After former President Donald Trump dominated the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said in a statement Tuesday that she will only debate Trump or President Joe Biden.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” the former U.N. ambassador said in the statement. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. 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’s statement came after a disappointing defeat in Iowa’s caucuses where she came in third with about 19% of the vote — behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 21% and Trump with 51%.
Shortly after Haley’s statement, DeSantis posted to X that Haley “is afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions.”
“The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump’s VP,” DeSantis wrote.
Republican presidential candidate former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks at a caucus night party at the Marriott Hotel in West Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 15, 2024.
Carolyn Kaster/AP
Trump has not participated in any of the GOP debates so far, indicating he saw no point given his large polling lead.
“President Trump’s statement was that he would not attend the debates,” adviser Chris LaCivita said after the second GOP debate. “Plural … And that’s his position until it’s not.”
Instead, Trump has favored counter-programming events such as rallies or televised interviews.
Haley has turned her focus to New Hampshire, where primaries are set for Jan. 23.
The South Carolina Republican has seen a consistent bump in polling since September, including recent Iowa polls that showed her narrowly ahead of DeSantis.
The narrow divide in Monday’s caucus results between her and DeSantis means that no candidate can claim the clear mantle of Trump alternative.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
