January 20 - 2024 campaign updates

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday boasted about his cognitive abilities after his GOP rival Nikki Haley?questioned Trump’s mental fitness and his abilities to handle the “pressures of a presidency” after he confused her with Pelosi during a campaign speech.

Trump said at an earlier campaign rally in New Hampshire: “By the way, they never report the crowd on January 6. You know, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley … did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it? All of it, because of lots of things, like Nikki Haley is in charge of security, we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guards, whatever they want. They turned it down.”

After those remarks, Haley told a crowd of voters in Keene, New Hampshire: “The concern I have is – I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do it.”

A senior Trump campaign adviser on Saturday?addressed the former president’s remarks confusing Haley with Pelosi in a post on X Saturday.

“Nancy ….Nikki ….its a distinction without a difference,” Chris LaCivita posted.

Beyond confusing Haley with Pelosi, Trump’s contention that the speaker of the House?is responsible for US Capitol security is not accurate, as CNN previously?fact-checked.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis greets people during a campaign event in Florence, South Carolina, on Saturday.

With most of the political world closely watching New Hampshire this weekend, Florida Gov.?Ron DeSantis?instead spent Saturday 900 miles away in?South Carolina, laying the groundwork for his presidential campaign’s last stand.

Yet, even as he soldiers on, DeSantis increasingly sounds like a candidate wrestling with his relevancy. In the days following his distant second-place?finish in Iowa, DeSantis has lashed out at Fox News, bemoaned the money spent against him, blamed cold weather and “very low” enthusiasm for his performance,?trivialized the sway?of the Hawkeye State Republicans who endorsed him, conceded former President Donald Trump’s edge going forward, admitted his media strategy failed, and for the first time suggested what it would take for him to end his White House bid.

“As long as I’m in the hunt, that tells me that I’m seeing a pathway,” he said Friday night. “The minute I don’t, then I’m not just going to do this just for my health.”

Keep reading about DeSantis’ strategy in South Carolina.

A climate activist interrupts Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s event in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Saturday.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s event in Nashua, New Hampshire, was interrupted Saturday evening by young climate protesters, who stood up while she was in the middle of her speech.?

After the first protestor was taken out of the room, Haley told the crowd: “Don’t boo someone like that.”

Several protesters held large yellow signs that read, “Haley: climate criminal.” One protester accused Haley of ruining the planet for the next generation.

“You never come to a dull rally,” Haley said. “Say it now, say your piece.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a campaign event at Hudson's Smokehouse BBQ in Lexington, South Carolina, on Saturday.

At his final event in South Carolina on Saturday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told attendees at a barbecue restaurant in Lexington that he wouldn’t serve as former President Donald Trump’s vice president.?

“No, I am not going to do VP,” DeSantis said in response to a voter who asked whether he would consider being on the ticket with Trump. “It’s just because, you know, I’m running for president because I want to make a difference.” ?

DeSantis, as he often has, argued that he could make more of an impact as governor of Florida than as vice president, a position he said “has no power whatsoever and you just sit there.”?

“I’m not in this business to be somebody. I’m in this business do something and deliver results,” DeSantis said to applause.?

Later in the event, a different voter asked DeSantis the opposite question.

“When you become the nominee, for your VP pick, would you consider Donald Trump?” one woman asked.

The crowd burst into laughter, and DeSantis, smiling, said, “My sense is that that probably wouldn’t be a position he would aspire to.” ?

DeSantis said he has two “nonnegotiable” criteria when considering a running mate: Someone who is capable of serving as president and someone who aligns with his vision for the country.

He said he’s “partial to governors” because they have “executive responsibility.”?

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday.

Donald Trump on Saturday repeated his recent claim that Democrats can vote in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, saying at a rally in Manchester that New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu allows “independents and Democrats to vote in the Republican primary.”

Facts First:?This is false. Registered Democrats can’t participate in the New Hampshire GOP primary. Only Republicans and independents can vote in the Republican contest.

Trump has a?well-documented history?of lying about elections, most famously in 2020, when he routinely spouted disinformation about mail-in ballots and other voting rules.

In New Hampshire, there’s a large share of?independent voters, who are called “undeclared.” The state prides itself in letting undeclared voters participate in either party’s presidential primary. They can?pick which ballot?to take when they show up to their polling place Tuesday. But registered Democrats can’t crossover to the GOP.

“Registered Democrats cannot vote in the Republican primary, and registered Republicans cannot vote in the Democratic primary,” New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan told CNN on Wednesday.?

This is at least the second time Trump has made this claim in a week. Read more of CNN’s fact check here.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will no longer appear on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday after his campaign canceled the interview, the network announced.

