Nikki Haley has received more than $1 million in donations to her presidential campaign since Donald Trump threatened to “permanently” bar anyone who contributed to it from the MAGA movement.
The former South Carolina governor’s team said that since she lost the New Hampshire primary to Trump on Tuesday, the Nikki Haley for President campaign has received $2.6 million in fundraising, including $1.2 million following Trump’s “unhinged” pledge.
Haley said she will not drop out of the GOP primary, despite losing to Trump in both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, where she was expected to put up a serious challenge in the more moderate state. Haley, Trump’s only serious rival left in the primary, lost Tuesday’s primary to the former president by 10 points.
During a speech in North Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday, a defiant Haley said her campaign received more than $1 million in fundraising for her White House bid, 95 percent of which was donations of $200 or less.
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In response, Trump threatened to blackball anyone who contributed to Haley’s campaign while referring to the former U.N. Ambassador using his derogatory nickname for her.
“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!”
Haley’s campaign team has now said it has raised more than $2.6 million in the 48 hours since the polls closed in New Hampshire, including $1.2 million raised from small-dollar and digital donations following Trump’s threat.
“Donald Trump’s threats highlight the stark choice in this election: personal vendettas or real conservative leadership,” Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in a statement.
“Trump’s scheme blew up in his face. The contributions to the Haley campaign are pouring in—proof that people are sick of the drama and are rallying behind Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America.”
Trump’s campaign team has been contacted for comment via email.
George Conway, lawyer and frequent critic of the former president, was one of those who donated to Haley’s campaign in the wake of Trump’s MAGA ban vow.
“Darn. I guess there’ll be no classified-document viewing tours at Mar-a-Lago for me. Sad!” Conway wrote on X, formerly Twitter, while showing he had donated $3,300.
Trump’s campaign team is urging Haley to drop out of the primary, arguing she is only delaying her inevitable defeat.
Haley is already set to lose the upcoming race in Nevada in February because she is only on the ballots in the state-run primary on February 6, and not taking part in the GOP-led caucus two days later, where the delegates will actually be awarded.
“With donors leaving her left and right because she’s running a failed campaign, she’s not competitive in any state and doesn’t have a pathway to actually win any state,” Trump spokesperson Steve Cheung said in a statement. “Her base of support are Democrats and Never Trumpers who are more concerned with using her to interfere with Republican politics rather than actually boosting her as a legitimate candidate.
“Nikki Haley’s entire existence is based off lies and deception. Now, she’s proving it to the entire country,” Cheung added.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.