Donald Trump Victory Speech After Winning South Carolina GOP Primary Transcript

He is walking out on the stage right now.

I got you ready. [inaudible 00:00:51]. He's on stage right now. [inaudible 00:01:10].

All right. Again, we're hearing the Republican victory song that's Keith Greenwood's God Bless the USA, which the Republicans claimed as their political victory song back in the 1980s. Donald Trump has been announced, but we are waiting for him to take the stage. No word on whether or not former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has conceded with Donald Trump enjoying the crowd, flanked by Governor Henry McMaster, Lieutenant Governor Pamela Evette. His sons are on the stage. US Senator Tim Scott, US Senator Lindsey Graham is there, the crowd drinking in this moment, Donald Trump with a very, very wide lead in the polls. We see Donald Trump conducting the end of the song, and he's about to take the podium.

Thank you [inaudible 00:02:23]. Wow. That is really something. This was a little sooner than we anticipated, it was an even bigger win than we anticipated, and I was just informed that we got double the number of votes that has ever been received in the great State of South Carolina. So that's pretty good. So it's a record times two. (02:51) And there's something going on in the country. Some really great things are going on. You look outside and you see all of the horror. You see millions and millions of people coming across the border illegally. We don't know where they come from. They come from jails, they come from prisons, they come from all sorts of places that we don't want to know, they come from mental institutions and insane asylums, and we don't want that in our country. We're not going to stand for it. You have terrorists coming in, you have people coming in that we just can't ... we can't do this. No country could sustain what's happening to the United States of America, no country. (03:32) So we're going to straighten things out. The border is the worst it's ever been. In 2016, we won and we had a bad border, and I talked about the border a lot, talked about it a lot, and I said, "We're going to fix it." We fixed it very quickly, and in 2020, we couldn't talk about it, although we did get millions of more votes a second time. (03:51) But now, there's a spirit that I have never seen. We ran two great races, but there's never been, ever, there's never been a spirit like this. And I just want to say that I have never seen the Republican Party so unified as it is right now. Never been like this. And a big part of that is the people standing behind me. These are the biggest officials in South Carolina, but I say the biggest officials in our country, as far as I'm concerned. They're state figures, but they're national figures, and in the truest sense of the word, they love our country so much and they want to see our country succeed and be respected again. Right now, we're a laughing stock all over the world. Our country is going to be respected again, respected like never before. (04:49) So this is a fantastic evening. It's an early evening and a fantastic. So you can all go down and you can celebrate for about 15 minutes, and we have to get back to work because the big date ... Michigan's coming up. We're doing great. The auto workers are going to be with us 100% because they got sold out by this country, but Michigan's up and we're going to have a tremendous success there. And then we have a thing called Super Tuesday, and I think we're leading 91 to seven, overall. (05:25) If you don't mind, may I have the pleasure of introducing some incredible people? Because they stuck right from the beginning, from the very moment we announced, and they believe in Make America Great Again. That's what they believe in. They believe in America First. We're putting America first. First of all, my family, Melania, Barron, Don Jr. and Kimberly, Ivanka and Jared, Tiffany and Michael, they're so, so supportive, so supportive of me, and we really appreciate it and love them. We have a great family and we have incredible friends. (06:07) And we're going to be up here on November 5th, and we're going to look at Joe Biden, and we're going to look them right in the eye, he's destroying our country, and we're going to say, "Joe, you're fired. Get out. Get out, Joe. You're fired." They're destroying our country and we're going to ... I just wish we could do it quicker. Nine months is a long time. I just wish we could do it quicker, Mr. Governor. Is there anything you can do with your vast powers to make that ... In certain countries, you're allowed to call your election date. If I had the right to do it, I'd do it tomorrow. I'd say, "We're having an election tomorrow." Henry, is there anything you can do? (06:53) I want to start off because, right from the beginning, Henry McMaster, the governor of this incredible state, and much more importantly, his wife, Peggy, she's with him all the way, I'll tell you, never saw anything, what a couple, but I'd like to ask him to say a few words. He's a very special man, an incredible governor, very popular in the state, and really, he gave us some very good advice, and he has right from the beginning. (07:18) From the day I announced, I had the lieutenant governor, he was the lieutenant governor, and from right at the beginning, when I announced and I said, "I don't know the gentleman. Is he good?" they said, "He's really great." "I said, "Well, I hope so." And you know what? Within about two weeks, I said, "That guy is unbelievable." I never got the support of the governor. She supported somebody else, but I had the support of somebody much, much better, Henry McMaster, and we won in a landslide. And I'd like to ask the governor to say a few words, please. Henry?

