NEW YORK POST
DES MOINES, Iowa — Debate drama has overtaken the race for the Republican nomination as the contenders move on to New Hampshire from Iowa.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley announced Tuesday she would only appear onstage with GOP front-runner Donald Trump or President Biden — not solely with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — as the Trump rivals lick their wounds following their blowout loss to the former president in the Hawkeye State.
“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” Haley said in a statement. “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.”
DeSantis quickly fired back, saying Haley was “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 added in his statement on X. “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.”
Trump, Haley and DeSantis are all eligible to take part in two Granite State debates ahead of the Jan. 23 first-in-the-nation primary.
The first debate, to be hosted by ABC News, is scheduled for Thursday, while CNN will hold a forum on Sunday. Both will take place at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.
Haley and DeSantis previously squared off Jan. 10 at Drake University in Des Moines.
