TRUMP: NIKKI WHO? COLUMBIA, South Carolina — There was talk around the Trump campaign that if former President Donald Trump soundly defeated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Haley’s home state primary, then Trump would move from primary campaign mode into general election campaign mode — that is, stop talking about Haley, stop responding to her statements, just act like she doesn’t exist. Now, Trump has, in fact, decisively defeated Haley — 60% to 40% — and we will see if his resolve holds up.

It did on election night. A few hours before the polls closed, I ran into a Trump confidante in Columbia, and I asked how Trump would approach his victory speech that evening. Would he spend a lot of it grouching about Haley, as he did the night he won the New Hampshire primary? “I hope not,” the confidante answered. “I hope it will be a lot more like Iowa than New Hampshire.” In Iowa, of course, Trump gave a speech that was positive and forward-looking. And on election night in Columbia, the confidante got his wish. Trump spent no time at all attacking Haley — never mentioned her name — and devoted most of the speech to thanking the people who had helped him win South Carolina.