Trump to attend football game on Haley's home turf and other trail takeaways

Trump to attend football game on Haley's home turf and other trail takeaways

Haley graduated from Clemson University.

ByKelsey Walsh, Kendall Ross, and Carly Roman

November 25, 2023, 5:21 PM

Former President Donald Trump is celebrating Thanksgiving weekend by attending a college football game — and in doing so, is traveling to political rival former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's home state.

Vivek Ramaswamy is traversing the Granite State, kicking off with a Second Amendment town hall in Hudson, New Hampshire.

Meanwhile, former presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is ready to discuss his preferred 2024 candidates — and Ramaswamy didn't make the cut.

Here's what you need to know from the campaign trail this holiday weekend.

In this Sept. 9, 2023, file photo, former President Donald Trump holds a football before throwing it to the crowd at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.Charlie Neibergall/AP, FILE

Trump travels to Haley's home state for college football game

Former President Donald Trump will attend Saturday night's Palmetto Bowl game between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Clemson Tigers — the latter of which is the alma mater of 2024 presidential candidate and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

Trump's itinerary prior to the 7:30 p.m. kickoff in Columbia, South Carolina, has not been publicly released.

But the former president did appear at a college football game in another key early voting state earlier this season. When he traveled to Iowa in early September to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes take on the Iowa State Cyclones, Trump met supporters at a fraternity house and tossed autographed footballs into the crowd prior to attending the game.

It is unclear whether Haley plans to attend the game.

Trump leads Haley in South Carolina primary polling by an estimated 30 percentage points, according to 538's polling average.

Ramaswamy visits a gun range in New Hampshire

Following the Thanksgiving holiday, Vivek Ramaswamy returned to the campaign trail Saturday afternoon with stops in New Hampshire. He started his day with a town hall and practice at the gun range at Granite State Indoor Gun Range in Hudson, New Hampshire — shooting what he said was a “decent grouping.”

Ramaswamy stressed the importance of the Second Amendment, saying “it's the one amendment that protects all of the other ones.”

“So my suggestion anybody running for president in United States is: if you're going to swear an oath to the Constitution, try reading it,” he said.

At the range, Ramaswamy shot a pistol and rifle in a few practice rounds.

Ramaswamy, a Republican, has vocally been opposed to “removing guns from law-abiding citizens,” and instead advocated for “removing psychiatrically ill and dangerous people from their communities.”

Later on Saturday, he is scheduled to visit Exeter, New Hampshire, for a “Free Speech & Free Drinks” event.

In this May 31, 2023, file photo, Sen. Mitt Romney leaves a Republican policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images, FILE

Romney details his 2024 picks

Sen. Mitt Romney, who announced in September he will not seek reelection in 2024, is discussing his preferred presidential candidates.

Asked by Norah O’Donnell which presidential candidates he likes in the Republican field, Romney said he’d support any of the candidates except Vivek Ramaswamy, adding that he believes all the others would be an upgrade from Trump.

“I’d be happy to support virtually any one of the Republicans, maybe not Vivek, but the others that are running would be acceptable to me and I’d be happy to vote for them. I’d be happy to vote for a number of the Democrats, too. I mean it would be an upgrade from, in my opinion, from Donald Trump and perhaps also from Joe Biden,” he said.

Ramaswamy said Romney's comments were “not surprising” in a post on X, adding that he believes Romney is opposed to “America-First” altogether.

“Turns out he’s opposed to America-First itself, not just one man. Newsflash, Mitt: I didn’t vote for you either & I still call on your niece Ronna to resign,” he tweeted Saturday alongside a clip of Romney's interview.

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