In victory, Trump loses it

This isn’t the Olympics. This is the GOP contest for the presidential nomination — and there are no medals for second place. Although former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is the last contender standing between former President Donald Trump and the Republican nomination, the results in New Hampshire do not bode well for her future.

Haley cast herself as a reasonable alternative to Trump, a traditional Republican who could attract “Never Trump” GOP voters and Independents. The problem with this approach is that most Republican voters do not want an alternative to Trump; they overwhelmingly back him. Polling shows Trump even leads Haley in her home state of South Carolina.

Haley’s campaign suffers from an identity crisis. She presents herself as a moderate, and yet on issues like immigration, she echoes Trump’s hardline positions, including mass deportations of undocumented migrants and finishing the border wall.