Defiant Nikki Haley says she’s staying in race despite no wins as she warns voters ‘privately dread’ Donald Trump

A DEFIANT Nikki Haley has declared that she’s staying in the Republican presidential race despite not winning a single state primary election.

Speculation mounted on Tuesday morning about Haley potentially dropping out of the race as she continued to trail behind Donald Trump in the South Carolina primary polls.

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“Some of you, a few of you in the media, came here today to see if I’m dropping out of the race. Well, I’m not,” Haley said at a Greenville, South Carolina rally.

“I’m running for president because we have a country to save,” she added despite being down by more than 30 points in the South Carolina GOP polls.

Haley added, “Instead of focusing on how to make America stronger tomorrow, some people want to know if I’m going to cave today.

“We’ve all heard the calls for me to drop out. We all know where they’re coming from. The argument is familiar; they say I haven’t won a state, that my path to victory is slim.

“They point to the primary polls and say I’m only delaying the inevitable. Why keep fighting when the battle was apparently over after Iowa?”

Haley claimed that many Republican politicians who are calling for her withdrawal and now publicly embrace Trump privately dread him.

“They know what a disaster he’s been and will continue to be for our party,” she said.

“They’re just too afraid to say it out loud. Well, I’m not afraid to say the hard truths out loud. I feel no need to kiss the ring.

“I have no fear of Trump’s retribution. I’m not looking for anything from him. My own political future is of zero concern.”

‘TWO OLD MEN’

Haley said that despite Saturday’s results, she will still be running for president on Sunday, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m campaigning every day until the last person votes.”

The former United Nations ambassador stressed Trump and President Joe Biden’s age, saying over half of Americans do not want to see a 2016 rematch.

“We have two hugely flawed candidates, in Bide and Trump, Americans know it, they’ve been saying it for years,” Haley said.

“Trump and Biden are two old men who are only getting older. Nearly 60 percent of Americans say Trump and Biden are both too old to be president because they are.

“We’ve all seen them fumble their words and get confused about world leaders. That’s not who we want in the Oval Office.”

Despite Haley’s attack on Trump, the former president has a double-digit lead in the South Carolina primary over his last remaining major rival in the GOP presidential race.

The state could be the final nail in the coffin for Haley’s campaign.

Haley is a native of South Carolina, and voters there have twice elected her as governor.

A poll by FiveThirtyEight shows Trump far ahead in South Carolina with nearly 64 percent of votes compared to Haley’s 33 percent.

Haley has previously said she doesn’t think she has to win her native state but remains optimistic that she can perform better than in New Hampshire (43 percent) and Iowa (19 percent).