JPMorgan Chase CEO backing of Haley as Trump alternative draws fire from GOP rivals

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday urged Democrats to back GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley as an alternative to front-runner Donald Trump — the latest Wall Street backing for Haley which has drawn criticism from her primary rivals.

"If you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you to help Nikki Haley, too. Give them a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump," Dimon said at the 2023 DealBook Summit, according to Politico.

Haley has been gaining significant ground in the GOP primary polls in recent weeks, although she and others remain well behind former President Trump. She has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and in her home state of South Carolina, which holds the first Southern contest. 

HALEY, BOLSTERED BY THE BACKING OF A MAJOR CONSERVATIVE GROUP, IS HAVING A MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 

And she's drawn even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls in Iowa, whose caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar on Jan. 15.

Haley has been boosted by some major backing in recent weeks in addition to the support from Dimon. On Wednesday, she scored the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers.

AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported how major Wall Street backers are lining up to support her, with the outlet reporting that admirers include the CEO of Morgan Stanley and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

"If she passes DeSantis, she’s the backup," one financier told the outlet, arguing that with Trump’s court cases looming, "it’s not completely crazy that she could ultimately win."

BIG BOOST: HALEY LANDS THE BACKING OF A CONSERVATIVE GRASSROOTS ARMY

But the support could be a double-edged sword for Haley in a primary atmosphere that is more skeptical of big business than in past primaries, with her rivals keen to use the endorsements from Wall Street and elsewhere as a way to attack her conservative credentials.

"Wondering why Wall Street execs, Blackrock, and the Koch Network are all supporting Nikki Haley?" the "DeSantis War Room" posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, linking to a video highlighting what it presented as liberal positions on immigration, fuel taxes and calls for restrictions on social media. 

"Jamie Dimon Urges Even Liberals to Back Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley as Alternative to Trump," Team Trump said on X.

Meanwhile, Dimon also addressed the possibility that Trump could be president, when asked if he'd support "anything but Trump."

"I would never say. He might be the president, I have to live with that, too," he said.