ABC News on Tuesday canceled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she wouldn’t participate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday’s event in New Hampshire.
Quick Read
- Cancellation of Republican Presidential Debate: ABC News canceled the upcoming Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire after Nikki Haley stated she would not participate without Donald Trump’s involvement.
- Haley’s Debate Stance: Nikki Haley declared she would only debate with Donald Trump or Joe Biden, following Trump’s avoidance of previous debates.
- Iowa Caucuses Influence: Haley’s decision came after the Iowa caucuses, where Trump secured a significant lead over her and Ron DeSantis.
- Electoral Strategy: Haley focused her electoral strategy more on contrasting herself with Trump rather than DeSantis, emphasizing a change from the “chaos” associated with Trump.
- Impact on Debate Performance: Haley’s performance in the last debate, which only featured her and DeSantis, might have influenced her decision, as she did not perform as expected.
- Haley’s Campaign Focus: She has campaigned on the premise that she is the best Republican candidate to defeat Biden, supported by survey data.
- ABC News’ Statement: ABC News acknowledged the debate’s cancellation was contingent on candidate participation and the Iowa caucuses’ outcome.
- Uncertainty Over CNN Debate: Haley’s decision raises doubts about her participation in another scheduled debate on CNN.
- DeSantis’ Criticism of Haley: Ron DeSantis accused Haley of avoiding debates to escape tough questions and suggested she was aiming to be Trump’s vice-presidential pick.
- Trump’s Campaign Reaction: Trump’s spokesperson criticized Haley, labeling her as a “desperate globalist” and suggested her voter support comes from Democrats.
- Haley’s New Hampshire Campaign: Despite the debate cancellation, Haley remains committed to campaigning in New Hampshire, where she sees potential support.
- DeSantis’ South Carolina Strategy: Breaking tradition, DeSantis visited South Carolina, Haley’s home state, to signal his intent to compete against her in the upcoming primary.
- Trump’s Continued Debate Absence: Donald Trump, after his Iowa victory, has continued to skip primary debates, focusing instead on his legal challenges and campaign rallies.
The Associated Press has the story:
Next GOP debate canceled after Haley says she’ll only participate if Trump does
Neweslooks- DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) —
ABC News on Tuesday canceled the next Republican presidential debate after Nikki Haley said she wouldn’t participate unless former President Donald Trump takes part in it, leaving Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only candidate committed to Thursday’s event in New Hampshire.
“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.”
Her statement was released a day after the all-important Iowa caucuses, in which Trump marked a wide margin of victory over both Haley and DeSantis. With the two locked in a heated competition for second place in Iowa, Haley tried to make her electoral argument more about Trump than DeSantis, repeatedly echoing her refrain that her candidacy marks a turnabout from the “chaos” that follows the GOP front-runner.
The move also could be a result of the last debate which featured only Haley and DeSantis, in which Haley didn’t perform as well as expected, and DeSantis ultimately ended up beating her for second place in Iowa.
Haley had argued to caucusgoers that picking her gives Republicans a better chance to defeat Biden in November, pointing to survey data showing her with the largest lead among the GOP field in a theoretical general election matchup.
“Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” ABC News spokesperson Van Scott said in a statement.
Haley’s decision also casts doubt on another New Hampshire debate scheduled for Sunday on CNN.
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.”
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 went head-to-head with DeSantis in the most recent GOP debate last week in Iowa, a two-hour brawl that left at least some of her supporters feeling that the former South Carolina governor had lost some of the above-the-fray attitude of her campaign thus far. More than a dozen times she referenced a campaign-run website that several caucusgoers said had seemed repetitive and caught Haley in a bout of “name calling” that was off-putting.
With the GOP campaign now shifting to New Hampshire, ahead of that state’s primary next week, Haley has projected confidence that her commitment to the state and surveys showing her with support there will provide her campaign with the momentum needed to cut into Trump’s strength. After her caucus night party, Haley boarded an overnight flight to New Hampshire, where she planned an event with Gov. Chris Sununu later in the day.
But DeSantis, breaking with tradition, instead flew directly to Haley’s home state of South Carolina, saying last week the plan to make a brief appearance there before going to New Hampshire himself was intended to send a message to Haley that he would compete fiercely against her in her home state’s primary next month.
Along the campaign trail in Iowa over the past week, reporters had asked Haley when she would commit to participating in Thursday’s debate, hosted by ABC and WMUR-TV at Saint Anselm College.
After his caucus win, Trump flew to New York, where he was expected in court for one of his multiple legal challenges, before heading to New Hampshire for a rally later Tuesday. He’s skipped all of the primary debates thus far.
After visiting the court, Trump will fly to New Hampshire to hold a rally Tuesday evening.
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Chris Ager told AP on Tuesday that invitations had been extended to both Haley and Trump to join DeSantis on stage 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.”
