United States: Nikki Haley announced on Tuesday that she will not participate in the next Republican presidential debate unless former President Donald Trump does, leaving Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the sole contender who has committed to Thursday’s event.
Trump’s Debate Dodging
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement released as she campaigned in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it.”
Trump Secures Victory in Iowa
Her statement came a day after Trump won the crucial Iowa caucuses by a substantial margin over Haley and DeSantis. With the two locked in a heated race for second place in Iowa, Haley attempted to make her electoral case about Trump rather than DeSantis, constantly repeating her mantra that her candidacy represents a departure from the “chaos” that surrounds the GOP front-runner.
Iowa Results Impact Haley’s Strategy
The shift could also be the result of the previous debate, which included only Haley and DeSantis, in which Haley did not perform as well as expected, and DeSantis eventually defeated her for second place in Iowa.
Haley had argued to caucusgoers that supporting her gave Republicans a greater chance of defeating Biden in November, citing survey data that showed her with the greatest edge among the GOP field in a hypothetical general election fight.
DeSantis Accuses Haley of Avoiding Tough Questions
On X, DeSantis said Haley “is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions.” He accused her of “running to be Trump’s VP” and said that he looked “forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.”
“Desperate Globalist”
Trump spokesman Steven Cheung on Tuesday called Haley a “desperate globalist who wants higher taxes, open borders, and China to dominate the United States,” He added, “That’s why the only people who are voting for her are Democrats who are trying to interfere in a Republican primary.”
Haley faced off against DeSantis in the most recent GOP debate last week in Iowa, resulting in a two-hour clash that left at least some of her fans feeling that the former South Carolina governor had lost part of her campaign’s above-the-fray attitude. She referred to a campaign-run website more than a dozen times, which numerous caucusgoers found redundant, and she engaged in an offensive session of “name calling.”
New Hampshire Primary Takes Center Stage
With the GOP campaign now pivoting to New Hampshire ahead of the state’s primary next week, Haley has expressed optimism that her commitment to the state, as well as polls showing her popularity there, will provide her campaign with the momentum it needs to cut into Trump’s lead. After her caucus night party, Haley flew overnight to New Hampshire, where she expected to meet with Gov. Chris Sununu later that day.
DeSantis, however, broke with tradition and flew directly to Haley’s home state of South Carolina, saying last week that the plan to make a brief appearance there before heading to New Hampshire was intended to send a message to Haley that he would compete fiercely against her in her home state’s primary next month.
Over the last week, reporters on the Iowa campaign trail had asked Haley when she would commit to attending Thursday’s debate, presented by ABC and WMUR-TV at Saint Anselm College.
Following his caucus victory, Trump flew to New York, where he was scheduled to appear in court for one of his numerous legal battles, before flying to New Hampshire for a rally later that day. A campaign representative did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment on whether Trump would participate in Thursday’s debate. He’s skipped all the primary ones so far.
A spokesperson for ABC News stated that the debate hosts had given Trump and Haley a deadline of 5 pm ET to commit to participating.
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager told the Associated Press on Tuesday that both Haley and Trump had been invited to join DeSantis onstage for the debate.
“We would love to see them all,” he said in a text message. “People in NH expect to see a local debate. Candidates who skip do so at their own risk.”