DES MOINES, Iowa (CN) — The top two contenders battling, if not to win, for at least second place in next Monday’s Iowa caucuses exchanged sharp digs at each other in Wednesday’s Republican debate and what may be their last chance to make a closing pitch to Iowa voters.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley delivered what sounded like well-rehearsed one-liners aimed at each other before delving into policy questions posed by CNN debate moderators Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.
For nearly two hours, the two candidates sparred on issues ranging from stopping illegal immigrants from entering the country and health care to abortion and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. The two candidates did not break any new ground but repeated their policy talking points.
The candidates came prepared to go on the attack.
Throughout the debate, Haley repeatedly referred to DeSantis as “lying Ron,” and directed the audience to her website, “DeSantisLies.com,” to fact check what she claims are errors he’s made about her record. DeSantis struck back, saying, “You can go to RonDeSantis.com, because Nikki Haley has this tactic: If you hold her accountable to her record, first she’ll say, ‘I never said that,’ One good rule of thumb, if she said she never said something, that definitely means she said it.”
"We don’t need another mealy-mouthed politician who tells you just what she thinks you want to hear, just to get your vote, and get into office, and then do her donor’s bidding," DeSantis said.
Haley countered: “There’s been a lot of Ron’s lies. There’s at least two dozen lies that he’s told about me. He’s only mad about the donors, because the donors used to be with him, and they are no longer with him now. He’s switched his policies multiple times.”
Former President Donald Trump, who is polling 30 points or more ahead of his nearest opponents, was not on the debate stage at Drake University in Des Moines Wednesday. Instead, he appeared in a town hall across town that aired on Fox News.
But Trump’s absence was felt throughout the debate, as both DeSantis and Haley criticized him for not showing up despite being invited by CNN.
Neither DeSantis nor Haley went much further than they have in the past in attacking the former president.
Asked by CNN’s Tapper to comment on former President Donald Trump’s character, Haley said “I think the next president needs to have moral clarity.” You need to have moral clarity to know that it’s taxpayers money, not your own money, You need to have moral clarity to understand that when you’re dealing with dictators in the world that we always have to fight for democracy, human rights, and protecting Americans and preventing war.”
“When you look at Donald Trump, I have said he was the right president at the right time," she continued. "I agree with a lot of his policies, but his way is not my way. I don’t have vengeance. I don’t have vendettas. I don’t take things personally. For me, it’s very much about no drama, no whining, and getting results.”
DeSantis said Trump did not follow through on many of his promises.
“I appreciated what President Trump did, but let’s be honest, he said he was gonna build the wall and ask Mexico to pay for it, and he did not deliver on that. He said he was going to drain the swamp. He did not deliver that. He said he was going to hold Hillary accountable, and he let her off the hook. He said he was going to eliminate the debt and he added $7.8 trillion to the debt. So we need to deliver and get things done," DeSantis said.
The Republican Iowa caucuses for both Haley and DeSantis have become a contest for second place, because former President Donald Trump has enjoyed a massive lead — with Trump at 51% and DeSantis and Haley dueling for second place with 19% and 16% respectively — according to a December Des Moines Register poll of Iowa Republicans likely to attend their caucus.
DeSantis has gotten some key Iowa endorsements, including popular Republican Governor Kim Reynolds, and Iowa evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats.
Haley has been saying her strategy has been to do well in Iowa Monday and in New Hampshire Jan. 23, and then move ahead of the pack in her home state of South Carolina. In that respect, she got some potentially good news Wednesday when former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced he is suspending his campaign.
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