Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a prominent Democrat donor, says he has donated to a super PAC supporting Republican presidential contender Nikki Haley because the ongoing GOP primary fight represents the first of just two opportunities to stop Donald Trump from winning the White House again.
In a post on LinkedIn, Hoffman said he will “enthusiastically vote” for President Joe Biden next November but said his “first priority is American democracy and the integrity of our legal system.”
“That means my first priority is to defeat Trump, and the primary is the first of two chances to do so,” he added.
Hoffman has donated $250,000 to a pro-Haley super PAC, the SFA Fund, his political adviser Dmitri Mehlhorn confirmed to CNN.
The New York Times first reported the contribution.
Hoffman’s public statement comes as Haley and three other Republicans – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — are set to face off in the fourth GOP debate Wednesday night in Alabama. Trump, as he has in the past, is skipping the showdown.
Ahead of the debate, DeSantis’ campaign has sought to use the Hoffman donation to paint Haley as a “liberal.”
Hoffman has a history of backing anti-Trump causes and helped underwrite columnist E. Jean Carroll’s assault and defamation trial against Trump. His unusual move to help a Republican presidential contender comes as Haley, who served as UN ambassador during the Trump administration, rises in the polls and attracts the attention of deep-pocketed donors who are seeking an alternative to the former president. Trump remains the far-and-away GOP front-runner in early state and national polls.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently encouraged Democrats to back Haley – a sentiment Hoffman said he supports. “Those of us who believe in America must link arms to block Donald Trump from regaining the White House,” Hoffman said in his post. “America needs both major parties to nominate sane people who will honor their oath of office.”
Hoffman said he disagrees with Haley on a wide array of policy issues but views the former South Carolina governor as “the only Republican … other than Trump with any chance” of the winning the GOP’s nod.
“Nikki Haley would not be as good for America as Joe Biden, he wrote, “but America would survive her administration.”
