Internet hails Trump as he defeats GOP rival Nikki Haley in US Virgin Islands caucus

CHARLOTTE AMALIE, UNITED STATES VIRGIN ISLANDS: Donald Trump, the Republican presidential front-runner, emerged victorious in the US Virgin Islands caucus, securing his third consecutive primary win over his potential challenger for the 2024 presidential race, Nikki Haley.

With a commanding 73.98% of the vote, Trump outperformed Haley, who garnered 26.02% of the vote, according to a report from the New York Post.

The USVI caucus awards four delegates, and the results are charted before the Nevada primary elections, making it the third caucus after Iowa and New Hampshire.

The ranked-choice ballot included Trump, Haley, and other candidates who did not withdraw their names, such as the former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the businessman Perry Johnson, and the biotech multimillionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.

How did Trump and Haley drum up support for their campaigns?

Both Donald Trump and Nikki Haley were actively campaigning for victory in the US Virgin Islands, deploying surrogates and using video messages to sway Republican voters.

Although neither travelled to the United States territory in the Caribbean, they utilized other means to connect with the electorate.

On Thursday morning, the former President released a video message to the USVI, urging voters to “go out and caucus” and confidently predicting that he would “take it all.”

The 77-year-old MAGA figurehead said in the video message, “It looks like we have the Republican nomination pretty much locked, and that’s the way it should be.”

Nikki Haley had actively participated in a series of Zoom conferences with the Republican leaders of the Virgin Islands in preparation for the caucus.

Additionally, she sent down Rep Ralph Norman (R-SC) to campaign for her in person.

The former South Carolina governor emphasized her foreign policy expertise in her pitch to the islanders.

The caucuses hosted by the Republican Party in the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) for the 2024 presidential election were rescheduled to gain greater influence in the electoral process.

This move was initiated due to the fact that the USVI does not hold a general election.

The Republican Party in the USVI believes that the change of caucus date will allow them to have a more significant say in the presidential candidate selection.

“Going third-in-the-nation with an unrigged caucus using ranked-choice voting has given every candidate a fair and equal playing field and resulted in unprecedented attention for the Virgin Islands,” Republican Party in the Virgin Islands chairman Gordon Ackley remarked. “The Virgin Islands will decide the trajectory of the Republican nomination”

USVI Republicans also contend that the island territories are besieged by Chinese influence.

Donald Trump is the sole prominent Republican candidate participating in the Nevada caucus.

The outcome of the Silver State caucus, which will be tallied later on Thursday, is expected to result in a significant advantage for him.

On the other hand, Nikki Haley was defeated by "none of these candidates" in the Nevada primary on February 6th despite being the only noteworthy Republican presidential contender remaining on the ballot.

However, the former United Nations ambassador has committed to continuing her campaign through Super Tuesday which falls on March 5, this year.

Internet rallies around Trump after his resounding victory

People on X hailed the former President of the United States and lambasted his opponent, Nikki Haley, after his third consecutive primary win in his bid to secure the GOP presidential nomination before November general elections.

One X user remarked: "I visit all over America, and I haven’t met anyone that isn’t voting Trump"

Another user said: "Keep fighting Nikki"

Another user wrote: "Nikki should switch to Democrat She may get more that wants there considering most of her votes in NH were democrats"

One user argued: "The only reason Nikki hasn’t dropped out yet is because she’s hurting the Republican campaign for the democrats. If you vote for Nikki, you’re voting for 4 more years down the drain."

Finally, this user tweeted: "She’s gonna say it was rigged."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.