• Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley has frequently claimed on the campaign trail that it will be difficult for former President Donald Trump to defeat President Joe Biden in the general election.
• But polls largely suggest otherwise, with the former president already leading Biden in more than 100 polls this term.
• “Mr. Haley's job is to make the very unlikely seem possible,” veteran Republican strategist Mark Weaver told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “She has to keep her straight face while doing it. That's the difficult part.”

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley continues to insist that former President Donald Trump cannot beat President Joe Biden in the general election, even though polls generally show otherwise.

during tuesday interview Salem Radio Network's Hugh Hewitt and Haley echoed the same sentiment. frequent Already used quarrel It will be difficult for the former president to win, but she could defeat Biden by a wide margin. However, Mr. Trump has already beaten Mr. Biden in more than 100 polls this term, and Mr. Biden's approval rating is even higher. lead RealClearPolitics (RCP) averages higher than the president. haley that's right.

“You can't debate the possibility of election with someone who's already won this issue you're contesting,” Mike McKenna, a Republican consultant and president of MWR Strategies, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. told. “He's already been elected to the office once, so he has to be presumed to be elected, right? And there's no polling data to show that Governor Haley is more likely to be elected than the president. And in fact, all the polling data suggests that he's probably more electable than she is.”

Currently, Trump has a 3.9-point lead over Biden on the RCP average, while the former ambassador has a 1.2-point lead. The former president also posted the largest lead over Biden on Friday, at 4.3 points.

According to RCP's tally, Haley led Biden in only 15 polls over the entire period. But far less research has been done on direct confrontation between her and the president.

“The first thing you have to understand is that Mr. Trump can't beat Mr. Biden in the election. That's a fact. We know that,” Haley told Hewitt. “Look at Iowa. Look at New Hampshire. He can't win with independents. He can't win a general election without independents. He won't win suburban women. He won't win Republicans who don't like his style. We lost. Not only that, but 75% of Americans say they don't want a rematch between Biden and Trump.”

The former president won the Iowa caucuses on January 15th with 51% of the vote, while Haley came in third with 19.1%. Trump secured a spot in the New Hampshire primary the following week. hit Haley 54.3% vs. 43.2%.

In the Granite State, Mr. Trump won overwhelming support from Republicans and conservatives, as well as support from suburban women, minorities and young voters, key demographics in the general election.

The former ambassador frequently touted a 17-point lead over Biden in the campaign, but he only secured that lead once — The Wall Street Journal poll Held from November 29th to December 4th.

“If you look at all the general election polls, he doesn't have a lead over Biden. If you look at the same general election polls that I'm in, I have Biden up to 17 points.” You know what the implications of that are? It's not just the presidency, it's the House, the Senate, the governorship,” Haley told Hewitt.

McKenna called the WSJ poll a “ridiculous outlier.” Ms. Haley has not had a double-digit lead over Mr. Biden since then, according to RCP's poll tally. (Related: How good are the polls for Donald Trump?)

“Haley's job is to make the very unlikely seem possible,” veteran Republican strategist Mark Weaver told DCNF. “She has to keep her straight face while doing it. That's the difficult part.”

According to the RCP summary, Ms. Haley had a double-digit lead over Mr. Biden three other times before the WSJ poll, and has led by 1 to 8 points since then. In the latest research, carried out The report, released Tuesday by Emerson College, found that both Ms. Haley and Mr. Trump had a 1-point lead over Mr. Biden.

Haley campaign spokeswoman Annemarie Graham Burns told DCNF, “While Nikki Haley is leading Joe Biden in the majority of general election polls, Donald Trump is just barely closing in. '', he said in a statement. “That's why Joe Biden wants to declare Trump as the nominee, and why many Democrats say they're afraid of running against Nikki Haley. Donald Trump is Joe Biden's re-election bidder. This is the best way to win.”

Of the 29 polls looking into the matchup between Haley and Biden, the president led in 12, according to the RCP summary. Haley and Biden were evenly divided.

Trump also leads Biden by several points in key battleground states that he won in 2016 but lost in 2020. arizona, georgia and michigan.Former presidents are also ahead of the curve. nevada and north carolinatied with Biden wisconsin The difference is only 0.6 points. pennsylvania.

“Nikki Haley's claim that she is 'more electable' in the general election is false,” Trump campaign national spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt wrote on Thursday. “President Trump beats Joe Biden in far more polls, wins with independents by double digits, and is the most trusted on the top issues of the economy and immigration.”

Haley is not competing for delegates in the Feb. 8 Nevada caucuses and is trailing by 30 points in RCP. average Ahead of her home state's South Carolina primary on February 24th.

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