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be very brief. I would like you all to remember this moment that you were here. This is a great moment in American history. We'll probably never see another one like it. Every time a rocket launches, it goes up slow, and it is climbing and climbing, and then boom, that next stage comes off and it goes. Well, we just did that. We just hit maximum velocity. Now we're going all the way.

So I'm going to ask somebody else [inaudible 00:08:27] because he came on board, and Lindsey wanted him, and the lieutenant governor wanted him, and everybody wanted him, Henry and Peggy wanted him. So I thought he was okay, but he didn't love speaking about himself because he's a good person. See, I have no problem with that [inaudible 00:08:45]. What a personality, I don't know, but he endorsed me, and then we asked him to go and do a few shows, and they're not often nice shows. They're very hostile. And what he did was, I said, "Is this the same man?" and he campaigned nicely, but he's a high-quality person. (09:07) When he was supporting me the day ... Is that correct, Lindsey? When he went out, Tim Scott, Senator Tim Scott, he went out and he was ripping it, I said, "What happened to Tim Scott? What a dynamo," and he has been one of our great advocates. He's been doing things that have been unbelievable, and I'm just very happy he didn't have that same energy, drive because I think I probably would've been out of the race a long time ago, but I want to say a very special man. I really do mean it. So many people have such great respect for him, and you're very lucky to have him in the state. Tim, please, say a few words.

Hello, South Carolina. The longer I speak, the less you hear of him. So let me just ask one survey question, and you better answer it loud and clear. Is South Carolina Trump country?

Thank you very much, Tim. Really great job, amazing. Another man, not a lot of people know him, he doesn't do too much television, he happens to be a little bit further left than some of the people on the stage, but I always say, when I'm in trouble on the left, I call up Lindsey Graham and he straightens it out so fast. And I'll tell you ... No, no, no, no. Remember. I love him. He's a good man. Come up here, Lindsey. Come up here, Lindsey. Come here.

Okay. Are you ready? America, the nightmare you're facing is just about over. Help is on the way. This is the most qualified man to be President of the United States, and let it be said that South Carolina created the biggest political comeback in American history.

Thank you, Lindsey. I have a son who's a very talented guy, and he works so hard, and we love him, and his wife is very good. She goes on. Hi, Laura. And I want to thank Eric and Laura for doing such a fantastic job and really, really amazing. They're amazing people. Let's go down a little list of some of the people that are up here tonight because every one of them is a star in their own right. And your lieutenant governor is going places. You do know that, right? Pamela Evette, and really going places. And Speaker of the House, Murrell Smith, who's coming up in a couple ... Some of these people are actually busy. He's running to get over here. But we want to thank you, Speaker of the House, fantastic person doing a great job for the state. (12:36) An attorney general who's been in the news lately a lot winning cases, oh, I wish we had such a good attorney general like that in New York. Oh. He's a great attorney general, Alan Wilson. Thank you, Alan. His father happens to be up here, too. Remember his famous, "You lied?" Remember? He's been loved ever since, hasn't he? Treasurer Curtis Loftis, Curtis, thank you very much, wherever you may be. Thank you. Thank you, Curtis. Mark Hammond, Secretary of State, thank you, Mark. (13:21) Ambassador, and this is a great ambassador, one of the best. Anytime we had a problem, I'd just call Ed McMullen and he would solve the problem very quickly. Ed, thank you very much. We have a man who's done a really good job in the state, your South Carolina GOP Chair, Drew McKissick. Thank you. We have a highly opinionated group of people. I'll tell you, they've turned very positive on you very quickly, Lindsey.

