Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is stepping up her attacks on Trump and her fundraising as she continues her presidential campaign.
NBC’s Sarah Dean writes from South Carolina that Haley started her Wednesday rally there by “dispensing with her usual stump speech introduction to go directly after the former president at the top of her own remarks,” saying of Trump as she called on him to debate her, “Bring it, Donald.”
Dean also reports that Haley’s campaign for the first time sought to leverage Trump’s attacks on her, selling t-shirts referencing Trump’s social media post that Haley donors would be “permanently barred from the MAGA camp.”
Haley’s campaign also announced on Thursday that it had raised $2.6 million since the New Hampshire primary, including $1.2 million in grassroots and online contributions after that social media post from Trump.
Haley’s attacks on Trump have also caused one of her super PAC’s major donors, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, to reconsider his decision to stop helping to fund a pro-Haley group, per Reuters.
The super PAC, SFA Fund Inc., also announced that it raised $50.1 million during the last six months of 2023, per NBC’s Ali Vitali, while the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc pulled in $46 million, per Politico. Fundraising reports are due to the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 31.
In other campaign news …
A big dig: Trumpeting infrastructure projects that have occurred during his presidency, Biden poked at Trumpby declaring that “on my watch, instead of infrastructure week, America is having an infrastructure decade.”
Not making the trip: The Arizona GOP’s “freedom fest” event on Friday has been canceled after Trump, the event’s headliner, pulled out of the event, NBC News’ Vaughn Hillyard reports. The news came the day after the state party chairman resigned amid revelations he offered Republican Senate hopeful Kari Lake job opportunities in exchange for her sitting out the 2024 cycle.
Deep dive: The New York Times dives into how the Trump campaign secured decisive wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump court update: The former president briefly took to the witness stand Thursday in the damages trial in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case against him. He’s expected to appear in court Friday for closing arguments. And in Georgia, Trump’s team is calling for the charges against him to be dropped over allegations of an improper romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and a special prosecutor.
On to the next ones: NBC News’ Natasha Korecki reports the Democratic National Committee is launching new ads in South Carolina and Nevada aimed at targeting communities of color, rural areas and potential younger adults ahead of Democratic nominating contests there. Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that liberal group MoveOn plans to spend $32 million to mobilize supporters in seven key states this fall (six presidential swing states and Ohio, home to a pivotal Senate race).
Will he, won’t he: The New York Times reports on the monthslong saga of the Montana GOP Senate primary, where Rep. Matt Rosendale is moving closer to a bid that would pit him against party favorite Tim Sheehy. Sheehy and the Senate GOP campaign arm dropped a new ad Thursday that links Democratic Sen. Jon Tester to the Biden administration, while a super PAC linked to Democrats is up with a new ad attacking Sheehy, per AdImpact.
Taking sides: Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., took sides in the GOP primary in Ohio’s 9th District, backing GOP state Rep. Derek Merrin, per Politico.
Between the lines: A deadline for New York’s new congressional map is fast approaching, and questions persist about whether the process has stalled, per Politico. In Florida, the state Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the state’s congressional map.
Party time: The Michigan Republican Party is grappling with a leadership crisis, with chairwoman Kristina Karamo refusing to step down even though she was ousted earlier this month, per NBC’s Henry Gomez.
