Despite claiming that “I don’t get too angry; I get even,” during his victory speech in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, Donald Trump sure seemed peeved by the day’s events.
Trump may have won the primary by “double-digit” margins, but his speech was in stark contrast to that of his Iowa victory speech, in which he claimed “this is the time now for everybody in our country to come together.”
Despite the apparent success, the former president on Tuesday night appeared dour and angry in equal measure.
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He started the victory tour by posting a string of complaints about opponent Nikki Haley’s post-primary speech on Truth Social, calling her “DELUSIONAL” while reminding her that she came in “THIRD” last week in Iowa.
He then continued to air his grievances in a muted victory speech in Laconia, New Hampshire.
“I said, I can go up and say to everybody, ‘Thank you for the victory, it’s wonderful,’—or I can go up and say, ‘Who the hell was the imposter that went up on the stage before and, like, claimed a victory?’” he said.
“She did very poorly, actually. She had to win,” Trump continued of his Republican opponent. “The governor said she’s going to win, then she failed badly.”
Throughout the speech, Trump clearly seemed peeved about Haley’s repeated assertions that her campaign was ascendant.
“Let me just tell you, we had an unbelievable week last week in Iowa. We set a record,” Trump said. “It was the best in the history of the caucus, and I remember I had the same feeling. I’m up and I’m watching [Haley’s speech], and I said, ‘She's taking a victory lap!’”
“We beat her so badly,” he added for good measure
Trump also seemed to suggest that he was aware of some alleged criminal activity in Haley’s past—as well as similar impropriety from recent 2024 drop-out Ron DeSantis as well. The claims are unverified.
“Just a little note to Nikki—she’s not going to win, but if she did, she would be under investigation in 15 minutes, and I could tell you five reasons why already,” Trump said, without elaborating on the accusations. “Not big reasons, little stuff she doesn’t want to talk about. So would Ron have been, but he decided to get out.”
Never one to miss an opportunity, the former president went on to list off his usual gripes, including the long-ago debunked conspiracy that the 2020 election was “rigged” or “stolen” through widespread voter fraud and the idea that the economy is currently in shambles—as well as asides about the state of the southern U.S. border with Mexico and a promise to cut energy costs by a stunning 50 percent.
