An official at the Koch-backed political network Americans for Prosperity said he was let go from his job after publicly slamming the organization for its endorsement of Nikki Haley over Ron DeSantis in the 2024 presidential election.
Chris Maidment, the now-former director of grassroots operations for Americans for Prosperity in New Hampshire, took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to speak out against his employer for its decision—then confirmed just days later that he had been “terminated.”
He began his Friday thread by writing, somewhat presciently: “There’s a high likelihood I get fired for this, and I didn’t clean out my desk today but here goes…”
He later stated, “In tweeting this I give up friends, family, and a job. I give up a lot. But for the right reasons.”
Maidment claimed that Haley is “anti free speech” and “totally sideways” on AFP’s restrained foreign policy stances, declaring, “My children deserve better than to be drafted into some war overseas.”
He also said that he would go as far as to vote for Joe Biden over Haley “10 times out of 10 because he’s less of a threat to our country.”
On the day he was allegedly fired, he told NBC News that he wasn’t the only person in AFP to oppose supporting Haley, claiming that a number of members notified leaders in the organization that there would be “a lot of attrition” within the organization if they went through with the decision.
“There are dozens who feel the way I do. That was the main motivation for my thread. They, for obvious reasons, don’t want to speak out but I’ve spoken with many who agree with my perspective on this,” Maidment told the news network.
A spokesperson from AFP responded, saying, “It’s entirely expected to see some individuals move to different campaigns or pursue other opportunities. But AFP Action has also heard from a number of people excited about our endorsement and interested in ways they can join our team and help the effort.”
Earlier this week, NBC News questioned AFP on how they would reckon with Haley’s aggressive foreign policy stance. Emily Seidel, the organization’s CEO, explained that the Koch network was “never going to agree with any candidate on every issue.” She also vocally backed the former South Carolina governor, stating, “On foreign policy, I think it’s fair to say we share the same goals. We want to keep Americans safe, we want to keep our troops out of harm’s way unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
NBC also reported that some within the group are worried that if Trump wins in 2024, their power as a political advocacy group would plummet among conservatives.
