LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Former President Donald Trump touted his overwhelming victory in the Nevada Republican Party’s presidential caucuses before mocking his chief remaining rival, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, during a late-night speech on Thursday.
“I appreciate the tremendous record that you set tonight. You set an all-time record,” Trump told a crowd of supporters at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino ballroom. “We wanted to get over 80, and we got 98.”
Trump soundly won the Nevada caucuses, and he won the U.S. Virgin Islands Republican Party‘s presidential caucuses earlier in the night. With nearly half of the results tallied, Trump had 99% of the vote to virtually unknown candidate Ryan Binkley’s 1%, on his way to claiming the Silver State’s 26 delegates.
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Haley was not on the Nevada caucuses ballot, as she had opted to participate in Tuesday’s Nevada primary, which she lost to the “none of these candidates” option. Trump took special aim at the defeat during his victory speech.
“You know what happened last night, right? None of the above,” he taunted before the crowd roared in approval. “So I’d like to congratulate none of the above. I was one of those none of ever aboves. I was one of them.”
Haley lost by a 2-to-1 margin to the “none of these candidates,” an embarrassing display for the former two-term South Carolina governor, who is hoping for a strong showing during the Palmetto State’s Feb. 24 primary.
Trump celebrated his decisive victory with supporters in a Treasure Island Hotel and Casino ballroom, complete with a cash bar where attendees could purchase a variety of alcohol, including $10 Miller Lites. Cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay were also available for the packed room of Trump fans, many of whom donned apparel with his name.
The former president appeared onstage with Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), a former primary rival who endorsed Trump after suspending his campaign. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Burgum pushed back against what he called a “two-tiered” justice system stacked against Trump.
Another high-profile Republican, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, appeared at the Trump victory party, at which he claimed that Trump’s legal drama wouldn’t interfere with his fundraising efforts.
On the same day as the Nevada caucuses, special counsel Robert Hur released a nearly 400-page report that detailed how President Joe Biden had mishandled classified documents after leaving office but would not press criminal charges against the president.
“Here in Nevada, people were lined up around the block, waiting to get into these in an uncontested primary. Because the average American that I met in Iowa, New Hampshire, and in Nevada … they can see it with their own eyes, and … they’re not buying the spin that they’re trying to be sold by the Democratic Party,” Burgum said.
“That’s why they’re so enthusiastically supporting the president. They can understand what lawfare is,” he also added.
Trump did not directly reference Hur’s report or his troubling allegations over Biden’s mental acuity, but he did reference another legal drama that is of utmost importance to him. The Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday over Colorado disqualifying Trump from the primary ballot due to the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause.
However, the high court appeared skeptical about removing Trump from the ballot.
“This was a great day. This was a great night. Our Supreme Court, hopefully, we’ll be doing something in terms of helping our country and preserving democracy,” Trump said.
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In a display of Trump’s confidence that he could defeat Haley and then Biden in November, he wished for the general election to happen as soon as possible. “We’re leading everybody. We are right now. Is there any way we can call the election for next Tuesday? That’s all I want,” Trump said.
The crowd cheered in approval.
