GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley has declared that she will only engage in future debates if either Donald Trump or Joe Biden are present. This stipulation led to ABC News pulling the plug on its planned New Hampshire debate.
What Happened: Haley, during a CNN interview, asserted that she would only partake in the following Republican debate if it included Trump. “I mean that who I'm running against, that’s who I want. At the end of the day, he's the frontrunner, he's the one that I'm seven points away from, he's the one that we're fighting,” Haley said.
“There is nobody else I need to debate I have had five strong debates and I've done plenty of them. He can't hide forever. At some point he's gotta get on the debate stage.”
“They don't need to be asking me. They need to be asking him if he's on that stage, I am there,” Haley said when questioned about notifying the host.
"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," Haley said in a separate statement.
In response to Haley’s declaration, ABC News, which intended to host a debate in collaboration with WMUR-TV on Thursday, announced its cancellation. “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,” a network spokesperson explained.
Why It Matters: Interestingly, Haley’s challenge to Trump comes after her third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses, with Trump leading the pack and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis coming in second. Despite Haley and Trump’s refusal to join, DeSantis has agreed to participate in the CNN debate scheduled for Sunday.
Meanwhile, DeSantis utilized X, previously known as Twitter, to criticize Haley, accusing her of eyeing the vice presidential role alongside Trump and avoiding challenging questions. "I won't snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments," DeSantis said.
"I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."
According to Real Clear Politics, at the national level, Trump held 61.4% support among GOP voters, While Haley trailed with 12% support and DeSantis with 10.7%.
Meanwhile, Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has suspended his 2024 campaign, lending his support to Donald Trump, according to an announcement on Monday. Ramaswamy announced his decision after an underwhelming campaign performance in Iowa’s leadoff caucuses, where he finished fourth.
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