Trump is counting on coronating a Republican during “Super Tuesday” – 03/05/2024 at 4:58 pm

Donald Trump wants to be inaugurated on Tuesday as the undisputed champion of Republicans during Super Tuesday and bury rival Nikki Haley once and for all, with a rematch against Joe Biden in his sights.

Millions of Americans are called to the polls to choose their Democratic and Republican candidates for the November elections. From Maine to California, from Texas to Virginia, from Alaska to Alabama, 15 states and one territory are simultaneously holding their presidential primaries in November.

But this big election day has a slightly different flavor this year, as it seems devoid of any suspense.

On the Republican side, there are only two candidates still in the running, with Donald Trump the favorite, reinforced by the Supreme Court on Monday overturning a Colorado ruling that declared him incompetent for his actions during the attack on the Capitol in 2021.

On the Democratic side, Joe Biden (81 years old) is a candidate for re-election and does not face any serious opposition.

-Deaf ears-

Despite his legal troubles, Donald Trump (77 years old) won almost all of his party's primaries, thus eliminating much of the competition.

“I think Trump is going to win nationally anyway,” Richard Peterson, 72, said in Quincy, Massachusetts, on Tuesday before voting for the Republican platform.

Nikki Haley, 52, is the only one still standing in her way.

The former governor of South Carolina, who embodies a more traditional wing of the Republican Party, promises to restore “normalcy” in the face of “Trump's chaos.”

“I can no longer vote with my conscience again,” Sarah, 64, told AFP, explaining that she had chosen Donald Trump in the past. The former ambassador to the United Nations “is the right person to unite us.”

But many Republicans do not share his opinion.

According to opinion polls, Donald Trump is expected to win each of the upcoming states, relying, as always, on a very strong base of followers.

His advisor, Jason Miller, confirmed to AFP that he expects “victories, a lot of victories” on Tuesday evening.

– Will Hailey last? –

In addition to the symbolic victory she achieved on Sunday evening in Washington, DC, Nikki Haley suffered a series of bitter defeats, including in the state where she was governor.

Will you stay in the race if the bad news keeps coming?

When pressed on this question, the main interested party remains ambiguous.

“We will continue until Super Tuesday,” she told reporters in late February. “That's the most I've thought about strategy.”

– Biden faces the Americans on Thursday –

In theory, the primaries could extend into July. But Donald Trump's team plans to win “on March 19” at the latest, after voting in particular in Georgia and Florida.

The billionaire wants to be able to focus on his rematch with Democratic President Joe Biden as soon as possible, before he gets involved in his legal problems.

His first criminal trial will begin on March 25 in New York.

Donald Trump claims he has become “more popular” since he was indicted, but polls show support for his candidacy would collapse dramatically if he is convicted in one of his criminal cases.

He claims to be innocent and a victim of a “witch hunt.”

Joe Biden is about to run for re-election.

He's been attacked by critics because of his age, but Charles Red Sales, 93, doesn't care. “I wasn't expecting to vote today, but I did,” he told AFP in Houston (Texas). “Biden? He'll never get old!”

The nominations of two Democrats to pursue him, Minnesota Representative-elect Dean Phillips and best-selling author Marianne Williamson, have never sparked enthusiasm, despite repeated criticism of the president's age or support for Israel.

Tuesday's elections are considered, at most, a formality for Joe Biden.

However, the leader will defend his record and unveil his vision for America during his major public policy address to Congress, the traditional “State of the Union,” on Thursday.

“The outgoing president should seize this last opportunity to address millions of Americans to present the contrast between his vision and what life would be like under Donald Trump,” says political scientist Wendy Schiller, who is struggling in the polls.