Nikki Haley is sticking around. Joe Biden should write her a thank-you note.

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President Joe Biden should spend Wednesday morning writing a thank-you note to GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley.

She lost to Donald Trump in the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night, but did well enough that she plans to keep up the fight. In fact, she brought that fight right to Trump in a non-victory speech, saying, among other things: 

“With Donald Trump, Republicans have lost almost every competitive election. We lost the Senate, we lost the House, we lost the White House, we lost in 2018, we lost in 2020 and we lost in 2022. The worst kept secret in politics is how badly the Democrats want to run against Donald Trump.”

That is correct. Trump brings Democrats out to vote like no other.

He has no self-control and his reflexive racism/sexism and dictator-light schtick make him repellent to a huge swath of Americans.

Nikki Haley is highlighting Donald Trump's weaknesses

Early New Hampshire exit polls showed 65% of independent voters picking Haley over Trump. The mere fact that she broke 40% overall shows Trump is not nearly as dominant as he claims.

So why is all this good for the incumbent Democrat? Two reasons.

First, by continuing her primary fight, Haley keeps Trump busy while Biden goes on with president-ing and running a campaign focused on what his administration has accomplished. The fact that he does that at a time when the public’s perception of the economy is starting to line up with the positive data we’ve seen for months is an added plus.

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The longer Trump is kept from officially declaring the primary over, the easier Biden will have it.

Haley's presence in the primary will bring out the worst in Trump

Second, the more Haley is there as a potential threat to Trump, the angrier and more vicious he will become. He’s as predictable as the tides.

The former president had already started mocking Haley’s given first name, Nimarata, not at all subtly trying to other-ize her Indian heritage. He has routinely referred to her as “birdbrain.” Do you think his rhetoric will now get nicer?

No, he’ll get nastier and more sexist and, if he feels like it, more racist. That will remind voters just how awful Trump is, as a person and as a candidate.

Haley’s continued presence in the primary will draw the worst out of Trump, which can only help Biden. And if she keeps pulling decent numbers, even in losing efforts, it punctures Trump’s bloated ego and unjustified aura of invincibility.

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Biden is benefiting from Haley big time, at least for now

The irony, of course, is that Haley, if she became the GOP nominee, would pose the biggest threat to Biden. So the president’s gratitude to her should be tempered with a sincere hope that she continues losing, which is likely.

This is still Trump’s Republican Party.

But Haley’s incursion, even if only a moderate success, is a boon for Biden. Get busy on that thank-you note, Mr. President.

Follow Paste BN columnist Rex Huppke on X, formerly Twitter, @RexHuppke and Facebook facebook.com/RexIsAJerk