The Republican debate in New Hampshire, scheduled for Thursday evening, has been officially canceled after GOP hopeful Nikki Haley said she would only debate former President Donald Trump — or President Joe Biden.
A day after the Iowa caucuses, the presidential race has moved to New Hampshire, with the Granite State a do-or-die venture for Haley, who finished in third place in Iowa but is very much in some polls in New Hampshire a short distance from Trump.
During her speech to supporters Monday night at the West Des Moines Marriott, Haley declared she would make the primary a “two-person race.”
On Tuesday she started acting like this.
‘We have had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has scrutinized them all. He has nowhere to hide anymore. The next debate I do will be with Donald Trump or Joe Biden. I’m looking forward to it,” she wrote on X on Tuesday morning.
Thursday night’s scheduled debate in New Hampshire has been canceled after Republican presidential hopeful Nikki Haley (R) said Tuesday that she would only debate former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden — and would not participate in a rematch with the Florida governor , Ron DeSantis (left)
On Tuesday morning, Nikki Haley posted on The tweet indicated that she would not face Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on stage in New Hampshire again
A day after the Iowa caucuses, the presidential race has moved to New Hampshire, with the Granite State a do-or-die venture for Nikki Haley (pictured), who finished in third place in Iowa, but in some cases ahead very short distance from Trump state. Polls in New Hampshire.
The move infuriated her rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who finished a distant second to Trump in Iowa but was in the single digits in the polls in New Hampshire.
“Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer tough questions, like how she got rich from Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer money as governor of South Carolina,” DeSantis wrote on X on Tuesday.
“The reality is she is not running for the nomination, she is running to be Trump’s vice president,” the Florida governor claimed.
He said her refusal to debate amounted to a “censure” of New Hampshire voters — and called out Trump for doing the same.
Trump did not participate in a single Republican primary debate and defeated DeSantis in Iowa by about 30 points.
DeSantis had spent much of his campaign betting on strong performances against Trump in Iowa, while blocking Haley’s rise.
Neither goal was fully achieved.
“I look forward to debating two empty stages in the Granite State this week,” DeSantis said.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded an hour later, saying Haley was “scared” to debate. After a disappointing second-place finish in Iowa, DeSantis has vowed to keep going, though he leaves both Trump and Haley behind in New Hampshire
Former President Donald Trump delivers a victory speech Monday evening in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Trump easily won the Iowa caucuses over DeSantis and Haley, with DeSantis finishing a distant second. DeSantis had agreed to debate again, but Haley declined
The debate hosts, ABC News and WMUR-TV, announced later Tuesday that the Thursday debate was canceled.
“It was our intention to host a debate from the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew this would depend on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement.
Trump, Haley, Trump and DeSantis all qualified for the Granite State debate, as did former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who dropped out of Wednesday’s presidential debate.
“As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire,” the spokesperson said.
CNN also planned to host a Republican debate on Sunday, January 21, two days before the New Hampshire primary.