‘How’d it work out for the Gamecocks having Trump show up?’ Clemson grad Haley says
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley took a little jab at the University of South Carolina after her alma mater, Clemson, won the annual Palmetto Bowl, which featured an appearance by former President Donald Trump.
“How’d it work out for the Gamecocks having Trump show up?” Haley jokingly said during remarks at a town hall event Monday in Bluffton. “Not so lucky for the Gamecocks, just sayin’. Go Tigers.”
Trump was the guest of Gov. Henry McMaster, a University of South Carolina graduate, during Saturday’s game. Clemson won the game, 16-7.
When Trump arrived at USC’s Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, he handed out boxes of popcorn to people on the concourse and later watched the first half of the game in a suite. Trump was recognized during halftime of the game as he walked out to the 25-yard line and waved to the crowd alongside McMaster.
Trump was mostly cheered by tens of thousands in attendance, but he did receive some boos, including from some members of the Clemson University marching band.
Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, did not attend Saturday’s game. But Haley, who is a Clemson trustee, has attended other games this season.
Trump and Haley are vying for the Republican nomination for president in the 2024 election. Trump has a dominant lead, but Haley has become the clear second-place candidate in the early voting states of South Carolina and New Hampshire.
In an October Des Moines Register poll of Iowa voters, Haley was tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place. She, however, is in third place in other recent Iowa polls.
