Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley traded attacks during most of the 2-hour debate; Primaries start on Monday (15th January)
The Republican Party's pre-candidates for the White House Ron DeSantis (governor of Florida) and Nikki Haley (former governor of South Carolina) spared former president Donald Trump in the debate held on Wednesday (10.Jan.2024) in Iowa, the last one before the primaries. The posture contrasts with previous debatesin which the former president, even absent, dominated the participants' speeches.
DeSantis and Haley were the only ones to participate in the event promoted by CNN. According to the broadcaster's rules, it was necessary to obtain more than 10% of voting intentions in polls in the State to be invited. Trump could be present, but chose not to participate in any debate prior to the primaries. The information is from the newspaper The New York Times.
Haley and DeSantis traded attacks for most of the 2-hour debate. The former governor classified her opponent as a candidate “desperate” and said he was lying to voters because he was behind in the race. DeSantis said that Haley is a liberal in conservative clothes, who could not be trusted when talking about fundamental right-wing values.
In the final stretch of the debate, the moderator mentioned Trump's name and asked Haley and DeSantis to comment on the legal problems faced by the former president, especially those related to the invasion of the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Haley said that was a horrible day. According to her, the argument used by Trump’s defense so that he is not punished electorally for the episode is “ridiculous”.
Some States banned the former president's name from appearing on electoral ballots of the primary elections because of his role in the 6th of January, considered by state courts to be an act of insurrection that would violate the US Constitution. For Trump's defense, presidents should have immunity from crimes unless they suffer impeachment.
Haley described Trump's tenure as 4 years of “chaos” and promised to be “a new generation leader who will bring sanity back” to the country.
DeSantis classified Trump as someone who “vomited” speeches on social media, but he was being unfairly prosecuted for his involvement in January 6th. He highlighted that, even so, Trump could be convicted in the middle of the election campaign, which would harm the Republicans' chances of winning this year's presidential elections.
The US party primaries begin on Monday (Jan 15), in Iowa. read here the main dates of the North American presidential election.
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