GOP Presidential candidate Nikki Haley drew the largest crowd of her campaign Monday at an event in her home state of South Carolina.
She is trying to get a fighting chance against GOP front-runner and former President Donald Trump just weeks from the start of the primary season, as he faces trial.
Around 2,500 people gathered to hear Haley, the former governor and United Nations ambassador, according to officials at a satellite campus of the University of South Carolina along the state’s southern coast.
Trump is still in the mind of many Republican supporters. Vincent Francescangeli, who lives on Hilton Head Island said he is trying to hear Haley but he is still a Trump supporter.
“The world was a safer place when Trump was in office,” Francescangeli said. “But Trump’s got a lot of baggage, and you’ve got to ask yourself — is Trump really electable? I don’t know.”
He also suggested that he is happy that Nikki is going for what she wants. “She didn’t come across weak,” Francescangeli said, referencing her debates. “She came across to me like a powerhouse. She stood up to those guys. These guys are trying to beat her up. She kicked right back. I was impressed.”
According to Haley, Trump was the right candidate when he won the election but it was time for a new generation.
“I agree with a lot of his policies, but the truth is, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him,” Haley said. “We have too much division in this country, and too many threats around the world to be sitting in chaos once again.”
