Presidential candidate Nikki Haley said she might pardon former boss and current rival Donald Trump, while Ron DeSantis accused the president of being pro-abortion during town halls held in Iowa on Thursday.
Haley and DeSantis are both still considered major underdogs to Trump in the Republican primaries, but Haley has seen her campaign gain momentum in recent weeks, with one poll showing her within four points of Trump in New Hampshire.
Speaking to caucus voters in Iowa on Thursday, Haley made a conciliatory comment about Trump over his legal issues, suggesting she would pardon the ex-president.
“I don't think our country will move forward with an 80-year-old president in prison, leaving our country divided. We have to move past that.' she said to a voter.
Trump faces more than a half-dozen lawsuits related to election interference, the Jan. 6 riots and falsifying corporate records.
Nikki Haley spoke to Iowa caucus voters on Thursday and made a conciliatory comment about Trump over his legal issues, suggesting she would pardon the ex-president.
Although there are civil cases among them, Trump faces the possibility of prison time in some cases if convicted.
Haley, who served as Trump's ambassador to the United Nations, added that the pardon would be in vain compared to the one Gerald Ford granted to Richard Nixon in 1974.
“It's about what's in the best interest of the country,” she added.
Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tried to hit Trump from his right flank at his town hall, which followed Haley's.
DeSantis, who has largely seen his poll numbers fall at the expense of the former South Carolina governor, attacked Trump on abortion.
“Donald Trump has said that pro-life protections, even at the state level, are a 'terrible thing,' and he said that with regard to bills like the Heartbeat Act.”
He cited the need for a commander in chief who would defend conservative states' desire to make abortion illegal.
“This was a man who spoke at the March For Life in January 2020 and he said all life was a gift from God, he said the unborn was made in the image of God, he said there should be protection.”
DeSantis, who has largely seen his poll numbers fall at the expense of the former South Carolina governor, attacked Trump on abortion
DeSantis argued that Trump, who blamed 'The Abortion Issue' for Republican losses in 2022, was not pro-life
'He said that when he was president, now he says it's a terrible thing. How do you reconcile these two views?'
When CNN's Kaitlin Collins asked if Trump is pro-life, he replied, “Of course not.”
'Some issues are quite fundamental. How do you deal with the sanctity of life?'
Trump, for his part, has blamed “the abortion issue” for Republicans' worse-than-expected performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
“It was the “abortion issue,” poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those who firmly insisted on 'No Exceptions,' even in cases of rape, incest or the life of the mother, that lost large numbers of voters,” wrote he on Truth Social at the time.
Not only does former President Trump believe that going all-in on abortion lost voters, but that those who would have seen Roe v Wade overturned subsequently disappeared from the political process altogether.
“The people who protested so loudly against abortion for decades got their wish from the U.S. Supreme Court and simply disappeared, never to be seen again,” he said.
DeSantis and Haley battled it out at CNN's town hall on Wednesday, both positioning themselves as the alternative to Trump while still embracing many of his policies.
Nikki Haley is rising in the polls. Now she's drawing fire from the campaigns of Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis as we reach the business end of the nominating contest
A New Hampshire poll released Thursday shows Haley strengthening her position as the candidate best positioned to defeat Donald Trump when the state's Republicans choose their favorite later this month.
According to pollsters from American Research Group, she trails Trump by just four points.
The gap is the same as in December, but these two candidates are further away from the pack and have picked up voters who said they were undecided last time.
The full results have Trump leading with 37 percent, with Haley at 33. Former New Jersey Governor Christie has fallen to 10 percent (from 13), with DeSantis in fourth place with five percent (from six), and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at four percent (down from five).
Haley has seen her strong debate performance and major endorsements turn into polling momentum in recent weeks as the candidates approach the business end of the race.
Iowa is the first state to choose its preferred candidate on January 15. Trump is far ahead in the polls there, but a strong performance from DeSantis or Haley could see them crowned the top challenger.
New Hampshire will hold its primaries on January 23 and Haley has made it clear she is aiming for a win.
Her momentum has made her the number one target for both Trump and DeSantis, who have kept up a steady stream of attacks.
JL Partners surveyed 984 likely voters across the country from December 15 to 20. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, but show former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley performing best among Republican contenders against Joe Biden.
A moving average of polls in Iowa, tracked by statistics website FiveThirtyEight, puts DeSantis at 18.4 percent and Haley at 15.7 percent. Trump is far ahead with 50 percent of the votes.
Caucuses are notoriously difficult to predict, but the numbers suggest Haley's best bet could be in New Hampshire, where she is 19 points behind Trump, and well ahead of DeSantis.
Several strong debate performances and major endorsements have given her momentum as the race nears its business end.