Does Trump’s win in New Hampshire set up the Ultimate Political Rematch?

Words and video report by ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers and Washington News Editor Jonathan Wald

The votes cast in New Hampshire delivered no surprise and confirmed what most Americans already know: the next election will be a Trump-Biden rematch.

Nikki Haley hasn't dropped out… yet.

But it is difficult to see any viable path for her, barring an act of God.

Haley is vowing to fight on in the South Carolina primary election one month from now, but the odds are stacked against her.  

Nikki Haley vowed to stay in the race after her defeat to Donald Trump. Credit: AP

Her poll numbers in her home state are worse than they were in New Hampshire and she faces a cash-crunch as financial backers inevitably reconsider their commitment to her. 

There is now a possibility Donald Trump will secure the Republican nomination without losing a single primary or Caucus - a feat not pulled off since Al Gore's run against George W. Bush in 2000.

Trump has neutered his opponents through a policy of abject humiliation - both with his words and his results at the polls.

He eviscerated each one with vindictive, personal insults, until - defeated - they fall in line and endorse him, at which point he's praised them, co-opting them into his rallies.

Donald Trump on stage in New Hampshire joined by former Republican presidential candidates, Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy. Credit: AP

In the wake of his victory in New Hampshire and her refusal to drop out of the race he resorted to his refrain of calling her "Birdbrain".  

No matter what his offences, his hold on the Republican Party is total.  

After a record-breaking win in Iowa, is Trump's march to the Republican nomination inevitable?

Joe Biden has anticipated the ultimate political grudge match against his predecessor for a while now.  

The sitting US president is trying to convince the American electorate that his record is better than his predecessor's, or at least that Trump should be feared more than him.  

At a rally in Virginia last night, President Biden framed the political debate around the key issue of abortion, arguing that Trump was responsible for overturning the Roe v Wade abortion rights law, after he appointed three ultra conservative judges to the Supreme Court.

Biden pledged to protect those rights.  

It effectively marks the beginning of what will be the longest presidential campaign in history - 286 days before America decides.  

The binary choice coming before the United States is between two old men, one of whom is bent on retribution and threatening American institutions, and the other who promises to defend them.

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