelerates his electoral campaign, aware that the former president is already working behind the scenes against him. In fact, Trump is putting pressure on Republican senators to reject any agreement on immigration, to which aid to Ukraine and Israel is also linked. Mitch McConnell, the leader of the conservatives in the Senate and supporter of aid to Ukraine, admitted in a closed-door meeting that the situation represents a “dilemma” and is now evaluating alternatives, including breaking up the package in order to free up the migrants and the border with funds to Ukraine. Trump’s pressure, motivated by not wanting to grant Biden any victory, is however not well received by the senators because they believe that blocking an agreement would be harmful for the country. A maneuver away from the spotlight that does not tarnish Biden’s good day in Wisconsin to give himself a “victory lap” after the American GDP data for the fourth quarter and 2023, which showed an economy on the move, more resilient than expected. A figure that is an injection of confidence for Biden, who has long been convinced that his “Bidenomics” has never been adequately appreciated