Biden says Haley showed 'courage' in running, invites her supporters to join his campaign
Biden said Haley had "courage" to run for president, adding in a statement Wednesday that Haley's supporters can find "a place for them in my campaign."
“It takes a lot of courage to run for President — that’s especially true in today’s Republican Party, where so few dare to speak the truth about Donald Trump," Biden said.
"Nikki Haley was willing to speak the truth about Trump: about the chaos that always follows him, about his inability to see right from wrong, about his cowering before Vladimir Putin," the president added.
Biden went on to say that Trump has "made it clear he doesn't want Nikki Haley's supporters," but that there's "a place for them" in Biden's campaign.
"I know there is a lot we won’t agree on. But on the fundamental issues of preserving American democracy, on standing up for the rule of law, on treating each other with decency and dignity and respect, on preserving NATO and standing up to America’s adversaries, I hope and believe we can find common ground," Biden said in his statement.
Biden said that "we all know this is no ordinary election," adding that it's a "good thing" Democrats, Republicans and Independents disagree on "many issues and hold strong convictions."
"That’s what America stands for. But I also know this: what unites Democrats and Republicans and Independents is a love for America," the president said.
Elon Musk says he will not donate to any presidential candidate
Elon Musk said in a tweet Wednesday that he would not be donating to the presidential candidates in this year's race.
"Just to be super clear, I am not donating money to either candidate for US President," Musk said in a post to X.
Musk's tweet comes after he met with Trump in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
Musk had previously endorsed Florida Gov. Ron Desantis in the GOP primary race. DeSantis suspended his campaign in January.
Poll: Biden leads Trump among Gen Z voters
A new poll released today by Voters of Tomorrow and Generation Lab founds that Biden leads Trump 42% to 29% in a head-to-head matchup among Gen Z voters, or voters ages 18-to-29 nationwide.
An additional 10% of those surveyed said they weren’t sure whom they’d vote for in November, while 19% said they wouldn’t vote for either candidate.
In a congressional ballot test, 48% of Gen Z voters said they’d vote for a candidate from the Democratic Party if an election for Congress were held today, white 26% said they’d vote for a candidate from the Republican Party.
The poll found that young voters are particularly skeptical of Trump because of his legal troubles.
Over half of those surveyed — 64% — said that the fact that Trump “was recently found liable of sexual assault and defamation and ordered to pay over $80 million to the victim by a jury” makes them view him more negatively.
And 59% said they view Trump much more negatively because he faces trial later this year for "attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”
Pollsters also surveyed sentiment about the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Fifty-eight percent of young voters polled said they support a cease-fire there, while 12% said they didn’t and 31% said they weren’t sure.
Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed said they consider themselves likely to vote in November, while an additional 13% said they were “somewhat likely” to vote in November.
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. It was conducted from Feb. 3 to Feb. 14 with a representative sample of 992 18-to-29-year-olds nationwide, 485 of whom are registered voters.
Trump trolls Haley in social media post
Following reports that Haley was suspending her presidential campaign, Trump posted on his Truth Social website that he hoped "she stays in the ‘race’ and fights it out until the end!”
He said, “Nikki Haley got TROUNCED last night, in record setting fashion, despite the fact that Democrats, for reasons unknown, are allowed to vote in Vermont, and various other Republican Primaries."
Trump added that "at this point," he "hopes she stays in the 'race' and fights it out until the end!"
The former president went on to call for Haley's supporters to join in support of his campaign.
"I’d like to thank my family, friends, and the Great Republican Party for helping me to produce, by far, the most successful Super Tuesday in HISTORY, and would further like to invite all of the Haley supporters to join the greatest movement in the history of our Nation," Trump wrote.
McConnell endorses Trump
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Trump this morning.
“It is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States," he said in a statement. "It should come as no surprise that as nominee, he will have my support."
Haley says she has 'no regrets,' but doesn't endorse Trump
In a speech announcing she is dropping out of the presidential race, Haley said she was "filled with the gratitude for the outpouring of support we’ve received from all across our great country, but the time has now come to suspend my campaign."
"I said I wanted Americans to have their voices heard — I have done that. I have no regrets," she said. "And although I will no longer be a candidate, I will not stop using my voice for the things I believe in.”
Haley didn’t announce an endorsement during her remarks. Instead, she encouraged Trump, who is close to having the delegates needed to win the GOP nomination, to earn the support of Republicans and independent voters who had backed her.
