Trump rival: Why US politician Nikki Haley collects so much money

Candidate for the presidency - Trump rival: Why US politician Nikki Haley collects so much money

One thing is certain: whenever Donald Trump Jr, the bearded son of the former US president, feels the need to insult someone, you know in Washington that there is a new topic of conversation in the Trump clan. That something must have upset the real estate entrepreneur and potential new candidate for the presidency.

On Tuesday of this week, it happened again: "It's impressive how eager these people are to burn their money," Trump Jr. wrote on the X platform. He was referring to the conservative network Americans for Prosperity Action (AFP), which was once founded by the US billionaires Charles and David Koch, two very influential super-rich people from the conservative-libertarian spectrum of American society. AFP had publicly announced that it would support Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and the only woman in the field, in the Republican primary. "We want to support a candidate who is capable of overcoming the toxic culture in Washington - and a candidate who can win," AFP head Emily Seidel wrote in a public memorandum. "That candidate is Nikki Haley."

Money collectors beat the drum for Haley

Now, on the face of it, the Trump team shouldn't really be worried about the nomination. Trump is still miles ahead of all other Republican candidates in the polls, and Haley is a distant second. However, the 51-year-old has recently made gains and attracted a lot of attention in the TV debates that Trump has avoided. Above all, however, Haley has recently succeeded in attracting an increasing number of heavily wealthy donors such as the Koch network to her side - a factor that is not always decisive, but nevertheless important in the American election campaign.

In the past few weeks alone, the former UN ambassador for her country has been able to gather several new supporters: Ken Griffin, founder of the Citadel hedge fund and major Republican donor, described Haley as a "rock star" and announced that he was "actively" considering backing the candidate. Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller and precious metals entrepreneur Andy Sabin have already jumped on the Haley bandwagon. After candidate Tim Scott from South Carolina dropped out of the race, influential entrepreneurs from the state such as Chad Walldorf also began to support Haley. The successful fundraiser and lawyer Eric Levine, who had also previously campaigned for Scott, is now working for Haley.

The main thing is not Trump

All of this suggests that the "as long as it's not Trump" camp of Republicans is gradually rallying behind Haley - a candidate whose many of her positions represent the classic Republican mainstream and are free from the erratic, anti-democratic rantings of the former president. Initially, this is mainly bad news for Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, who was originally seen as the most promising Trump challenger.

In the medium term, however, the money and advisors that Haley has gathered around her could also become a problem for Trump. Namely, if the view prevails not only among donors but also among Republican supporters that Trump cannot win the presidential election next year - as the AFP chief suggests in his memorandum. While the ex-president is neck-and-neck in the polls with incumbent Joe Biden, Haley is well ahead of Biden. These are figures that should be treated with great caution in view of the dynamic events, but they are being closely monitored by the Republican establishment.

In addition, Trump has to deal with a whole cascade of legal proceedings; it is not even out of the question that he could become a convicted felon in the middle of next year's election campaign. Haley appears to many influential donors to be a clean alternative; she could also step in if Trump ends up giving up under the weight of the trials.

Electable for Democrats too?

Haley has one quality that Trump, who is hated in the Democratic camp, definitely does not have - she also looks electable to independents and more conservative Democrats. Jamie Dimon, the head of the largest US bank JP Morgan, made an energetic appeal at a conference to support Haley: "Even if you are a very liberal Democrat, I call on you to help Nikki Haley," said Dimon. "There needs to be an alternative on the Republican side that could be better than Trump." Weeks earlier, it had become known that Haley had met with Dimon.

In addition to the money that is now flowing to the candidate, the networks and the number of potential supporters are likely to play a role - especially when it comes to the first concrete primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire at the beginning of next year. The Koch network in particular claims to have thousands of activists who are now knocking on doors, sending emails and campaigning for Haley.

Before the presidential election in 2016, parts of the Koch network still supported the Trump camp, with Vice President Mike Pence in particular enjoying the goodwill of the donors at the time. As US media reported, numerous Koch loyalists subsequently worked in the extended team of the victorious Trump.

The fact that this network of all people no longer considers him to be a promising candidate naturally triggered Trump's own anger in the end. "This is bad for our country," thundered the ex-president on his own Truth Social network. "These losers have been fighting me since 2016." Whether all this will be enough to defeat Trump is completely unclear, partly because no one knows how the court cases will affect the election campaign. But one thing is clear: Haley has already annoyed Trump.

This article first appeared here at Capital