ABC News has announced the cancellation of the next Republican debate after Nikki Haley withdrew from the event unless former President Donald Trump agreed to participate.
Only three candidates were eligible to participate in ABC's debate: Trump, Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“We had five great debates this campaign,” Haley said in a statement while campaigning in New Hampshire. “Unfortunately, Donald Trump has eluded everyone. He has nowhere to hide anymore. My next debate will be with either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. I'm looking forward to it. ”
Haley made the statement after the Iowa caucuses, where Trump won by a wide margin over other candidates.
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Nikki Haley's name has been floated as former President Trump's running mate. (Getty Images)
DeSantis and Haley competed for second place in Iowa, but Haley tried to make the case for Trump over DeSantis.
The former South Carolina governor's move could also be a result of the previous debate with DeSantis, in which Haley did not perform as well as expected, the Associated Press reported. DeSantis pulled Iowa State from second place.
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Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. (Getty Images)
“While our intention was to host a debate from the Iowa caucuses, we always knew it would depend on the candidates and the outcome of the race,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement. said.
It remains to be seen whether Haley's decision to debate only if Trump participates will affect the CNN debate scheduled for Sunday.
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“Nikki Haley is afraid of controversy because she doesn't want to answer difficult questions like how she got rich from Boeing after giving taxpayers millions of dollars in benefits as governor of South Carolina. Because there isn’t,” DeSantis wrote to X. “She's not running for the nomination, she's running to be President Trump's running mate. I'm not trying to disrespect New Hampshire voters like Nikki Haley or Donald Trump. , I intend to keep my word. I look forward to debating on the two empty podiums in Granite State” this week. “
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Last week, Haley faced off against DeSantis in a two-hour debate. During the debate, Haley referred more than a dozen times to a website run by her campaign that turned disparaging, something some caucus participants said was offensive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
