Trump: Charles Koch, group ‘got played for suckers’ with Haley support

Former President Trump blasted the political wing of the conservative network led by billionaire Charles Koch for its support of his sole remaining Republican challenger, Nikki Haley, after it announced it would halt spending for the former United Nations ambassador’s campaign.

“AMERICAN’S FOR NO PROSPERITY JUST ANNOUNCED THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER SUPPORTING NIKKI ‘BRAINDEAD’ (BIRDBRAIN?) HALEY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “CHARLES KOCH AND HIS GROUP GOT PLAYED FOR SUCKERS RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING!”

“AMERICAN’S FOR NO PROSPERITY HAVE JUST STATED THAT HALEY HAS NO CHANCE TO WIN, AND THEY WILL STOP FUNDING HER CAMPAIGN, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY!” Trump added in another post.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, which endorsed Haley in November, announced in a memo dated Sunday it would cut off spending for her campaign.

The group said it instead will focus its resources on Senate and House races after Haley lost the primary in her home state of South Carolina to Trump on Saturday by nearly 20 points, according to Decision Desk HQ results.

“She has made it clear that she will continue to fight and we wholeheartedly support her in this effort. But given the challenges in the primary states ahead, we don’t believe any outside group can make a material difference to widen her path to victory. And so while we will continue to endorse her, we will focus our resources where we can make the difference. And that’s the U.S. Senate and House,” AFP Action senior adviser Emily Seidel wrote in the memo. 

Despite the loss in South Carolina, Haley has vowed to stay in the race. Olivia Perez-Cubas, Haley’s national spokesperson, thanked AFP for their support in the race Sunday.

“AFP is a great organization and ally in the fight for freedom and conservative government. We thank them for their tremendous help in this race,” Perez-Cubas said in a statement to The Hill. “Our fight continues, and with more than $1 million coming in from grassroots conservatives in just the last 24 hours, we have plenty of fuel to keep going. We have a country to save.”

The organization’s support for Haley marked the first time the deep-pocketed group put its support behind a Republican candidate in a presidential primary. The group said in a November memo that President Biden and Trump “will only further perpetuate the country’s downward spiral in politics.” 

Trump said on Truth Social at the time of the group’s endorsement of Haley that he “was never in the running” for it because he is “all about Making America, not the outside World, Great Again!”

“These losers have fought me from 2016 to the present,” he wrote at the time.

The group also signaled last year it would not endorse Trump’s reelection bid and called to “move past the current political situation” and “turn the page on the past several years.”

The Hill has reached out to AFP Action for comment.

Updated at 8:33 a.m.