Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley gestures while walking with supporters on Tuesday near a polling site at Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H. Stephen Senne/Associated Press
Nikki Haley Friday stepped up her attacks on former President Donald Trump and raked in more campaign cash even as Trump’s allies tried to force her out of the Republican primary race.
The only woman left standing in the GOP contest pushed back hard against Trump’s effort to force her to drop out and concede the nomination to him.
“He throws an absolute temper tantrum, talking about revenge,” Haley said in an interview on Fox News, apparently referring to Trump’s victory speech after the New Hampshire primary. “Then he goes and says that he’s going ban anyone from MAGA that donates to me.”
“I mean he’s totally unhinged,” she added.
Despite Trump’s bullying tactics, GOP donors are sticking with Haley for now, giving her enough cash to stay in the race as she has promised she would.
Haley’s campaign said she has raised $2.6 million since the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday including $1.2 million after Trump threatened to exile anyone who donates to her campaign.
A group of Wall Street billionaires is moving with a planned fundraiser for Haley in New York this coming Tuesday. That’s just one in a series of fundraisers she plans to attend nationwide in the coming week or so.
Haley has insisted she will stay in the race through the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24, and the Super Tuesday contests 10 days later.
Trump has called on her to quit the race, calling himself the certain GOP nominee.
His allies have vowed to inflict a humiliating defeat on her if she doesn’t quit before her home state votes.
The former president initially tried to get allies to force the Republican National Committee to declare him the presumptive nominee, but then backed out of the idea, CNN reported.
Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel also said it was time for the party to unite behind Trump, a call that prompted fierce pushback from Haley.
“I let (McDaniel) know how disappointed I was,” Haley said.
Haley and Trump have escalated their war of words since the New Hampshire primary.
Trump won by a decent 54% to 43% margin in the state known for its independent-minded electorate.
Haley took that relatively close result as a mandate to continue her fight against Trump, who she predicts will lose to President Joe Biden in the November general election.
But with wins in Iowa and New Hampshire under his belt, Trump wants Haley out of the race as soon as possible.
Some Republican congressional lawmakers have lined up behind Trump in recent days, saying it’s time to unite behind him to beat Biden.
Trump hopes to have the GOP nod locked up before he faces possible trials in four criminal cases and 91 felony counts, which could start as soon as March 4.
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