We won.

So you have a beautiful, beautiful state right next to you, North Carolina. We love North Carolina. In fact, they named their daughter Carolina and I said, "Which state?" She said, "Both." I think I know which state, but that's okay, but they have the most beautiful daughter named Carolina. So we love both of them. We love them both very much and we won them both very easily. And one of the reasons we won North Carolina is a man named Michael Whatley, who looks to me, we gave him our endorsement, and he looks to me like he's going to be going on to the National Republican Party as the boss, Michael Whatley. Where is Michael? Michael, thank you very much. And he's going to be working with Laura. (15:00) And we may be putting Kellyanne in the group, too. Do we like Kellyanne? We love Kellyanne. But you're going to do a fantastic job, both of you. We appreciate it very much. What a job he's done in North Carolina. That evening of 2020 with those votes coming in, we're leading in Pennsylvania, and all of a sudden, no, something happened. It went boom. And then we're leading all over the place, Georgia, and then boom, and we're leading, but North Carolina, I said, "When is North Carolina ... Where is that going to go? When are they going to drop lots of ballots into that one?" And you know what he did? He just kept that thing and we never had a problem. And I said, "That's my kind of guy." He had hundreds of lawyers. How many lawyers did you have?

500 lawyers.

He had 500 lawyers to make sure they didn't cheat, and they didn't cheat in North Carolina. And I said, "That's my kind guy." So I appreciate it. Great job. We're very proud of you and you're going to do a fantastic job. And come election, period ... We used to have election night. Now we have election period because some of these elections go on for 48 days, 61 days. They get all this equipment, then they announce, "They'll be announcing the vote in three weeks from now." Can you imagine? They don't know what they're doing, but I will tell you, you have done a fantastic job and we very much appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you, Michael. (16:24) We also, a lot of members of Congress, including members of Congress out of the audience, this room is full of energy, and our party is full of energy like never before. And I mean it, there's never been unity in our party. Just the fact, think of it, we've got a lot of primaries in this state, the fact that we got double the number of votes in history, there's never been anything like that. Who's ever heard of that? So we have members of Congress with us. I'm very proud of this one because I said, "That guy would be great." We had somebody that did a vote that I wasn't exactly happy with. He voted to impeach your favorite president. (17:08) And until then, oh, he'd love to have that vote back, I could tell you, but until then, until then, he was a man that couldn't be beaten. I said, "Really? Let's see." I said, "Who do we have that's good?" And they said, "The best we have is a man named Russell Fry." And Russell Fry got out there, beat him so badly in the primaries. He had my support and he's been a fantastic congressman. So wherever you may be, hi, Russell, what a great job. Thank you. Thank you very much. [inaudible 00:17:43]. We got rid of that one. We got rid of a lot of them. Almost, I guess, every one of them, almost every one of them, now they're gone. The impeachers are all gone. (17:52) Nancy Mace is here, a non-controversial person, but she's a real advocate, and she's become a real advocate, and I appreciate it, Nancy, very much. Thank you very much. She's a very strong woman, and we want strong women. We like strong women. William Timmons, Congressman William Timmons, who's been a fantastic warrior for our country. Joe Wilson, I spoke to you about him before, he is tough, and he is smart, and he and his beautiful wife produced a wonderful, wonderful attorney general. So Joe, thank you very much and you've done a fantastic job. Loves our country. (18:34) Michael Waltz knows more about the military probably than anybody, and we see him on a lot, and I always want his opinion, and he's got very strong opinions, and he hates to see what's happening to our country. That I can tell you, but he'll straighten it out. We'll all straighten it out together. Mike Collins, Michael Collins, Michael, thank you. Thank you, Michael. Great job. A very non-controversial person, but a very good person. People don't understand, this is a very good person and he's a very capable man, Matt Gaetz. Thank you, Matt. That's not bad, Matt. Wow. I'm very impressed, right? (19:44) Matt, what's going on? How many people did you put up here? That's fantastic. And by the way, before I forget, we have a group of people, and I know this is okay with you, from North Carolina. It's about 60 women that travel all over the country with me. Every time I'm out, we do a rally. We have to do ... at least it has to be up significant, so usually rallies, but I think they're up to number 121. They've done [inaudible 00:20:11]. They're all beautiful women. Obviously, they're very wealthy. They look so wealthy and beautiful. Look at hem over here. But they travel all over the country, and way over 100, and I'm trying to figure out the husband. They're all happily married. They have these wonderful husbands. One of the husbands is standing right there. He's the smartest one of all. (20:32) But I just want to thank you. Your support is so incredible. I get out and it's like a breath of fresh air. I look at these incredible people. And at least here, we're having one that's very close. You don't have to travel out to California, and Texas, and all the other places. Well, we very much appreciate it. Thank you.

