Fresh from his third primary victory in the Granite State, former President Donald Trump wasted no time before going on the attack against his lone Republican rival.

Despite the fact he soundly beat former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary, Trump seemed inclined to rub salt into Haley’s electoral wounds, following up a less-than-gracious victory night speech with social media barbs and angry campaign messaging.

“Could somebody please explain to Nikki Haley that she lost — and lost really badly. She also lost Iowa, BIG, last week. They were, as certain Non-Fake Media says, ‘CRUSHING DEFEATS,’” the former president wrote on his Truth Social media platform shortly after midnight.

With most precincts reporting, it is clear that Trump did, indeed, win “big” in New Hampshire on Tuesday, taking 54% of the over 300,000 votes cast compared to Haley’s about 43%.

That margin probably isn’t much comfort to Team Haley, which with the backing of the state’s fairly popular Republican governor was hoping for an upset to power them into South Carolina. However, the former diplomat’s campaign has ratcheted up the anti-Trump rhetoric and is claiming that the results show there is real appetite for change ahead of the 2024 election.

“Nikki Haley has a message for the political establishment: she’s not going anywhere – except to her home state of South Carolina for the February 24 primary. After defying predictions in New Hampshire, Haley turns her attention to the Palmetto State, where voters remember and praise her conservative record as governor. She’ll continue to contrast her new generation of conservative leadership with Biden’s and Trump’s chaos and drama,” Haley’s campaign wrote.

Despite previously leading the state for two terms, Haley has her work cut out for her in South Carolina, to say nothing of the Nevada Republican caucus that will occur before that.

Trump, during his victory speech in Nashua, New Hampshire, on Tuesday, rightly proclaimed that he’s already locked up Nevada’s party contest and its 26 delegates before the voting even starts, which is technically true, since Haley’s campaign (for whatever reason) chose to forgo the caucus in favor of the state-run primary.

South Carolina will present its former governor with a true test of her campaign’s strength, where her name recognition should be about as high as the former president’s and her record stands just as clear. However, now-former presidential candidate and sitting U.S. Sen. Tim Scott’s endorsement of the 45th president may signal that Haley’s team is in trouble in their home state.

“Haley is not on the ballot in the Nevada Caucus and polling shows that she will be absolutely clobbered in the South Carolina Republican primary. Nikki Haley does not have a path to victory. Instead, if Haley stays in the race she will playing an active role in advancing the re-election of Harris-Biden,” Trump’s campaign wrote

According to Haley’s campaign, Trump’s sudden focus on her candidacy demonstrates his vulnerability. So, too, does the fact that the race in New Hampshire ended so much closer than predicted, to say nothing of the suddenly small size of the Republican field.

“Last night, Donald Trump reminded voters that they have a choice between two diametrically opposed visions: Make America Unhinged Again or Make America Normal Again,” Nachama Soloveichik, Haley’s communications director, said Wednesday. “Like Joe Biden, Trump is completely consumed by his own perpetual drama and grievances. Americans want a leader who will focus on securing the border, stopping China, and combating the inflation that both Trump and Biden caused — not social media meltdowns.”

According to the most recent polling out of South Carolina, Haley trails her former boss by about 30 points, though those surveys were conducted before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out and endorsed Trump and before the results of New Hampshire’s primary were known.

“A key question arising from this poll is whether Haley can mobilize ample support in her home state before the primary, in the case the race becomes more competitive after New Hampshire,” Spencer Kimball, Executive Director of Emerson College Polling, said with the poll’s release.

According to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, the New Hampshire primary shows that the GOP has already made its choice.

“The results out of New Hampshire confirm that Donald Trump has all but locked up the GOP nomination and the election-denying anti-freedom MAGA movement has completed its takeover of the Republican Party,” Julie Chávez Rodríguez, Biden’s campaign manager, told reporters during a press call.

Herald wire services contributed.

Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a New Hampshire primary night rally, in Concord, N.H., Tuesday. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)