By one metric at least, angering Donald Trump has been good for Nikki Haley.
Haley’s 2024 presidential campaign raised $2.6 million in a 48-hour period that started Tuesday night after polls closed in New Hampshire’s Republican primary, according to a statement from the campaign.
That included $1.2 million from small-dollar and online contributors in the wake of a Trump pledge to blacklist Haley donors, her campaign said.
In a social-media post on Wednesday night, Trump said anyone who makes a contribution to Haley “from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not 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 pitches, as shown 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 U.N. as an “imposter” who in her own speech had tried to “take a victory when she had a very bad night.” He had taken a friendlier tack in his speech after last week’s Iowa caucuses and congratulated her at that time.
Haley is facing calls, especially from Trump allies, to drop out of the GOP presidential primary after her losses in New Hampshire and Iowa. But one expert noted that Trump’s speech on Tuesday night in the Granite State would not be seen in a negative light by Haley’s donors.
“It’s evidence that she’s getting under his skin. He only lashes out at somebody who thinks he thinks is a threat to him,” said Robin Kolodny, a Temple University professor of political science with an expertise in campaign finance.
Referring to Trump’s pledge to ostracize Haley’s donors, Haley spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes said in a statement that his “threats highlight the stark choice in this election: personal vendettas or real conservative leadership.”
“Trump’s scheme blew up in his face,” Graham-Barnes added. “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.”
Haley’s campaign, which has said it raised $24 million in last year’s fourth quarter, also has been touting a $4 million advertising blitz in her home state of South Carolina, which is due to hold its GOP primary on Feb. 24.
In addition, the main super PAC backing the former South Carolina governor told the New York Times on Thursday that it had raised $50.1 million in the second half of 2023, ahead of the more than $46 million hauled in during that same period by Trump’s leading super PAC.
Haley’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.
Trump’s campaign also has shown itself to be adept at fundraising off headlines. After the former president’s widely followed indictment in a hush-money case in Manhattan last March, his campaign said it raised more than $5 million in 48 hours.
Betting markets tracked by RealClearPolitics are giving Trump an 88% chance of winning the 2024 GOP nomination and moving on to the general election to challenge President Joe Biden — far above Haley’s 7% chance. In South Carolina, Trump currently has a 30-point lead in polls over Haley, according to RCP’s average of surveys.
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