Former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley is bowing out of the next Republican presidential debate, arguing that she will not join the discussions unless Donald Trump is present.
The former South Carolina governor's announcement on Tuesday meant that only Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be attending the next event, scheduled for Thursday. Haley noted that there have been five great debates in the campaign and said that Trump "ducked all of them."
She said there was nowhere left for the former president to hide, adding that she was looking forward to attending a debate with either Trump or Joe Biden. Haley's remarks were released following the Iowa caucuses, where the former president dominated the votes over Haley and DeSantis.
The latter two were locked in a heated competition for second place in the Iowa caucuses as Haley tried to make her electoral argument more about her rivals. As per the Associated Press, she repeatedly stated that her candidacy marks a turnabout from the "chaos" that follows the current GOP front-runner.
Furthermore, the former South Carolina governor's latest move could also result from the last GOP debate that only featured Haley and DeSantis. There, the former UN ambassador did not perform as well as expected, and the Florida Republican ultimately ended up beating her for second place in Iowa.
Haley had previously argued to caucusgoers that choosing her provides Republicans a better chance of defeating Biden in the November general elections. She pointed to a survey that showed her with the largest lead among the GOP field in a theoretical general election matchup against Democrats.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, DeSantis said that Haley "is afraid to debate" simply because she does not want to answer what he called the "tough questions." The Florida governor accused her of trying to run as Trump's VP, adding that he was looking forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.
Urging Donald Trump To Join
A spokesperson for ABC News, which is responsible for hosting the next scheduled Republican presidential debate, announced the cancellation of the event. According to ABC News, the reason cited for the decision was the lack of candidate participation.
A statement noted they intended to hold a debate following the Iowa caucuses. However, the media outlet said that it always knew that the event would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race in the state.
Under previously announced criteria, four Republicans qualified for the latest debate, with DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie being the two who confirmed their participation. However, the latter announced last week that he was dropping out of the presidential race altogether.
On the other hand, DeSantis said he does not plan to snub New Hampshire voters, which is similar to what both Haley and Trump have done. Politico noted that the Florida governor would honor his commitments to the state's people.