“It is now up to Donald Trump to earn the votes of those in our party and beyond it who did not support him, and I hope he does that,” she said. “At its best, politics is about bringing people into your cause, not turning them away. And our conservative cause badly needs more people. This is now his time for choosing.”
Haley also said being a private citizen was “privilege enough in itself” and that she looks forward to “enjoying in all likelihood” that Trump will be the Republican presidential nominee.
“I congratulate him and wish him well. I wish anyone well who would be America’s president,” she said. “Our country is too precious to let our differences divide us.”
Clinton says Biden and Trump are 'effectively the same age' and president is the 'clear choice'
Hillary Clinton addressed concerns about Biden's age in a tweet this morning, giving her support to Biden by saying that he and Trump are "effectively the same age."
"When you’re lucky to live into your seventies or eighties, the difference of a few years doesn’t matter all that much," she wrote in a post on her X account. "Joe Biden and Donald Trump are effectively the same age. Let’s use that as a baseline."
Clinton went on to write that there is now a "clear choice" for the 2024 presidential election, one being "the most effective presidents of our lifetimes, in Joe Biden."
"Or someone who tried to overthrow our democracy, has been indicted 91 times, and says he wants to be a 'day one' dictator if elected again," she said, referring to Trump.
"I’m choosing Biden. How about you?" Clinton added.
Haley's thinking as she prepares to drop out
NBC News spoke with sources familiar with the Haley campaign as she prepares to drop out of her presidential campaign in remarks later this morning.
Asked how Haley is doing this morning, a source said she is a “happy warrior” and “has been that the whole time.”
“Last night we were all together watching the returns come in, we were listening to music and having a good time. Our spirits are as high as they can be,” the source said.
Another source directly familiar with the gathering last night told NBC News that the scene at the campaign headquarters involved dinner and music, with a vibe that was “actually upbeat” despite the circumstances.
“Everyone feels they’ve fought for a righteous cause,” the source said.
Although advisers repeat that Haley is a “happy warrior,” people who have known her for years have said she rarely shows her true feelings — which explains, for example, why she became angry with herself for getting choked up a few weeks ago while talking about her husband, Michael, who is on military deployment overseas.
Asked why people in Haley’s circle are “upbeat,” a source said the team “loves each other” and noted that Haley beat 12 other candidates before she became the last woman standing with Trump in the GOP presidential primary race.
“We ran a hard campaign, we ran a smart campaign, we ran a lean campaign, and we are proud of what we did,” the source said.
The source also said when asked about a Haley endorsement that it’s up to Trump “to appeal to those 30-40% that are independent, moderate Republicans, people who feel like the party is pushing them out.”
Regarding her political future, the source said Haley is “young” and has proven she can bring people together while “the other guys can’t,” and is uncertain what the future holds right now.
“But she is going to stay involved and continue talking about the issues that matter to her,” the source said. “But as far as a future run, that’s way out of the picture right now.”
As for Haley’s speech this morning, the sources said she will appear by herself at the podium and won’t be flanked by family or aides.
Utah GOP chair details technical difficulties as results were delayed
In a phone call with NBC News, Utah GOP Chair Robert Axson discussed why the state’s caucus results were delayed yesterday.
He said there were digital server capacity issues, noting that although caucusgoers were encouraged to preregister for the caucuses online, many didn’t. Some of those who did didn’t have their confirmation emails handy. That meant many Utahns registered for the caucuses at the same time, causing the server to become “overloaded.”
Axson said there was some miscommunication as well, with some voters not understanding how the caucuses worked and how to preregister for it. He said the state GOP might have been responsible for the lack of communication.
He also outlined the logistical hurdles of counting votes in 29 counties in a decentralized manner.
“All of the counting happened in the precinct level," Axson said. "So each of these precincts and their attendees got to see the counting of that balloting right in there, or right in their precinct, and that worked well. Then that has to be aggregated up to the county, so 29 respective counties here in Utah, and then that gets shared up to the state, and there were some various delays for a plethora of reasons throughout," but those weren't problematic "in the sense of some flaw or anything.”
“I mean, some of them are as simple as somebody decided to go home and they forgot to press 'submit,'” he added. “And so we had to get that reported and verified against the photographic evidence of the reports from there.”
Trump wins Utah Republican caucus
NBC News projects that Trump has won the Utah Republican caucus, with 65% of the votes that have been counted so far.