Haley and DeSantis come out swinging in GOP debate
With the 2024 Iowa caucuses looming, Republican Party candidates for president squared off on the debate stage at Drake University in Des Moines
Host network CNN announced that only three of the candidates made the cut — former president Donald Trump, Florida governor Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador and South Carolina governor Nikki Haley.
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie failed to pass the threshold to appear on the debate stage this time round, marking the first time they won’t be taking part.
With just hours to go before the debate, Mr Christie suspended his presidential bid and was heard on a hot mic calling DeSantis ‘petrified’ and predicting Haley will get ‘smoked’.
With no Mr Trump (he had a town hall over on Fox News), Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis went head-to-head with CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash acting as moderators.
In one testy moment, Ms Haley branded the Florida governor as “just so desperate”. Throughout the night, she repeatedly plugged her new desantislies.com website.
Both candidates did attack Mr Trump at times and agreed he should be there on the stage.
What do you admire about each other?
After a testy two hours, the candidates are asked what they admire about each other.
When asked what he admires about Haley, DeSantis gives a long answer about South Carolina, her time as governor there, and the people there.
When asked what she admires about DeSantis, Haley replies: “I think he has been a good governor.”
And, that’s all she wrote…
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 04:03
Watch: ‘These fellas don’t know how to talk about abortion’
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:58
DeSantis attacks Trump over BLM riot response
In a section on crime, DeSantis attacks Donald Trump over his response to the worst riots in modern US history following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
“He sat in the White House and tweeted ‘law and order,’ but he did nothing to ensure law and order,” DeSantis says of Trump. “As your president, I’ll never let our cities burn.”
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:54
Haley brands DeSantis as ‘desperate’
Nikki Haley branded 2024 Republican rival Ron DeSantis “desperate” as the pair clashed in a fiery debate days before the Iowa caucuses.
The pair argued as they discussed potential cuts to social security, with the Florida governor accusing Ms Haley of being in favour of sending American tax dollars over “to pay the pensions of Ukrainian bureaucrats.”
“That is not true. That is such a lie, Ron,” she said as Mr DeSantis told her she was in favour of continuing to send money over to the at-war country.
“You’re so desperate. You’re just so desperate,” she told him as she shook her head in apparent disgust.
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:47
DeSantis and Haley are asked about January 6 and how they would uphold the Constitution.
Haley first notes: “That election — Trump lost it. Biden won that election.”
She later adds: “The fact that he wanted to overturn the elections in DC, those votes happen at the state level, you don’t ever allow in DC for those votes to be changed at the federal level. States’ rights matter.”
“You can’t just terminate the Constitution,” DeSantis says, adding that Trump does “word vomit” on social media from time to time.
Moving on to the powers of the president, DeSantis criticises the argument made by Trump’s attorney in court this week — that he could hypothetically order Seal Team Six to assassinate an opponent and only be charged after being impeached and convicted — and predicts he’ll lose that appeal and end up on trial in DC.
Haley agrees that you can’t do what you want as president and get away with it.
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:30
In a brief moment of agreement, both candidates say that Donald Trump should be on the stage with them answering questions about these issues.
Tapper reminds the audience that he qualified to appear but declined to do so.
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:26
‘You’re just so desperate’
DeSantis and Haley have a tense back and forth over social security: “I don’t see how you can raise the retirement age when our life expectancy is collapsing in this country. That’s a huge problem in and of itself.”
In the subsequent exchange, Haley fires off a dismissive attack of the type previously deployed against Vivek Ramaswamy: “You’re so desperate,” Haley says. “You’re just so desperate.”
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:22
‘I think I hit a nerve’
Haley again hits DeSantis for spending more on private planes than commercials.
“It is not your money, it is other people’s money and you have to know how to handle it,” she says.
She adds that that if he can’t handle campaign finances how can he handle the US economy?
DeSantis tries shouting over her and when silenced by Bash, Haley says: “I think I hit a nerve.”
It’s an attack that does appear to rattle DeSantis.
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:09
Haley’s attacks almost all include a reference to DeSantisLies.com — her website refuting his claims about her record in government.
Oliver O’Connell11 January 2024 03:07
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