We love [inaudible 00:20:51].

Thank you. Very special women. A woman who was actually out campaigning today, she is the hardest worker, I said, "Marjorie," this is Marjorie Taylor Greene, I said, "Marjorie, you don't have to do ..." She went to a polling sector, and she had the Trump flag, and she's waving it and screaming, "Vote ..." I said," Marjorie, it's 4:30. It's just about over for the vote. Please." She said, "Nope, nope. I'm staying longer." This is the hardest working, wherever you are, the most incredible woman. She's respected by everybody, she is very smart, and I'm just very happy that she's on our side. Right, Eric? I'm very happy that she's on our side. (21:43) So it's been an incredible period of time. We have a country that is a failing nation, but we're not going to have a failing nation very long. We are not going to allow this to happen. We love our country, we love it dearly. We're going to fight for our country, we're going to fight for our rights. We're not going to let this go on because it is not sustainable by any country. I believe the number, by the time we get him out ... (22:14) And remember the date, November 5th, it's going to be the most important date perhaps in the history of our country. The election is on November 5th. So we have Michigan coming next week, we have Super Tuesday, we have ball coming. We've set a record so far in every single ... in Iowa, we got the most votes in history times two, just like this, the biggest margin ever. (22:41) We then went to New Hampshire. New Hampshire and Iowa, they've been around a long time politically. And we went to New Hampshire, we got the most votes in the history. That's like, who has the most home runs, who has the most hits in baseball, or who threw the most touchdowns in football, who got the most points in basketball. It's a very simple, we got the most votes in the history of New Hampshire primary. That's a tremendous ... And that goes back so many decades and we beat him. You have John F. Kennedy, you have a lot of good people to beat, and we beat them by not a little bit, by a lot. (23:17) And then we went Virgin Islands. I want to thank the Virgin Islands because they made a very strong play for the Virgin Islands and we got 100% of the Virgin Islands. And then of course, Nevada, as you know, we went to Nevada, we got 99.6% of the vote. And then they had a primary, and this is no candidate, [inaudible 00:23:41] this had various forms, unknown candidate, but this is no candidate, got 65% of the vote. And they think I was the no candidate because it was a caucus, it wasn't a primary and you have to know what you're doing. You have to go into the caucus, not the primary, but without going into it, I think we won by 50 points or something like that. (24:05) And then we come here, and what an honor this is. In South Carolina, I've won every primary by a record and we've won every election by a record. And people like these two, and like this great governor, and your great lieutenant governor, and I have to say thank you very much, Pam. What a job. Thank you. They make it really easy, and many of them, as I was announcing, it seems like a long time ago, but as I was announcing, before I finished the speech, they said, "We're endorsing Trump." Those are friends. Those are great, great friends. And we had some strong competitors. We had some very strong competitors, but these were real friends. South Carolina, thank you very much, go home, get rest. We have a lot of work ahead of us. We love you all. God bless you all. God bless you all. Thank you very much. God bless you.