ANKENY, Iowa — Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley revived some of the debate-stage criticisms she leveled against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as she campaigned in Iowa on Thursday, even as some of her supporters said they disliked her performance the evening was not her strongest before. .
With just days to go before the first GOP caucuses in Iowa, Haley spoke at an Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit meeting in Altoona before addressing a packed room of supporters in Ankeny. She was also scheduled to meet with voters in Cedar Rapids on Thursday evening.
In Ankeny, Haley, as she did several times during Wednesday night’s one-on-one debate, directed her supporters to a new website called DeSantisLies.com. Both Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, and DeSantis have repeatedly accused each other of lying and misrepresenting their records.
“There’s a lot of lies and a lot of stuff going on,” Haley told the crowd Thursday. “I ended up just putting it on a website because I think it’s just too big of a thing. … Let’s focus on what we’re going to do to stop this drama, and focus on what we need to do for the solutions.
Some attendees said they supported Haley but were unhappy with her latest debate performance, which they said contradicted the above-the-combat style she said she had maintained thus far.
“I think she did a good job, but I think she relied too much on DeSantisLies.com,” said Sam Wells of West Des Moines. “And she got caught up in the swear words that she has stayed away from, which has attracted her to a lot of people.”
Phyllis Johnson, also from West Des Moines, had the same opinion.
“I thought it was probably one of the poorest debates, and the reason I did that is I think she and DeSantis were going back and forth on each other too much,” Johnson said. “There was a little too much friction there. And I thought it really hurt them both.”
Johnson, a retiree who said Monday night’s caucuses would be her first, said she remained excited about the caucus for the former South Carolina governor.
“I think our country is really going in the wrong direction,” Johnson said. “So we have to do something. And I think Nikki would be a good answer to bring us back together.
Earlier in the day, DeSantis addressed the renewable fuels group just before Haley, arguing that his campaign experience had impressed upon him the need to protect the interests of the “hard-working, God-fearing, patriotic people” he had met.
Meanwhile, both Haley and DeSantis were overshadowed by former President Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. He dominated the political news cycle from 1,000 miles (1,609 kilometers) away, appearing for the conclusion of his civil fraud trial in New York and unleashing a six-minute tirade in court before being cut off by the judge.
It was much the same as the day before, when Trump held a Fox News town hall at the same time Haley and DeSantis debated on CNN. The Nielsen company said 4.3 million viewers watched Trump’s town hall, compared with just under 2.6 million for the live debate.
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Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP