Donald Trump has raised the tone against his Republican primary opponent, aiming to eliminate her from the nomination race before the next primary, scheduled for Feb. 24 in South Carolina, his home state Nikki Haley in which she was also governor.
On Wednesday night, the former president threatened Haley's campaign donors with expulsion from the “MAGA camp” if they continued to fund the presidential race of the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the only rival in the race after the governor's abrupt withdrawal from the state, while he was in office Florida, Ron DeSantis.
MAGA, short for Trump's first campaign slogan, “Make America Great Again,” unites the former president's political base from his first presidential campaign and first term.
“When I applied and won, I noticed that the losing candidate’s “donors” immediately came to me and wanted to “help.” That’s common in politics, but not for me anymore,” Trump said on his Truth Social profile. The tycoon promised to reject contributions from any donors funding Haley's campaign. “Anyone who “contributes” to Birdbrain from this moment on will be permanently expelled from the MAGA camp. We don't want them and we won't accept them because we put America first and WE ALWAYS WILL!
The former South Carolina governor responded defiantly with a post on social media site Light up.” He bragged about raising $1 million in the first 24 hours since the New Hampshire primary, once again trailing Trump by a significant margin, although by a smaller margin than the polls showed.
So far, the Republican candidate has had the support of major donors to the Republican Party, such as financiers. Stanley Druckenmiller, Cliff Asness, KenLangone And Henry Kravis or the philanthropist Simone Levinson. But the Koch brothers, promoters of the Tea Party and one of the most influential forces in the field in recent years, stand out from the rest. The head of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie DimonHe also praised Haley, whom he considered the only viable alternative to Trump.
Her poor start to the Iowa caucuses didn't find the expected boost in New Hampshire, but the former South Carolina governor is vowing to maintain her candidacy for the next primary.
The horizon disturbs a Trump who has focused most of his attacks on DeSantis. A DeSantis who, by the way, ultimately sought Trump's candidacy. Now the former president has launched a fierce offensive against Haley, the only obstacle in his path to re-election without counting on the president Joe Biden.
First, Trump started using his first name, Nimarataand pointing out that he was not born in the United States. An argument based on his Indian origins, the same false source accompanied by racist undertones that he used against the former president. Barack Obama. Wednesday's threat is another step in this strategy of harassment and destruction. And so far it seems to be working.
Two major donors have announced in the last few hours that they will stop funding Haley's campaign. This is the metallurgical magnate Andy Sabin and co-founder of LinkedIn Reid Hoffman. But both say they made the decision based on the results of the New Hampshire primary, which paved the way for Trump's nomination.
Hoffman's advisor, Dmitri MehlhornHe has told the media that “in order to raise more money for Governor Haley, I would have to find a way for her to win the primary.” Sabin, on the other hand, believes Haley has to go: “No matter what they tell you, their money will go out.” “Why fund someone you know has no chance?”
Pressure to leave him also comes from within the Republican Party. “We need to unite around our future nominee, which will be Donald Trump, and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden,” the Republican National Committee chairwoman said Wednesday on FOX. Ronna McDaniel.
The former governor of South Carolina isn't throwing in the towel. His campaign has announced it will hold an event on Saturday and another on Sunday in Mauldin and Conway, two cities in his home state.