Haley says she will only join debates with Trump or Biden moving forward

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says she will only participate in a debate that includes former President Trump or President Biden going forward, putting plans for two debates in New Hampshire ahead of its primary next week in doubt. 

Haley said in a statement Tuesday that Trump, who cruised to victory in Monday’s Iowa caucuses, needs to stop “hiding” after he has skipped all five of the GOP primary debates so far. 

“We’ve had five great debates in this campaign,” she said. “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.”

Two debates had been scheduled in the upcoming days for the remaining top candidates to discuss the issues before voters in the Granite State, which will hold the first-in-the-nation primary next Tuesday. The first was to be held by ABC News on Thursday, and the second was scheduled for Sunday with CNN. 

Trump, Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis were likely to all be invited to participate in both based on meeting the requirements for participation, but Trump was almost certain to skip the events. 

DeSantis had already accepted his invitations to participate in the debates. He denounced Haley’s decision in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying she does not want to debate because she is afraid to answer “tough questions.” 

He said Haley is not trying to win the GOP nomination but is aiming to be selected as Trump’s running mate, and he pledged he would still attend the events. 

“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,” DeSantis said. 

Haley’s announcement comes after Iowans cast the first votes of the 2024 GOP nominating process with their caucuses on Monday. Trump easily won the contest with more than 50 percent of the vote.

DeSantis narrowly beat Haley for second place with 21 percent to her 19 percent. 

The announcement also comes as viewership for the Trump-less Republican debates has increasingly declined with each event. 

Polls have shown Haley rising in New Hampshire to more than 30 percent support in the polling average from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ. Trump still leads in the average with 42 percent, while DeSantis has fallen into the single digits in the state.