DeSantis accuses Haley of being scared to debate; planned ABC News-WMUR New Hampshire GOP primary debate scrapped



Nikki Haley has indicated that she does not plan to do any more debates unless she gets to face former President Donald Trump or President Joe Biden.

"We've had five great debates in this campaign. 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 tweeted.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis accused her of being "afraid to debate."

"Nikki Haley is afraid to debate because she doesn't want to answer the tough questions such as how she got rich off Boeing after giving them millions in taxpayer handouts as governor of South Carolina. The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she’s running to be Trump's VP," DeSantis tweeted. "I won't snub New Hampshire voters like both Nikki Haley and Donald Trump, and plan to honor my commitments. I look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week."

An ABC News/WMUR-TV Republican presidential primary debate that had been scheduled to occur in New Hampshire later this week will not take place.

"Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race," an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement, according to ABC News. "As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire." WMUR described the comments as a joint statement released by ABC News and WMUR.

Haley and DeSantis faced off during a one-on-one CNN debate in Des Moines, Iowa, last week. Last year, DeSantis and Haley were among the candidates who competed in four Republican National Committee-affiliated GOP presidential primary debates. But Trump, who has not attended any of the debates, crushed the rest of the field during the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses on Monday.

While DeSantis has accepted CNN's invitation to participate in a January 21 GOP presidential primary debate in New Hampshire, he appears to be the only eligible candidate planning to participate in the event.

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Candidates clash as things get spicy during 4th Republican presidential primary debate



Four GOP presidential hopefuls took the stage in Alabama on Wednesday night to participate in the fourth Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle. The event was moderated by Megyn Kelly, Eliana Johnson, and Elizabeth Vargas.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and entrepreneur and author Vivek Ramaswamy took part in the debate while former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner, skipped the event, just as he skipped the prior three debates.

Christie slammed Ramaswamy, suggesting to him that this marked "the fourth debate that you would be voted, in the first 20 minutes, as the most obnoxious blowhard" in the U.S.

Ramaswamy told Christie to "do everybody a favor: just walk yourself off that stage, enjoy a nice meal, and get the hell outta this race."

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Kelly noted that Christie does not support banning transgender measures for children.

"The surgeries done on minors involve cutting off body parts," even as those kids cannot lawfully smoke cigarettes, Kelly noted. "Kids who go from puberty blockers to cross-sex hormones are at a much greater likelihood of winding up sterile."

She pressed him about how he could believe that parents should be permitted to green light such surgeries, "never mind the sterilization of a child," and asked whether his view makes him too out of step on the matter to serve as the GOP nominee.

Christie defended his position, arguing that parents should have the authority to make decisions for their children.

DeSantis pointed out that parents do not have a right to abuse their children.

"Nikki is corrupt," Ramaswamy said of Haley while holding up a notepad with the words "NIKKI" and "CORRUPT" written on it. "This is a woman who will send your kids to die so she can buy a bigger house."

Offered the chance to respond, Haley declined, saying that it was not worth her time to respond to Ramaswamy.

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'Donald Duck': Trump, who skipped 2nd GOP presidential primary debate, targeted by competitors



Seven Republican presidential hopefuls gathered at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California on Wednesday night to participate in the second GOP presidential primary debate of the 2024 election cycle.

Debate participants included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, author and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Candidates were required to meet polling and fundraising thresholds in order to be eligible to participate in the debate.

Former President Donald Trump, who remains the clear primary frontrunner, skipped the event on Wednesday night after previously skipping the first GOP presidential primary debate last month. Trump delivered a speech in Michigan on Wednesday night.

During the debate, DeSantis and Christie called out Trump for skipping the event and for the trillions of dollars of debt the U.S. piled on during his White House tenure.

"Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight," DeSantis declared. "He owes it to you to defend his record where they added $7.8 trillion to the debt. That set the stage for the inflation that we have."

Later during the event, Christie looked directly into a camera and addressed Trump, claiming that the former president skipped the debate because he is "afraid" of appearing at the event and defending his record. "You're ducking these things," he said, adding that if Trump continues to do so, people will call him "Donald Duck."

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Pence said that as president he would approach Congress about passing "a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting" so perpetrators "meet their fate in months, not years."

Haley blasted Ramaswamy, telling him, "every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say."

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Later during the debate Ramaswamy advocated for reducing "the federal employee headcount by 75%."

DeSantis said that he rejects the notion "that pro-lifers are to blame for midterm defeats."

At the end of the debate, Dana Perino, who was one of the debate moderators, said that if all the candidates on the stage remain in the race, Trump will clinch the GOP presidential nomination. She instructed the candidates to write down which of their competitors on the stage "should be voted off the island." The candidates declined to do so.

The next GOP presidential primary debate is slated to take place in Miami, Florida in November.

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People pounce after Newsom welcomes GOP to 'the freedom state' of California ahead of 2nd Republican presidential primary debate



Ahead of the second GOP presidential primary debate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, posted a tweet welcoming the Republican Party to "the freedom state."

"Welcome to the freedom state, @GOP," Newsom wrote, adding that Californians "believe in these crazy things," including "Free speech," "Gun safety," "Healthcare," "Social Security," "Climate change," and "democracy."

"See you tonight," he added.

People pounced on the left-wing governor's post.

Dean Cain mocked Newsom's post by sharing a gif of someone laughing hysterically.

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"Weird, I don't remember there ever being a time people fled from democracy. You must have a different definition," Kevin Sorbo wrote.

"If California were a freedom state, people would not be fleeing. This is all very East German," Erick Erickson tweeted.

"If there's so much freedom in California, why have millions of us - who were born and raised there - left for actual freedom-minded states? Politicians like this guy RUINED my home state and have made it unlivable," Gabriella Hoffman wrote.

Seven candidates will be participating in the debate on Wednesday night, but former President Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner in the primary contest, will be conspicuously absent from the debate, just as he was during the first GOP presidential primary debate last month.

Fox News Media recently announced that Sean Hannity will moderate a debate between Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Georgia on November 30. DeSantis is one of the GOP presidential hopefuls vying for the Republican nomination.

Newsom survived a gubernatorial recall election in 2021 and then went on to win a decisive re-election victory in 2022.

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