Nikki Haley scored two big-money prestige endorsements last week that strikingly boost her standing in the Republican primaries. The Koch Brothers’ conservative money machine, Americans for Prosperity Action, lined up behind the former South Carolina governor, a move that could provide her with maximum financial support, especially if she overtakes, as she seems poised to do, Ron DeSantis as the designated Trump alternative. And then she captured the public favour of Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, a mega donor and major business voice.
The problem is that the Koch money and the Dimon influence have, since 2015 when Donald Trump first came down the Trump Tower stairs to announce his candidacy, been wholly opposite indicators of political success. Haley’s own personal fortunes and media profile might be dramatically improving, but the endorsements are another red flag that she has no hope whatsoever of competing with Donald Trump or, for that matter, ever becoming a presidential nominee in today’s Republican party.