The Florida governor also canceled a Sunday interview with NBC’s “Meet The Press,” host Kristen Welker posted on X. DeSantis pulled out “due to what a person familiar says is a last-minute schedule change,” she said.

The campaign told CNN it was canceling DeSantis’ appearance for logistical reasons. DeSantis, who is in South Carolina, is now scheduled to appear in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Sunday evening for a meet and greet.

A spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign tweeted details about the governor’s canceled interviews, saying, “The media hits were canceled due to a scheduling issue and will be rescheduled.”

“The governor will be traveling Sunday morning with the campaign and has public events scheduled Sunday evening through Tuesday in NH,” Bryan Griffin tweeted Saturday night.?

A campaign source reiterated the cancellation was due to scheduling issues.?

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, left, and former President Donald Trump.

Republican presidential candidate?Nikki Haley?on Saturday questioned Donald Trump’s mental fitness after he appeared to confuse her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when talking about the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.

“Last night, Trump is at a rally and he’s going on and on mentioning me several times as to why I didn’t take security during the Capitol riots. Why I didn’t handle January 6 better. I wasn’t even in DC on January 6. I wasn’t in office then,” Haley said.

“They’re saying he got confused. That he was talking about something else. That he was talking about Nancy Pelosi,” the former South Carolina governor?added.

Nancy Pelosi speaks during her final weekly press conference as Speaker of the House in Washington, DC, on December 22, 2022.

Haley told a crowd of voters in Keene, New Hampshire: “The concern I have is – I’m not saying anything derogatory, but when you’re dealing with the pressures of a presidency, we can’t have someone else that we question whether they’re mentally fit to do it.”

Her comments come after Trump said at a campaign rally in New Hampshire, “By the way, they never report the crowd on January 6. You know, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley, Nikki Haley … did you know they destroyed all of the information, all of the evidence, everything, deleted and destroyed all of it? All of it, because of lots of things, like Nikki Haley is in charge of security, we offered her 10,000 people, soldiers, national guards, whatever they want. They?turned?it?down.”

A senior Trump campaign adviser on Saturday?addressed the former president’s remarks confusing Haley with Pelosi in a post on X Saturday.

“Nancy ….Nikki ….its a distinction without a difference,” Chris LaCivita posted.

Beyond confusing Haley with Pelosi, Trump’s contention that the speaker of the House?is responsible for US Capitol security is not accurate, as CNN previously?fact-checked.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu joined an event Saturday encouraging New Hampshire voters to write in Joe Biden in the Democratic primary.?

The grassroots effort has been hosting visibility events across the Granite State in recent days with Democratic surrogates including Wu and Rep. Ro Khanna. Others, such as Sen. Cory Booker, Govs. J.B. Pritzker and Maura Healey, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, have also served as surrogates for in-person and virtual events over the past few months.

A group of supporters, including former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, gathered on a sidewalk in frigid downtown Manchester, holding signs informing voters how to write in Biden’s name on the Democratic ballot.

They all underscored that helping Biden win the first-in-the-nation primary, despite his name not being on the ballot, was essential to a general election victory for Democrats.?

“New Hampshire and Boston and all of New England are warming up for President Biden, and we’re going to make sure that we get this done in November,” Wu said.

Biden did not file to be on the ballot in New Hampshire’s primary in order to be comply with the Democratic National Committee’s newly sanctioned calendar, which puts the South Carolina primary first.

The DNC has already warned the state party that its unsanctioned contest will not yield delegates at the party’s national convention this summer.

K.R. Epstein, a volunteer for the effort, said it’s important for Biden to win in the Granite State because “we want to show the country and the world that people in New Hampshire are choosing democracy over dictatorship.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson leaves a presidential campaign event in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 3.

Former GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson endorsed Nikki Haley on Saturday ahead of the New Hampshire primary.?

Hutchinson, who suspended his presidential campaign on Tuesday, posted on X, “Anyone who believes Donald Trump will unite this country has been asleep over the last 8 years. Trump intentionally tries to divide America and will continue to do so. Go @NikkiHaley in New Hampshire.”

Hutchinson announced he was ending his presidential campaign following a dismal showing in Monday night’s Iowa caucuses, which were dominated by former President Donald Trump.

He finished sixth in the caucuses, according to the Iowa GOP, capturing only?191 votes.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during a campaign visit in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on January 20.

As South Carolina politicians line up behind front-runner Donald Trump,?Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stressed on Saturday that endorsements don’t necessarily translate to results.

“Iowa Republican leadership lined up behind me, and we came in second. So, I think, like, there’s a limit to what the leadership can do,” DeSantis told reporters in Myrtle Beach.

In Iowa, DeSantis had the backing of Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, which he often touted on the trail.

