Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is attempting to bully former president Donald Trump into participating in the upcoming CNN debate shortly after it was revealed that Trump will instead participate in a town hall hosted by two Fox News moderators.
In December, CNN announced it would host two Republican primary debates in January — one ahead of the Iowa caucus and one ahead of the New Hampshire primary. GOP candidates are free to participate, given that the Republican National Committee (RNC) released them from their pledge to avoid participating in any non-RNC-sanctioned debates.
The first debate is taking place January 10 at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, at 9:00 p.m. According to reports, just three candidates qualify: Trump, Haley, and Gov. Ron DeSantis. But Trump has made it abundantly clear he would not participate in any debates, largely viewing it as a waste of time, given his dominance in poll after poll.
Former President Donald Trump greets the crowd at a campaign rally Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, in Claremont, N.H. (Reba Saldanha/AP)
But that does not matter to Haley, who trails Trump by an average of 35.2 percent in Iowa.
“With only three candidates qualifying for the CNN debate, it’s time for Donald Trump to show up,” she wrote on X, accusing Trump of hiding.
“As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide,” she added:
However, it is abundantly clear that Trump is not hiding, given his constant efforts to offer counterprogramming during past debates — from his debut with Tucker Carlson to meeting with autoworkers. This round is no different. On Tuesday, Fox News announced it will host a town hall with Trump, moderated by Special Report’s Bret Baier and The Story’s Martha MacCallum.
That town hall will take place on the same day and at the same time as CNN’s January 10 debate. Fox News’s press release added that the town hall “marks the first time the former president will sit with Baier and MacCallum jointly since May 2020.”
In other words, it appears the CNN debate, at this point, will be a one-on-one debate between DeSantis, whom Trump has nicknamed Ron “DeSanctimonious,” and Haley, whom Trump has nicknamed “Birdbrain,” as both fight for second place in the Hawkeye State.
Republican presidential candidates former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are introduced during the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on November 8, 2023 in Miami, Florida. Five presidential hopefuls squared off in the third Republican primary debate. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Trump is not the only candidate offering counterprogramming. Vivek Ramaswamy will join podcaster Tim Pool for a live audience show in Des Moines, Iowa.