Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted presidential contender Nikki Haley on Friday for waiting eight days to accept an invitation to the Iowa debate, saying the former South Carolina governor had to be “embarrassed” to participate.
DeSantis, 45, was the first candidate to enter the CNN showdown on Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines.
The 10% voting eligibility requirement would likely limit participants to DeSantis, Haley and 77-year-old GOP front-runner Donald Trump — should he decide to enter.
Haley, 51, was non-committal about the CNN debate after it was officially announced on December 7, with her team refusing to say whether she was interested in attending.
Her camp also made no comment after the Republican National Committee lifted all debate restrictions on the candidate the next day, officially allowing Haley to participate in any forum she wanted.
On Thursday, Haley’s spokeswoman Olivia Perez-Cubas told The Post that the former ambassador to the United Nations had some “options” for the Iowa caucus to participate, but they were “not ready to share those details.”
CNN’s Jan. 10 debate was the only publicly announced Iowa forum at the time.
Nikki Haley has participated in every RNC debate, running against other GOP candidates in Wisconsin, California, Florida and Alabama. Reuters
Haley later announced Friday that she would participate in the CNN debate and called on Trump, who has skipped every RNC-sponsored debate so far, to also attend.
“The first four debates have been great for our campaign and for voters, and we look forward to the fifth in Iowa,” he said in a statement. “As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder and harder for Donald Trump to hide.”
DeSantis responded by tweeting that Haley was “embarrassed” to attend.
“If Donald Trump and Nikki Haley are going to continue to spend millions against me on television with fake attacks, they should at least have the courage to meet on the debate stage,” he said.
The Ron DeSantis campaign has put pressure on Nikki Haley to accept the CNN debate invitation. Reuters
“Now that Nikki Haley has been shamed into appearing on the CNN debate, it’s time for Donald Trump to follow suit and join us,” he added.
The former president has given no indication he will attend the Iowa debate.
After the Iowa caucuses on January 15, the debate turns to New Hampshire.
ABC and its Manchester, NH affiliate, WMUR-TV, hosted the debate on January 18, with CNN holding its own viewing on January 21.
The New Hampshire Republican Party will be held two days later, on January 23rd.
All future debates will be outside the purview of the RNC, which says the Dec. 6 debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., is the last it will sponsor this cycle.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
