Trump is clearly annoyed by Nikki Haley's decision to stay in the presidential race

• Nikki Haley is staying in the race despite Trump's victory in New Hampshire.
• It's clearly annoying the former president.

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday defeated Nikki Haley in New Hampshire — a state that the former South Carolina governor clearly needed to win.

But Haley is vowing to stay in the race, and the former president is openly seething about it all.

"Could somebody please explain to Nikki Haley that she lost — and lost really badly," Trump wrote on Truth Social early on Wednesday morning. "She also lost Iowa, BIG, last week."

At his election night party on Tuesday, Trump was even nastier.

"You must really hate her," Trump said to South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, the former 2024 contender who backed the former president over Haley, who appointed him to the Senate seat he now holds.

"I just love you!" Scott replied.

By taking such a swipe at Haley in front of a fellow South Carolinian, especially one who has a long history with her, Trump is looking to severely undermine her before the state's February 24 primary.

It's a strategy he employed last weekend when he invited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and other top GOP backers from the state to a New Hampshire rally — in an attempt to paint her as an unappealing candidate even by those who know her best. (McMaster had already endorsed Trump before Haley formally entered the presidential race last year.)

Haley is going to pull out all the stops in order to perform well in her home state, but polling shows that she's still the underdog.

As of January 24, Trump maintains a wide lead in FiveThirtyEight's weighted polling average of the South Carolina GOP primary, with the former president currently averaging 62.2% support and Haley averaging 25% support.

While the former president wants the GOP race to end so he can turn his full attention to President Joe Biden, Haley believes she has the best chance at helping the party win back the White House — a powerful motivator for her.

Trump remains the miles-ahead favorite in the slew of Super Tuesday states on March 5, where he could all but lock up the nomination in terms of the delegate count. But Haley is convinced that she's the next-generation leader that the GOP needs to advance to the future, and she's determined to continue making her case to that effect.