GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley says she will only take part in debates going forward if they feature Donald Trump or Joe Biden.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign. Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them,” she said in a statement Tuesday. “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.”
The former South Carolina governor announced the move after coming in third in Iowa’s caucuses—trailing being Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 19 percent of the vote compared to his 21 percent. Trump, who has snubbed all the GOP debates so far and instead held his own rallies, clinched 51 percent of the vote.
ADVERTISEMENT
Haley’s announcement was met with derision by rival DeSantis, who wrote on X that she was “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,” he said. “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.”
