Trump Insists He’s ‘Not Thinking’ About Haley—Then Repeatedly Posts About Her
There appears to be a sizeable gap between what the former president says and what he actually does.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters
With his fourth-straight primary victory over Nikki Haley secured, Donald Trump insisted Saturday night that he’s not even wasting his energy worrying about his last remaining rival for the GOP nomination.
Asked if he thought the former South Carolina governor should drop out of the race in light of her latest trouncing—this time in her home state—Trump told Fox News Digital he’s “really not thinking about that… I’m not thinking about it.” Underscoring the point, he said he’s instead “thinking about we have to beat Joe Biden” and added that he doesn’t even “know if [Haley is] in the race at all.”
Despite insisting Haley isn’t on his mind, the former president then proceeded to take a string of public shots at her and her supporters on his Truth Social platform.
He was apparently particularly delighted that Americans for Prosperity Action, the influential political network created by the Koch brothers, decided to stop spending money on behalf of Haley’s campaign after spending months (and millions of dollars) supporting her effort to beat Trump to the nomination.
“AMERICAN’S FOR NO PROSPERITY JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER SUPPORTING NIKKI ‘BRAINDEAD’ (BIRDBRAIN?) HALEY,” the former president wrote on his Truth Social platform Sunday. “CHARLES KOCH AND HIS GROUP GOT PLAYED FOR SUCKERS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING!” In a later post, he wrote: “WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY!”
Since Trump said 36 hours ago, “I no longer think about Nikki Haley,” he has made 11 social media posts about Nikki Haley. pic.twitter.com/xZ1wNkKWrG
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) February 26, 2024
As well as sharing articles from conservative media outlets hailing his 20-point win over Haley in South Carolina, Trump also took the time to talk up his chances in their next primary race. “Leading Nikki Haley in Michigan GOP Primary, tomorrow, 67% to 15%, RCP AVERAGE,” he wrote. “When will Nikki realize that she is just a bad candidate?”
It’s unclear how much longer Haley intends to remain in the presidential race. Over the weekend, she told reporters she would “keep going all the way through Super Tuesday” on March 5.
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“I said earlier this week that no matter what happens in South Carolina, I would continue to run for president. I’m a woman of my word,” Haley told her supporters Saturday after the latest setback to her White House campaign. She added: “I’m not giving up this fight when a majority of Americans disapprove of both Donald Trump and Joe Biden.”
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