The Republican donors have spoken and they have found Ron DeSantis lacking. As a result, they have deigned Nikki Haley the preferred heir to the Republican nomination, purposefully ignoring the fact Donald Trump is still around and fighting, well, everyone to stay in the mix. In fact, that’s the whole reason they backed another candidate—they want someone to get him off the national political stage, finally.
I say “deigned” but this is technically a democracy. (Albeit one that has allowed dark money to flood its politics since 2010, which means these mega-rich people genuinely do think they have the power to sway elections. And, unfortunately, due to their obscene wealth and no restrictions behind it, politically speaking, they do!) That means we still have to go through the motions of having an election process to determine the Republican nominee. Still, if billionaire Charles Koch has his way, Haley will get the nomination.
See, he just donated what amounts to essentially unlimited amounts of money to Haley’s campaign. From the Associated Press:
Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the powerful Koch network, formally endorsed Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign on Tuesday, promising to commit its nationwide coalition of activists — and virtually unlimited funds — to helping Haley defeat former President Donald Trump in the GOP primary contest.
This is amount so obscene (and again, essentially unlimited!) that Trump felt the need to take to his preferred social media platform of choice to rail against Haley, Koch, and of course everyone’s favorite target, Ron DeSantis. Per Forbes:
Trump argued the endorsement from the conservative Americans for Prosperity Action marked a “minor hit” for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rather than Trump—arguing he was “never in the running” for the endorsement because he’s “all about Making America, not the outside World, Great Again” —Trump also mockingly called the PAC “Americans for China Prosperity.”
In a post on his social media site Truth Social, Trump also slammed Haley as “weak and ineffective,” referring to her as “Birdbrain,” a nickname Trump has repeatedly used for Haley in recent months.
I mean, as far as Trump rants go, that’s a doozy. You get racism, name-calling, conspiracies, and of course, DeSantis bashing. Genuinely the only thing bringing the country together right now, it seems, is how much none of us like that guy.
However, DeSantis still tried pathetically to spin his lack of donations and constant dunking on by Trump as a win:
In a statement, DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo likened the Koch endorsement to a contribution to the Trump campaign.
“Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president,” Romeo wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley’s candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign. No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different.”
Associated Press
Man, if that statement doesn’t have “I didn’t want to come to your party, I’m a very important astronaut going into outer space on space business that weekend anyway” energy, I don’t know what does.
What does this mean for the election, though? Well, in the short term, the Republican machine is going to turn inward and attack itself even more. Haley now has the arsenal to go after Trump directly. (DeSantis, too, I guess, if she cares.) The PAC’s influence and ability runs deep:
But now, she inherits the organizational heft of what may be the most powerful conservative grassroots organization in the nation. The Koch network, previously referred to as the Koch Brothers, has been building a network of paid conservative activists and volunteers in key states for several years.
Through last summer and the fall alone, Americans for Prosperity activists communicated with 6 million primary voters, either in person at their doors or on the phone, Seidel said.
Associated Press
Make no mistake, though, if it’s successful in its fight against Trump, it will turn towards defeating Joe Biden in his reelection goals. While Haley may not seem as bad as Trump, I assure you, she would be a terrible President. Just look at the rhetoric she uses in accepting the endorsement:
Haley said she was honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity, “including its millions of grassroots members all across the country.”
“AFP Action’s members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines,” she said in a statement. “This is a choice between freedom and socialism, individual liberty and big government, fiscal responsibility and spiraling debt. We have a country to save, and I’m grateful to have AFP Action by our side.”
Associated Press
Haley and her dark money PAC are a threat to American Democracy, they’re just not as blatant about it as Trump. Remember this, and for the love of all that is good and holy, do not forget to vote next November. In this specific case, the enemy of your enemy is not your friend. It’s just another fascist waiting in the wings to strip this country down for parts.
(Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