Despite Trump’s influence in South Carolina, DeSantis there’s “a lot of fertile ground” for his campaign in the state, given its conservative constituency, similarities to Florida, and the fact that he is the only veteran in the race.?

Indicating that he sees the contest in South Carolina as between himself and Trump, DeSantis said, “There’s just too many conservative voters here for someone like Nikki Haley to win the state.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley speaks with supporters after registering for the 2024 South Carolina presidential primary ballot at the South Carolina State House in Columbia on October 30.

While former President Donald Trump is getting a boost from South Carolina lawmakers in New Hampshire this weekend, Nikki Haley’s campaign is preparing to launch a $4 million media buy in South Carolina beginning on the day of the New Hampshire primary, Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, told reporters Saturday.

The statewide buy — which will include TV and digital ads — is part of the campaign’s effort to show it is ready to compete in the GOP primary process beyond New Hampshire. Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, will also host a major event in Charleston on Wednesday, Ankney said.

“We are loaded to bear in South Carolina. We have been smart about how we have played it,” Ankney said in Manchester, New Hampshire, at a roundtable hosted by Bloomberg.

The South Carolina media buy comes the day after Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina endorsed Trump and as South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster prepares to campaign with Trump in New Hampshire this weekend. Ankney downplayed the effect the support could have.

“There is a broad infrastructure and base of support for her in South Carolina that exists far beyond any legislative endorsements or the endorsement of the governor or Tim Scott. … Nikki Haley is very popular in her home state,” she said.?

Ankney refused to say whether Haley needed to win in South Carolina to be competitive, saying only that the campaign needs to “continue to show strength and grow” and that it expects “to do well” in the state’s February 24 primary.

Former President Donald Trump gestures with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster during halftime at an NCAA football game between the University of South Carolina and Clemson University in Columbia, South Carolina, on November 25.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a strong Donald Trump ally who endorsed the former president in 2022, will campaign with him in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Saturday.?

McMaster’s presence on the trail is part of a broader strategy by the Trump campaign to hammer his rival former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the final days before New Hampshire’s primary. On Friday, Trump picked up a major endorsement from Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, his former presidential primary rival.

McMaster, teasing his appearance alongside Trump, posted on X Saturday that he and his wife, Pamela, “are on our way to Manchester, New Hampshire to join @realDonaldTrump for tonight’s rally and help put him back in the White House!”

South Carolina Reps. Russell Fry and William Timmons are also expected to campaign with Trump in New Hampshire this weekend, CNN previously reported, as part of the former president’s effort to undercut Haley’s momentum in the Granite State.

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik speaks at former President Donald Trump's New Hampshire team headquarters in Manchester on January 20.

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the third-ranking House Republican, said Saturday she would be “honored” to serve in a future Trump administration as she campaigned for the former president in New Hampshire.

“Of course I would?be honored, I’ve said that for years, to serve in the future administration in any capacity,” she told reporters when asked about potentially being Donald Trump’s running mate.

“We have a lot to do as House Republicans holding Joe Biden accountable between now and next November, when we’re going to elect President Trump to the White House, we’re going to win back the United States Senate and grow our majority in the House,” she said after speaking at Trump’s campaign headquarters in Manchester.

When asked about respecting the results of Tuesday’s election, as Trump falsely claims that Democrats can vote in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, Stefanik pivoted to talking about an “unprecedented attack,” referencing efforts in some states to remove Trump from the ballot under the 14th?Amendment.

Some Republican?lawmakers?and strategists believe Stefanik has been jockeying to become Trump’s pick for vice president after a series of moves that appear designed to please the former president, such as filing ethics complaints about the judges overseeing Trump’s legal cases and calling on the other candidates to drop out of the race after Trump’s Iowa victory.

President Joe Biden speaks in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on January 5.

Joe Biden’s?supporters would prefer that he win Tuesday’s Democratic?primary in New Hampshire. State Democratic leaders want that too. But?the trick for everyone involved has been figuring out how to make that happen, since?the president’s name doesn’t appear on the ballot.

That’s left the state’s Democratic establishment trying to spread the word about an unofficial campaign to write in Biden’s name — but not spread it so loudly that they risk embarrassing the president, and themselves,?if someone else — like?Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips?— wins.

Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips speaks during a campaign event at Post & Beam Brewing in Peterborough, New Hampshire, on January 17.

Biden did not register for the New Hampshire ballot following an internal party dispute over the date of the primary and the Democratic National Committee’s decision that the election?effectively won’t?count.?Still, the fear is that not winning here would feed the narrative that he is weak heading into the general election. And state Democratic leaders want to avoid a win by a newcomer that could undermine their case to the DNC that their first-in-the-nation primary should be reinstated in 2028.

