At least by one metric, angering Donald Trump was good for Nikki Haley.
Haley’s 2024 presidential campaign raised $2.6 million in a 48-hour period that began Tuesday evening after polls closed in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, according to a campaign statement.
That included $1.2 million from small donors and online contributors in the wake of Trump’s pledge to blacklist Haley donors, her campaign said.
In a social media post Wednesday evening, Trump said that anyone who contributes to Haley “will from this point forward be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them and we won’t accept them.” MAGA stands for “Make America Great Again.”
Haley’s team was quick to turn the former president’s words into a T-shirt and fundraising presentation, as seen in the social media post below.
Trump expressed similar hostility toward Haley and her supporters in his victory speech after the New Hampshire primary, which he won by 11 points. In his remarks, he described his former ambassador to the United Nations as an “impostor” who in his own speech had tried to “get a victory after having had a very bad night.” He took a friendlier approach to her speech after last week’s Iowa caucuses and congratulated her at the time.
Haley is facing calls, especially from Trump allies, to drop out of the Republican presidential primaries following her losses in New Hampshire and Iowa. But one expert noted that Trump’s speech Tuesday night in the Granite State would not be seen in a negative light by Haley’s donors.
“It’s proof that she’s getting under his skin. She only lashes out at someone who she thinks is a threat to her,” said Robin Kolodny, a political science professor at Temple University with expertise in campaign finance.
Referring to Trump’s promise to ostracize Haley’s donors, Haley spokeswoman AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in a statement that his “threats highlight the stark choice in this election: personal vendettas or true conservative leadership.”
“Trump’s plan blew up in his face,” Graham-Barnes added. “Contributions to Haley’s campaign are pouring in — proof that people are fed up with the drama and are rallying behind Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America.”
Haley’s campaign, which said it raised $24 million in the fourth quarter of last year, also touted a $4 million advertising blitz in her home state of South Carolina, which is scheduled to hold a Republican primary on February 24.
Additionally, the main super PAC supporting the former South Carolina governor told the New York Times on Thursday that it raised $50.1 million in the second half of 2023, ahead of the more than $46 million raised in the same period by Trump’s main super PAC. PAC.
Haley’s campaign did not immediately respond to MarketWatch’s request for comment.
Trump’s campaign has also proven adept at raising money outside the headlines. After the former president’s widely watched indictment in a secret case in Manhattan last March, his campaign said it raised more than $5 million in 48 hours.
Betting markets tracked by RealClearPolitics give Trump an 87% chance of winning the 2024 Republican nomination and moving on to challenge President Joe Biden in the general election, far above Haley’s 7% chance. In South Carolina, Trump currently has a 30-point lead over Haley in the polls, according to RCP’s polling average.
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