For a guy who just won the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary, former President Donald Trump seems to be extremely upset. Nikki Haley is refusing to end her primary campaign, despite the long odds, and indeed sounded incredibly confident delivering her second-place speech Tuesday night in Manchester, New Hampshire. “I’m scrappy — and now we’re the last ones standing next to Donald Trump,” she told supporters.
Trump can’t figure her out. He’s beating her in the polls in every state. Why won’t she just fall in line?
Trump can’t figure her out. He’s beating her in the polls in every state. Why won’t she just fall in line?
And he doesn’t like people — much less a woman — steadfastly refusing to cede the stage to him. Case in point: Trump’s New Hampshire victory speech, where he trotted out former rivals Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy like a pair of human trophies.
Haley’s staying in the race has other implications as well. She can still raise money — a lot of money. And I wouldn’t want to be the staffer who had to show Trump the story from his hometown New York Post titled, “Nikki Haley slated for a dozen fundraisers before South Carolina primary — despite hit in New Hampshire.” Not only is Haley refusing to end her campaign, her biggest donors are still lining up to give her cash after she lost New Hampshire.
So, in typical Trump fashion, he took to Truth Social. He attacked her using his new derogatory name, “Birdbrain,” and then went on to threaten anyone with the temerity to continue pumping dollars into her campaign coffers. “Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp,” he wrote. “We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!”
Some of the main targets of Trump’s ire were probably New York City billionaires Leonard Stern, Cliff Asness, Stanley Druckenmiller, Ken Langone and Henry Kravis, all of whom whom are co-hosting a fundraiser for Haley on Tuesday in New York. These are the kinds of individuals whose validation Trump has always sought, and they clearly want nothing to do with him right now.
That Trump thought he could threaten these men is laughable, especially to a New Yorker like myself. Trump loves to tout his business acumen and personal wealth, but his net worth pales in comparison to the collective tens of billions mustered by this group. They won’t be quite as impressed by seeing the former reality star’s name cut into the grass of a golf course.
Lastly, even if Trump were serious about banning these very valuable donors from his MAGA coalition — a decision his campaign staff would likely have some thoughts about — they may very well be thrilled. After all, what sane, rational person wouldn’t be?
Campaigning is exhausting. It’s even more exhausting when you are campaigning while also flying around the country to defend yourself in various trials.
To me, this false bravado is just another reflection of Trump’s frustration — and insecurity. Campaigning is exhausting. It’s even more exhausting when you are campaigning while also flying around the country to defend yourself in various trials. When you get right down to it, Trump has at times appeared tired and worn down. Confusing President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama, or Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley, could be a sign of age. Or maybe a sign of something else.
One person who seems very pleased with Trump’s threats is Haley herself. Looking to turn late-night social lemons into lemonade, Team Haley immediately jumped on the Truth Social post and used it in a new round of fundraising. As of Thursday afternoon, her campaign said she’d raised over a million dollars off the comments. She’s also selling T-shirts emblazoned with his quote, “Barred Permanently.”
In this case, revenge is a dish best served on a bed of campaign cash.
