'Deceptive': Nikki Haley threatens PAC using her name that now supports Kamala Harris
Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley spent a lot of time attacking Donald Trump before dropping out of the 2024 race. Her supporters agreed, and now that Vice President Kamala Harris is in the race, many of her voters are turning from Haley to Harris.
The political action committee previously known as Haley Voters for Biden is now pivoting to be Haley for Harris — and the former is unhappy about it.
Taking to the social media site X on Monday, the group said, "Just to clarify, we are not the Nikki Haley-affiliated PAC. That was Stand for America."
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They followed it, explaining, "We did spend $1 million supporting Haley and rallied thousands of voters across the political spectrum to vote for her because she was best for our country. And now we support @KamalaHarris."
"We also do not and never claimed to speak for Nikki Haley. We are reaching out to a subset of Haley voters who will vote their consciences," the group said. "Haley said Trump had to earn our votes. He has done nothing to do so – constantly deriding her – and picked Vance as his running mate."
On Tuesday, Haley sent a cease-and-desist order to the PAC, demanding they stop using her name.
"Kamala Harris and I are total opposites on every issue. Any attempt to use my name to support her or her agenda is deceptive and wrong," Haley said in a statement posted to Fox's website. "I support Donald Trump because he understands we need to make America strong, safe, and prosperous."
Haley emphatically opposed Trump before supporting him.
The letter from the lawyers says: "Any use by you of Ambassador Haley’s name, image, or likeness is without her permission. Ambassador Haley has been clear in her support of Harris’ opponent. Any intimation that Ambassador Haley supports Harris is intentionally false and misleading."
While she ended her campaign in March, those anti-Trump Republicans who voted in the primary still came out to vote, to the tune of around 20 percent.
Former Trump campaign staffer A.J. Delgado said Haley has "no power to request" that they stop using the name. "She's just pissed she thought she was going to be the first female president, and it's going to be KH."
Haley Voters for Harris responded to the cease-and-desist letter, saying it will review the letter with attorneys once it has been received and comment again in a few days.
"We enthusiastically supported Ambassador Haley over former President Trump in the primaries and our mission is to encourage likeminded voters to vote for Vice President Harris in November," the PAV said.
The group later added: "Our rights to engage with voters and encourage them to vote for Vice President Harris — who in our view is the clear better choice for the country — will not be suppressed."