In a new development, former President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked the conservative super PAC supported by billionaire Charles Koch for backing Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, in the 2024 presidential election, describing the organization as “bad for our country,” amid escalating attacks from Trump on Haley and a long-standing feud with the Koch-linked group.
Key Facts
Trump argued that the support of the American Prosperity political organization for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a “slight jab” at him instead of Trump – considering that he “never competed” for the endorsement because he is “interested in making America great, not the outside world” – and Trump mockingly referred to the organization as “Americans for China Prosperity.”
Main Criticism
The American Prosperity political organization has been one of Trump’s biggest critics during the 2024 election cycle, having spent over $9 million on attack ads against Trump this year, according to a New York Times report. In a memo released on Tuesday, Emily Seidel, the chief advisor to the organization, stated that both Trump and Biden “will only exacerbate the political decline in the country.” Trump has also criticized Koch and his late brother David Koch, labeling the billionaire duo in 2018 as “globalists” and claiming they have “become a complete joke among true Republicans” after Trump faced criticism at a Koch network meeting.
Contradiction
Despite Trump’s overwhelming lead over his competitors in the Republican primary, the former president enjoys a narrower lead in New Hampshire, where an Emerson College poll conducted earlier this month showed Haley in second place in the hypothetical Republican primary, backed by 18% of voters, behind Trump who has the support of 49% of voters – a 31-point gap. The poll also showed that Haley is the only Republican candidate who would defeat Biden in New Hampshire, with her garnering support from 45% of participants compared to 39% for Biden. The poll indicated that Biden would beat Trump in the state by five points.
Main Background
Since launching his 2024 presidential campaign late last year, Trump has fiercely criticized his primary opponents at campaign rallies and on social media, while avoiding Republican primary debates. Trump first used the nickname “the covered mind” for Haley last month in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, claiming that Haley backtracked on his support for her by challenging him in the 2024 primary, writing: “the covered mind has neither the talent nor the calm nature to do the work.” Reports suggest that the Trump campaign sent a birdcage with bird food to the hotel room where Haley was staying. Haley posted a picture of the cage on platform X, captioning it with the hashtags “#PrettyPatheticTryAgain” and “#YouJustMadeMyCaseForMe.” Meanwhile, Haley has focused her attacks on her 2024 opponents: in last month’s debate, she described businessman Vivek Ramaswamy as “dishonest” after he noted that Haley’s daughter had joined the social media app TikTok. Additionally, the super PAC linked to Haley has also spent $3.6 million on attack ads targeting DeSantis, primarily in New Hampshire and Iowa, according to campaign finance analyst Rob Pears.
The Big Number
$70 million. That is the amount raised by the American Prosperity action committee in the first half of 2023, including $25 million from Koch, according to an ABC News report. Forbes estimates that Koch’s wealth is $52.4 billion, making him the chairman and CEO of Koch Industries one of the 24 richest people in the world.
More
From Reading
Charles Koch-Backed Super PAC Endorses Nikki Haley For President (Forbes)
Nikki Haley Surges In New Hampshire—Where She Would Beat Biden And DeSantis, Poll Shows (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Haley Campaign Pours Money Into Ads Attacking DeSantis—But Still Won’t Bash Trump (Forbes)
Leave a Reply