The deliberately low-key effort has so far been mostly about setting up signs, hosting Zoom calls and a few house parties, like one last weekend when a state representative’s 60th?birthday party doubled as an organizing event. Hundreds of people have now trained on how to stand outside polling places on primary day and explain to voters how and why to write in Biden’s name.

Keep reading more about what Democrats are doing Tuesday.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a town hall in Hampton, New Hampshire, on January 17.

Ron DeSantis pledged to bring a “Live Free or Die” mindset to the presidency in an editorial piece for the New Hampshire Journal.

Rattling off his achievements as governor, DeSantis wrote, “My record represents my attitude toward leadership: protect people’s freedoms and enhance people’s lives by keeping government small and fighting to proactively curb new schemes of government control.”?

The Florida governor vowed to bring term limits for members of Congress, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, line-item veto for the president, and to close the southern border while holding “the Mexican drug cartels accountable.”

The piece ends with a call to action: “Support me in the coming New Hampshire primary, and I will embody the live free or die spirit as your next president.”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley holds a campaign event in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, on January 16.

Nikki Haley’s campaign will begin airing a three-minute TV ad in New Hampshire on Monday featuring the mother of an American college student who died in 2017 after being detained by North Korea the previous year.

The ad is an effort to highlight Haley’s foreign policy experience and the personal relationship she built with Otto Warmbier’s mother, Cindy Warmbier, on the eve of the New Hampshire primary.

“My son, Otto, was invited to North Korea on an organized tour. He was taken hostage, tortured, and murdered by the government of North Korea,” Warmbier’s mother says in the ad.?

Cindy and Fred Warmbier, parents of Otto Warmbier, participate in a press conference in Washington, DC, on December 18, 2019.

Over the course of Haley’s time as ambassador to the United Nations, she built a strong relationship with the Warmbier family after their son’s death.?

“She told us to be loud and fight back. To fight for justice. To fight for ourselves. And to fight for Otto. We passed laws in Otto’s name, seized North Korean assets, and helped close down illegal businesses run by the North Koreans,” Warmbier will tell New Hampshire voters, adding that Haley demonstrated strength and compassion in supporting her traumatized family.?

“I will tell you how she promised me she would do everything she could to make sure the world never forgot Otto,” Warmbier says.

Otto Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang, in this photo released by Kyodo on March 16, 2016.

The new ad is just one piece of the massive investment Haley and her allies have made in the?New?Hampshire?primary, spending roughly twice as much on advertising there as Donald Trump’s political network since the start of the 2024 White House race.?But Trump and his allies have used recent weeks to ramp up spending in the state to counter signs of momentum for the former South Carolina governor.?

Warmbier has not been a regular facet of Haley’s campaign but she did introduce the former ambassador to the UN in South Carolina when she launched her campaign last year.

Before Americans pick a president in November, they get to pick the candidates in a series of primaries and caucuses. It’s a wonky process that has evolved throughout the country’s history and continues to evolve today.

Here are key things to know ahead of Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary:

What is a primary? It’s an election to select candidates, usually for a particular political party, to appear on the general election ballot.

Who is running in the primaries? For Democrats, Joe Biden is the sitting president and he’s running for reelection, which makes him the incumbent candidate. Some Democrats are challenging him in the Democratic primaries, including?Rep. Dean Phillips?of Minnesota and author?Marianne Williamson. For Republicans, former President Donald Trump has long been the front-runner, meaning he appears in polling to have a lead?over the other candidates?who are still in the race. Anti-Trump Republicans appear to be interested in two main options: former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Haley has polled better in New Hampshire.

Who can vote in a presidential primary? It varies by state. For example, some states have open primaries, meaning anyone can take part in the primary, even if they aren’t registered party members. Other states have closed primaries, meaning you have to join the party in order to vote. Primaries are generally conducted in polling places like any other election. That’s different from caucuses, which are more like neighborhood meetings. People show up and lobby for their candidates.

How is the nomination ultimately determined? Voters cast ballots for candidates, but they’re really?selecting delegates?for the party conventions, which take place over the summer. Delegates can either be apportioned through a?winner-take-all system, meaning the top candidate in a state’s primary gets all of that state’s delegates, or they can be apportioned proportionally to the primary election?results.

Get up to speed on everything you need to know about presidential primaries.

The Republican presidential candidates are all vying to take on President Joe Biden in November 2024. But first, they’re competing in the GOP primaries and caucuses, which begin in January, to emerge as the party’s nominee.

The first event of the Republican primary calendar —the Iowa caucuses?— took place Monday. Next up, is the New Hampshire primary.

Here’s a look at the key upcoming primary dates:

January:

February:

March:

Access the full 2024 election calendar.