Billionaire donors who helped Nikki Haley rise to a third-place finish in Iowa and second in New Hampshire are pulling out of her attempt to go one-on-one against Donald Trump in South Carolina.
LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, who has helped fund Democrats and cut large checks for Biden’s reelection efforts, but also gave $250,000 to a super PAC backing Haley.
Also bailing out is metal magnate Andy Sabin, who told Fox Business host Neil Cavuto he was ready to “walk away” from Haley. He had contributed $1.7 million to GOP campaigns over three cycles.
“Haley has to drop out,” he said. “No matter what anyone tells you, her money will dry up. Why would you finance someone you know has no chance?’
The departure follows an angry speech Trump gave on election night on Tuesday, even after beating his rival by 12 percentage points and putting himself on track for the Republican nomination. He called Haley a “cheater” and has warned that people who support her efforts will not be welcome in the MAGA community.
Republican presidential candidate, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, continues to campaign in South Carolina despite Trump’s angry speech. Some top funders have said they will no longer support her main challenge
Sabin said he would be “the first person to write her a check for president in 2028,” but said the results in New Hampshire make it clear her candidacy will soon be over.
“You have to know when to hold them. You have to know when to fold them. You have to know when to walk away. It’s time for Nikki Haley to walk away,” he said.
Hoffman detailed his reasons for supporting Haley on his LinkedIn page, amid attacks on her for taking money from Democrats. “Nikki Haley wouldn’t be as good for America as Joe Biden, but America would survive her government,” he wrote.
“If America wants to avoid another Trump presidency, it will be because Trump loses an election next year. “If he has to lose, it will be against Nikki Haley in the primary or against Joe Biden in the general,” he added at the time.
Dmitri Mehlhorn, an adviser to Hoffman, told Reuters: “The only way I can see (a path) happening is if Trump has a ‘senior moment’ and she can exploit that to convince Republican voters that he is lost.’
Haley tried to do just that after Trump confused her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Jan. 6 and blamed her for security at the Capitol.
“The only way I can see (a path) happening is if Trump has a ‘senior moment,’ and she is able to exploit it to convince Republican voters that he has lost it,” said a Linkedin consultant founder Reid Hoffman, a top Democratic leader. donor who supported Haley
“Haley has to drop out,” said metal magnate Andy Sabin
The moves by Sabin and other donors come amid Trump’s threats to blacklist Haley backers
A GOP fundraiser told it CNBC that three clients who donated smaller amounts and helped Haley raise $100,000 withdrew from future obligations.
It comes as Republican lawmakers, including some who ran against Trump, are beginning to unite against the winner of New Hampshire.
No one drew more attention than Sen. Tim Scott, who appeared backstage at Trump’s victory rally and explained his decision to endorse him over Haley, who appointed him to the Senate.
The moves come after Trump threatened to blacklist Haley donors in a post on his Truth Social site Wednesday evening.
“When I ran for office and won, I noticed that the losing candidate’s ‘donors’ immediately came to me wanting to ‘help,'” Trump wrote.
‘This is standard in politics, but not with me anymore. Anyone who “contributes” to “Birdbrain” – his insult to Haley – “will be permanently banned from the MAGA camp from this moment on.” We don’t want them, and we won’t accept them, because we put America first, and we ALWAYS will!’