Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former aide to Donald Trump, asserted on Thursday that Republicans, deeply loyal to the ex-president, would prefer facing defeat in the 2024 election against President Joe Biden rather than securing a victory with GOP contender Nikki Haley.
Farah Griffin, who served as Trump’s White House director of strategic communications from April to December 2020 and has since become a vocal critic of the ex-president, made these remarks during a Thursday night appearance on CNN.
She highlighted that Republican voters adhere to a distinct set of beliefs, expressing a preference to “honestly rather risk losing with Trump than winning with Nikki Haley” in the upcoming November elections.
Donald Trump (Credits: The Hill)
Offering context, Farah Griffin has openly supported Haley’s candidacy over Trump, emphasizing her position during her tenure in the Trump administration. Nikki Haley, also a former Trump administration official, remains the primary challenger to the former president within the GOP.
Despite facing setbacks in the initial 2024 primary contests, Haley stated in a Fox News interview on Thursday that winning her home state of South Carolina is not essential for her continued participation in the race.
While polls indicate Trump’s popularity among Republican primary voters, there is a notable discrepancy in Haley’s electability against Biden in the general election.
Farah Griffin termed the discrepancy between Haley’s potential success in the general election and her lack of popularity among Republican primary voters as “the conundrum of this race for Republicans.” She attributed this phenomenon to the distinct media ecosystem that shapes the beliefs of right-leaning voters, causing them to prioritize Trump’s candidacy over Haley’s, despite the latter being a more favorable candidate.
Haley, undeterred by her trailing position in the primaries, expressed her commitment to challenging Trump, emphasizing the importance of Republicans winning and her belief that the party would lose if Trump became the nominee.
She pointed out Trump’s perceived inability to appeal to independent voters, suburban women, and a significant portion of Republicans, citing the party’s recent record in presidential popular votes as a concern.
While polls hint at a potential rematch between Trump and Biden in November, the Republican nomination is yet to be finalized. As of Thursday, Trump has secured 32 GOP delegates compared to Haley’s 17 out of the 1,215 required for nomination.
A CNN poll showed Trump with a 4-point lead over Biden, though the margin of error nearly erased this advantage, while Haley trailed with a 13-point difference. Despite concerns, a majority of Republicans, at 70 percent, still favored Trump as their candidate, with only 3 percent expressing worry about the possibility of his defeat.
