Can Haley beat Trump? A New Hampshire VFW hall spotlights her stark enthusiasm gap

FRANKLIN,
N.H.
—
Nikki
Haley
is
throwing
harder
punches,
hosting
more
events
and
appearing
alongside
the
popular
Republican
governor,
John
Sununu.
But
with
just
hours
left
before
2024’s
first

Republican
presidential
primary,
Haley
is
falling
behind
on
a
crucial
metric:
enthusiasm.

“Every
single
thing
that

Donald
Trump
has
said,
or
put
on
TV,
has
been
a
lie,”
Haley
said
at
a
get
out
the
vote
event
here
Monday
morning
at
a
small
VFW
hall.

The close-packed crowd
of
between
100-200
people listened intently
and
nodded
at
the
right
moments.
But
they
offered
few
of
the
boisterous
cheers
and
extended
applause
that
have
come
to
define
Trump’s
carnival-like
live
events.

On
the
contrary,
several
of
Haley’s
applause
lines
were
met
with
silence.

This
may
have
been
be
due
to
the
fact
that
it
was
early
in
the
morning
on
a
freezing
cold
Monday,
in
a
state
that
is
saturated
every
four
years
with
politicians
making
promises.
But
it
could
also
have
been
because
not
everyone
in
the
crowd
was
planning
to
vote
for
Haley.

As
the
former
South
Carolina
governor
races
to
make
up
for
Trump’s
lead
in
the
polls,
experts
said
higher-than-expected
turnout
on
Tuesday
will
be
crucial.
The
problem
for
Haley
is
that
enthusiasm
drives
turnout,
and
as
Haley’s
morning
in
Franklin
illustrated,
attendance
is
not
the
same
as
enthusiasm.

Bonnie,
a
retired
teacher
from
Laconia,
New
Hampshire,
said
she
supported
Haley
“as
far
as
she
can
go.”
But
that
did
not
extend
as
far
as
voting
for
Haley
in
the
Republican
primary,
said
Bonnie,
who
declined
to
give
her
last
name.

A
registered
Democrat,
Bonnie
said
she
missed
the
deadline
to
switch
her
registration
over
to
the
independent
column.
Registered
Democrats
are
barred
from
voting
in
the
GOP
primary,
but
undeclared
or
independent
voters
are
not.

As
for
why
she
came
out
that
morning,
Bonnie
replied,
“I
want
to
see
a
candidate,”
before
adding
that
Haley
is
“the
only
chance
we
have
of
taking
votes
away”
from
Trump.

“I
taught
middle
school.
That’s
why
I
recognize
a
middle
school
bully,”
Bonnie
said
of
Trump.

Another
attendee,
a
self-described
“political
tourist
from
New
Jersey”
who
declined
to
give
his
name,
said
he
found
Haley
qualified,
but
noted,
“She’s
fighting
the
grip
that
Trump
has,
having
taken
over
the
party.”

The
capacity
crowd
included
a
few
vocal
Haley
supporters.
But
the
former
U.N.
ambassador
is
running
out
of
time
to
keep
pace
with
Trump,
who
just
hours
before,
had
packed
a
700-seat
opera
house
in
Rochester.

“I’m
confident
she’ll
do
well
enough
to
continue”
with
her
campaign,
said
Thornton
resident
Pete
Johnson,
69,
after
the
VFW
event.
He
added
that
he
was
not
voting
against
Trump,
but
“100%
for
Haley.”

At
the
Sunday
night
Trump
event,
hundreds
of
people
who
had
waited
in
line
for
hours,
in
19-degree
weather,
could
not
get
inside
because
the
event
was
over
capacity.
Dozens
of
these
people
stuck
around
by
the
entrance,
in
the
cold,
even
after
being
denied
entry.

Outside
the
venue,
the
long
line
of Trump
supporters
were
distracted
from
the
bitter
cold
by
a
pop-up
marketplace
that
typically
accompanies
his
rallies.

An
array
of
tables
were
stationed
near
the
line,
and
vendors
wheeled
carts
up
and
down
the
line.
The
sellers
hawked
scarves,
winter
hats,
sweatshirts,
baseball
caps,
stickers
and
posters
—
all
emblazoned
with Trump’s
name
or
a
MAGA
slogan.
Below
is
a
sample
of
the
stickers
for
sale
in
Rochester.

Meanwhile,
trucks
carrying
large
screens
and
speakers
periodically
drove
by,
blaring
a
video
made
by
the
anti-Trump nonprofit
Lincoln
Project,
that
described
the
former
president
as
a
dictator.
The
trucks
drew
profane
jeers
and
hand
gestures
from
those
in
line.

Polls
show
Trump
holding
a
wide
lead,
especially
among
registered
Republicans.
Still,
Haley
is
running
a
far
more
competitive
race
in
the
Granite
State
than
she
did
in
Iowa,
thanks
in
large
part
to
New
Hampshire’s
high
proportion
of
undeclared
voters.

After
winning
last
week’s
Iowa
caucuses
in
a
landslide,
Trump
is
looking
to
torpedo
Haley
and
effectively
wrap
up
the
rest
of
the
primary
race
by
Tuesday
night.

Haley
came
third
in
Iowa,
stunting
her
momentum
and
muddying
her
message,
that
the
primary
was
a
two-person
race
between
her
and
Trump.
On
Sunday,
Florida
Gov.
Ron
DeSantis,
the
second-place
finisher
in
the
caucuses,
abruptly
dropped
out
and
endorsed
Trump.

In
recent
days,
Trump
has
also
won
endorsements
from
several
of
Haley’s
home
state
lawmakers:
South
Carolina
Republican
Sen.
Tim
Scott
and
Rep.
Nancy
Mace,
who
represents
Haley
in
Congress.

Despite
the
setbacks
and
the
long
odds,
Haley’s
formidable
force
of
will
was
on
full
display
Monday
morning,
as
she
vowed
to
stay
in
the
race
regardless
of
Tuesday’s
outcome.

“If
you
join
with
me,”
she
told
the
VFW
crowd,
“I
promise
you:
Our
best
days
are
yet
to
come.”