'He will not win easily': Internet divided as Nikki Haley hosts donor retreat and avoids backing Donald Trump

WASHINGTON, DC: Even though Donald Trump is the likely Republican nominee for president, Nikki Haley has not yet extended her network of donors or her support to him, according to Politico.

Haley thanked around 100 contributors during a private, two-day donor retreat in Charleston, South Carolina, where her staff spoke on the campaign's fundraising and strategy.

Nikki Haley backs out from offering Donald Trump support or donor network

Despite withdrawing from the campaign in early March, Haley is still receiving votes in the primary, and Trump was hardly mentioned at all. Attendees at the retreat report that, as was to be expected, Haley did not push her followers to support the former president during the conference or provide her endorsement.

The former Republican candidate's retreat in Charleston demonstrated that, despite not having disclosed her future step beyond joining the Hudson Institute, a conservative think tank with headquarters in Washington, she still enjoys the support of an incredibly devoted set of funders and fans who want to stick with her.

Bill Strong, a Florida-based investment banker and Haley donor who attended the retreat said, "I take solace in the fact that Nikki’s 52. She’s highly engaged in the issues that are affecting the nation and I very much hope this is not the last we hear of Nikki Haley. And I fully expect that it will not be the last year of Nikki Haley."

During the donor presentation, participants said that the only time Trump's name was mentioned was about the early state primaries that the former president won before Haley withdrew from the contest.

Moreover, Haley and her staff reviewed campaign information, such as totals for contributions from the super PAC and the campaign. 

Following breakfast on Tuesday, May 14, in a conference room in downtown Charleston, Haley's top aide Jon Lerner, and her former campaign manager Betsy Ankney informed donors that the campaign and super PAC had raised a total of $162 million, of which $80 million came from hard dollar donations to the campaign and $82 million from the super PAC. The details of the presentation were shared by one of the attendees.

Notably, a minimum of $50 million was contributed by supporters at the grassroots level, while wealthy contributors contributed $30 million. The campaign received contributions from almost 300,0000 people, of which, according to the presentation, 145,982 were new Republican digital contributors who 'added to the GOP fundraising ecosystem'.

Internet reacts as Nikki Haley gathers her donors and ignores Donald Trump

People on the internet had mixed reactions as Nikki Haley has not yet extended her network of donors or her support to Donald Trump.

A user wrote on X, "That doesn’t mean anything. Haley won’t be on the ballot in November. Did you note the percentage of uncommitted votes on the blue side?"

A person stated on X, "I think Donald Trump will not win easily," while one added, "If 10-15 % of repugs who voted for Trump turn around and vote for Biden, Biden will win with 95M+ votes."

A user also said, "Haley voters are Republicans who have dumped Trump over his crimes. There will be more after his conviction in Manhattan," whereas one mentioned, "If everyone who believes in democracy and the rule of law shows up, @POTUS wins."

A person wrote, "The 'scary' thing is that if Trump drops out for whatever reason (such as "natural causes"...), Haley may become the nominee and could easily defeat Biden."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.