Kimmel on Haley staying in the race: ‘Like being Charlie Sheen’s understudy in a Broadway play’

Nikki Haley says she is a woman of her word, and Jimmy Kimmel says ‘that word is denial’

Jimmy Kimmel sheds some light on why Republican candidate Nikki Haley, despite losing her home state, would want to stay in the race – and it may have something to do with criminal proceedings against a certain Donald Trump.

Calls for Ms Haley, the final challenger to Mr Trump, to drop out of the presidential race have been incessantly ringing throughout the GOP, with many Trump allies applying pressure for her to bow out ever since other Republican contenders did the same.

However, she has steadfastly refused to do so despite being defeated time and time again, most recently in her home state.

Despite being a former South Carolina governor, this did not help her in the primary election on Saturday, after Mr Trump swept up with over half of the votes.

Even after a loss in her home state, Ms Haley has declared that she remains firmly in the race.

“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president,” she said after finishing second to Mr Trump in the state. “I’m a woman of my word.”

“And that word is ‘denial,’” Kimmel responded.

Ms Haley has since gone on to lose another primary to Mr Trump on Tuesday in Michigan but, yet again, has doubled down on staying in the race.

While all these losses keep piling on top of the Haley campaign, Kimmel decided to address the elephant in the room.

‘It’s like being Charlie Sheen’s understudy in a Broadway play. Pretty good chance you’re getting onstage’ (Jimmy Kimmel Live)

“Let me make it clear for those who are confused about why Nikki Haley is still in this race,” Kimmel said. “It’s because the guy she is competing against has 91 criminal charges against him in New York, in Florida, in Washington and in Georgia. That’s why she’s staying in it.

“It’s like being Charlie Sheen’s understudy in a Broadway play,” Kimmel joked. “Pretty good chance you’re getting onstage.”

While there are no explicit restrictions within the constitution to stop anyone under indictment or convicted of a crime from running or winning the presidency, it is clear at this point that Ms Haley is playing the long game – waiting out her Republican rival in the hopes that he gets consumed in his legal woes, placing herself as the next best option.

She even said recently of Mr Trump: “He’s going to be in a courtroom all of March, April, May and June. How in the world do you win a general election when these cases keep going and the judgements keep coming?”