For someone who squeaked out a third-place finish in Iowa, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley is strutting around as though she won the thing and declaring she has made it a two-person race. The scheduled ABC debate in New Hampshire ahead of the February 23 primary was canceled because Haley refuses to debate anymore unless former President Donald J. Trump is on the stage.
SEE ALSO:
Nikki Haley Copes With Third Place by... Pretending That She Came in Second?
Nikki Haley Says She Won't Debate Ahead of New Hampshire. Ron DeSantis Is Calling Her Out.
Perhaps Haley should be acting as though her days are numbered, but instead, she is doubling down and filling her coffers for primaries that will take her well past South Carolina. In early February, Haley has plans to fly to Dallas and Houston for fundraisers hosted by a committee of Bushies and No Labels types which includes Fred Zeidman. Zeidman is a "good friend" of former President George W. Bush and also has ties with former President Barack Obama.
Nikki Haley will be holding a fundraiser here in Houston. One of the host committee members is Fred Zeidman. A good friend of Barack Obama as well as the Bush family. pic.twitter.com/sQVs8MCKK9
— Merissa Hansen (@merissahansen17) January 16, 2024
The hefty price tag for these fundraisers (the bottom tier for individuals is $6,600, and the top tier for couples is $33,200) should give one pause, but one thing is clear: Haley is there to fill her coffers for the long haul, and she must pull off a win in New Hampshire, as my colleague Bonchie wrote:
For Haley's part, she's spinning her performance in Iowa as a positive, claiming she surpassed expectations. That's not going to be a viable talking point in New Hampshire, where she's invested a massive amount of resources to secure a victory. I don't even think a close second-place finish there would be enough. I think she's got to win it outright to have any chance at shifting the narrative and momentum by South Carolina, her home state.
So the donors are saying: beat Trump in New Hampshire by three percentage points at the least if you want to keep the money flowing in.
Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is facing pressure from some of her top fundraisers to either seriously compete with, or outright defeat, Donald Trump in next week’s New Hampshire primary, after finishing third on Monday in the Iowa caucus.
“I would still like to see her get somewhere, but the mountain she has to climb is enormous,” Andy Sabin, a New York businessman and Haley fundraiser, told CNBC. “As much as I like Haley, I don’t even know what Trump could do to stop himself right now.”
Sabin plans to help raise money for Trump if Haley doesn’t make it through the primary season, despite previously telling CNBC he wouldn’t give the former president “a f---ing nickel.”
“He may be the only choice I have,” said Sabin.
Several Haley fundraisers who spoke to CNBC conceded that, unless she gets a very close second to Trump or manages to pull off an upset win in New Hampshire, the race could effectively be over for her after that.
New Hampshire “is critical. If she wins there, and she can, it will be a long primary season,” said Eric Levine, an attorney and bundler for Haley.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board continues its work of choosing the presidential candidate for you. It has decided that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis must step aside because, in WSJ's fever dreams, Haley is the only one who can beat Trump or Biden. Mind you, DeSantis is the one who actually won second place in Iowa, but this is how narratives are embedded.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board called for Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, Fla., to drop out of the primary following his near 30-point loss to former President Trump in the Iowa caucuses Monday night.
The board argued that DeSantis can’t beat Trump to snag the GOP nomination and should exit the race to give former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley a shot at beating Trump.
Part of Haley's problem, and she has many: She is a walking contradiction. Haley crafts herself as this fresh, bold, new-generation leader with solid ideas on how to unify and fix the country, then she opens her mouth and says something divisive or denies that she ever supported a toxic policy position (transgender surgery for minors), despite the video receipts. Haley's playbook reeks of GOP elitism. Utah Senator Mitt Romney has endorsed her and has obviously handed over his 2012 campaign strategies, all dated, and all terrible. Of late, Haley has been stepping into one form of verbal caca or another, right before inserting her foot deeply into her mouth. She must be ruining those Manolo Blahnik heels with all the bite marks.
My colleague Jeff Charles alluded to her latest "awkward moment" this Tuesday on Fox News.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley had another awkward moment during an interview on Tuesday. The presidential candidate, who finished in third place in Iowa’s caucuses on Monday, gave a rather curious answer when asked if the GOP is a racist party.
During an appearance on Fox News with host Brian Kilmeade, she was asked if she is “involved in a racist party.”
Haley responded: “No, we’re not a racist country, Brian – we’ve never been a racist country.”
WATCH:
Nikki Haley: "We've never been a racist country" pic.twitter.com/qcB0wTjvJS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 16, 2024
This is weeks after her vacuous comments and perpetual explanation on why the Civil War occurred.
READ: Haley's Explanation for Civil War Question Snafu: 'A Democrat Plant' Made Me Do It
Haley is of Indian descent. She has spoken in prior interviews about how her own father was discriminated against. More than likely the reason why Ajit Singh Randhawa taught at a historically Black college in the 1970s was because none of the august educational bodies in the deep South during that time wanted a brown face and a thick accent on their faculty.
Prove me wrong.
So, to say, "We've never been a racist country" is the height of denial. This is one of the many times that Haley has had the mask slip, reflecting not necessarily her own thoughts or feelings, but the language and will of her puppet masters.
It's not a good look, and voters are paying attention.
I’ve refrained from badmouthing any Republican candidate because the bigger picture is defeating Biden and saving our country.
— Zeek Arkham 🇺🇸 (@ZeekArkham) January 17, 2024
However…
After watching Nikki Haley’s speech yesterday, I’m getting Hillary vibes from her where she couldn’t care less about our country and only…
I’ve refrained from badmouthing any Republican candidate because the bigger picture is defeating Biden and saving our country. However… After watching Nikki Haley’s speech yesterday, I’m getting Hillary vibes from her where she couldn’t care less about our country and only wants to boost herself in the most toxic of narcissistic ways. She needs the Liz Chaney treatment from us.
Not a bad idea. Thanks to voter outcry, outrage, and the active choice of Harriet Hageman to represent Wyoming, Liz Cheney is no longer a cancer on our legislative body.
Nikki is like a gentler and friendlier version of Hillary Clinton. Not a person of the people.
— Andrea E (@AAC0519) January 17, 2024
Once again, it's a battle between the will of the donor puppet masters and the will of the people. Come February 23, we'll see which one gets their way and which mandate will stand.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article referenced Montana rather than Wyoming as the state formerly represented by Liz Cheney and now by Harriet Hageman. We apologize to our readers for the error.
