In a significant escalation of intra-party rivalry, former President Donald Trump on Friday launched his most pointed attack yet on GOP competitor Nikki Haley. This comes as Haley’s popularity surges in the polls ahead of the imminent Iowa and New Hampshire nominating contests.
Trump portrayed Haley, the former South Carolina governor, as a puppet of the establishment, alleging that she was beholden to establishment donors. He further claimed that some of the donors backing President Joe Biden have also contributed to Haley’s campaign.
Several influential GOP donors have indeed rallied behind Haley. In a surprising twist, Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn co-founder and a notable Democratic donor, admitted in December that he had contributed to a super PAC supporting Haley. Hoffman justified his decision, arguing that the GOP primary battle presents one of the few chances to prevent Trump from reclaiming the presidency.
Trump’s recent offensive against Haley represents a strategic shift for his campaign, which has ceased funding ads attacking Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Instead, the Trump campaign and Trump-aligned super PAC are now investing a combined $4.5 million in new television ads aimed at Haley.
Trump capitalized on Haley’s omission of slavery as the cause of the Civil War during a New Hampshire town hall. He told a crowd of supporters in Mason City, Iowa, “I don’t know that it’s going to have an impact, but I’d say slavery is sort of the obvious answer.” Following public criticism, Haley later clarified her stance, stating unequivocally that “of course the Civil War was about slavery.”
Trump also took issue with Haley’s recent assertion that “Iowa starts” the primary season, but New Hampshire voters “correct” Iowa’s results. He responded, “Haley recently said Iowa voters will need to be corrected by other states … look, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem nice, right.”
Reporting contributed by CNN’s Fredreka Schouten.