Prominent Democratic Donor Backs Nikki Haley With $250k, Aiming to Defeat Trump in Primary
LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor, Reid Hoffman, donates $250k to a super PAC backing Nikki Haley's Republican campaign Hoffmann believes defeating Trump in the primary is crucial to preventing his re-election bid for the White House
Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and a significant donor to the Democratic Party, has announced that he made a donation to a super PAC supporting Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley. He believes that the GOP primary is the first of only two chances to prevent Donald Trump from being re-elected, and is prioritizing American democracy and the integrity of the legal system over party affiliation. While he plans to vote for President Joe Biden in the upcoming election, he is emphasizing the importance of stopping Trump from returning to the White House. This statement was made in a post on LinkedIn.
"My top priority is to defeat Trump, and the primary is the first opportunity to do so," he said.
Hoffman's political adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn confirmed to CNN that Hoffman has contributed $250,000 to a pro-Haley super PAC, the SFA Fund.
The contribution was initially reported by The New York Times. Hoffman's public statement coincides with Haley and three other Republicans - Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy - preparing to participate in the fourth GOP debate on Wednesday night in Alabama. (As in the past, Trump is choosing to skip the showdown.)
DeSantis' campaign has aimed to portray Haley as a "liberal" by highlighting the Hoffman donation prior to the debate. Hoffman has a history of supporting anti-Trump causes and financially supported columnist E. Jean Carroll's assault and defamation trial against Trump. His decision to assist a Republican presidential contender is unexpected, especially as Haley gains traction in the polls and draws the interest of wealthy donors looking for an alternative to Trump. Despite this, Trump remains the clear front-runner in early state and national GOP polls.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently urged Democrats to support Haley, a sentiment that Hoffman expressed his support for. "Those of us who believe in America must come together to prevent Donald Trump from returning to the White House," Hoffman stated. "America requires both major parties to nominate rational individuals who will uphold their oath of office."
Hoffman admitted that he disagrees with Haley on numerous policy matters but sees the former South Carolina governor as "the only Republican other than Trump with a realistic chance" of winning the GOP's endorsement.
"Nikki Haley would not be as good for America as Joe Biden," he wrote, "but America would survive her administration."
