Two Republican debates scheduled before the pivotal New Hampshire primary are now canceled. CNN announced its Sunday event was mothballed after a similar action by ABC over its Thursday debate.
The reason? Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley refused to take the stage unless she faced former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden. As neither will participate, she declined as well.
That left Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as the only qualified GOP candidate who accepted invitations from the two networks. The CNN debate was scheduled to be held just two days before the first U.S. primary.
Haley defended her decision to only show up if Trump or Biden were her opposition.
The former South Carolina governor released a statement acknowledging the five previous debate events. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I will do will either be with Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
3rd place Nikki haley refuses to debate DeSantis
CNN Cancels debatehttps://t.co/Vrre8R7HeS
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) January 17, 2024
Unfortunately for Haley, Trump is “hiding” far out in front of the ever-shrinking field of Republican hopefuls. She finished third in the Iowa caucus, far behind the 45th president and just off the pace set by the runner-up DeSantis.
Haley’s declaration was released the day after her disappointing showing in the Hawkeye State. She obviously wants to turn attention away from her battle with DeSantis and instead focus on her aspirations to overtake Trump.
She once claimed that “chaos” follows the 45th president at every turn, ignoring that it’s angry Democrats sparking the turmoil.
Haley also underperformed in her last Republican debate, which featured only she and DeSantis. After appearing to gain traction in previous showdowns, she faltered and staggered to a third-place Iowa finish.
She attempted to convince caucusgoers that she was the perfect alternative to Trump. The former U.N. Ambassador repeatedly cited polls showing her performing well in a theoretical matchup with President Joe Biden.
As for ABC News, the network said it was prepared for the possibility of a debate that would never take place. Spokesperson Van Scott explained it was the outlet’s intention to host the event, “but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race.”
