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Nikki Haley Receives Surprise Boost

[Joi, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons]

Over the past few months, Nikki Haley has become the favorite of those involved in politics who despise Donald Trump. America’s News Desk recently wrote, for example, that “Never Trumpers have made their decision. They want Nikki Haley, and they’re willing to spend big bucks to make sure she beats Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. 

Wall Street has begun to open up its checkbook to the former UN Ambassador, labeling her the great Trump Stopper who would mop the floor with Joe Biden (or Kamala Harris) in 2024.” 

One of those calling for the support of Haley was none other than the financial king of Wall Street himself, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase. 

The New York Times noted that Haley recently “got an unexpected call from Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase. Mr. Dimon said he was impressed by Ms. Haley’s knowledge of policy details and her open-minded approach to complex issues raised in the Republican presidential race, according to a person familiar with what they discussed. Keep it up, he told her.”

Dimon has been encouraging Democrats on Wall Street to support Haley, and now it appears that one of the most liberal power players has. 

But at least one of the Democratic Party’s biggest financiers has already done exactly that, according to The New York Times.

Reid Hoffman, the billionaire co-founder of LinkedIn and a major Democratic donor, recently gave $250,000 to a super PAC supporting Ms. Haley, the former South Carolina governor who has gained momentum in recent weeks in the 2024 Republican primary race. The donation, which has not been previously reported, was confirmed by Dmitri Mehlhorn, a political adviser to Mr. Hoffman.

The pro-Haley super PAC, SFA Fund Inc., was asked specifically by Mr. Hoffman’s political team if it would take money from Mr. Hoffman, given that he is a Democrat who actively supports President Biden, Mr. Mehlhorn said. The super PAC, he added, said yes.

The pro-Haley super PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Hoffman became well-known in political circles as one of Trump’s biggest opponents and has been labeled the “Soros of Silicon Valley.” The Daily Caller documented that the billionaire has acted as one of the Democratic Party’s “largest funders in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, according to nonpartisan campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets. He spent more than $15 million supporting Democrats in 2022 and $14.5 million in 2020, OpenSecrets found.”

Before backing Haley, The Linkedin co-founder was wrapped up in a major scandal earlier in the year, apologizing “for his interactions with Epstein, including inviting him in 2015 to a dinner in Palo Alto with Silicon Valley leaders. After Epstein was arrested in 2019, Mr. Hoffman said he had met with him to help raise funds for MIT at the request of the then director of MIT’s Media Lab, Joi Ito,” reported The Wall Street Journal.

“The documents [revealed] that Epstein had plans for Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Ito to visit his private island in March 2014 and in November 2014. On the second date, Epstein planned to travel with both men from Palm Beach to the island for a weekend and then fly together to Boston.

When the venture capitalist had a flight scheduled to land late at night in New York on Dec. 4, 2014, Epstein arranged for Mr. Hoffman to stay overnight in his townhouse, the documents show. The following morning, Mr. Hoffman was scheduled to attend a ‘breakfast party’ with Epstein, Mr. Gates and others, according to the documents.”

The former UN Ambassador has likely become a favorite of moderates and Democrats because she has staked out a less conservative path on social issues. 

She first made waves in the primary by refusing to commit to any specific national abortion law, saying she would only sign a bill that might pass Congress.

“I would support anything that would pass. But you have to be honest with the American people,” Haley said during the third GOP debate Wednesday. “I would sign anything that would get 60 Senate votes. Don’t make the American people think you’re going to push something on them when you don’t even have the votes in the Senate.”

More recently, Haley received criticism from conservatives because she appeared to endorse gender reassignment surgeries for children as young as 12, saying she would not try to ban the practice. 

Conservatives were not happy with her stance:

 

The answer on gender reassignment surgery for children came at a time when conservatives had already been growing nervous about Haley’s immigration stance. Earlier in November, she said that she believes businesses should determine American immigration policy. 

The former South Carolina governor’s tack has been working, however. Besides getting the backing of the big bucks on Wall Street, she’s also racked up endorsements from the more “libertarian” wing of the Republican Party. A few weeks ago, the powerful Americans for Prosperity announced that it would be backing the former UN Ambassador in the primary. 

Funded by the Koch political network and established in 2004, AFP is a free-market advocacy group that often skews left on cultural issues and immigration. The group came to prominence in 2012 when it began running attack ads against the reelection of Barack Obama and became heavily involved in grassroots initiatives. 

In 2016, the group failed to stop Donald Trump from winning the nomination and sat out much of that year’s election. Despite having many staffers in his administration with ties to the organization, the group again refused to back Trump in 2020. 

[Read More: Trump Critic Cashes In]

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