US Republicans Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis launched harsh mutual attacks shortly before the start of the presidential primaries to overtake the party’s internal leader, Donald Trump. During a televised debate between the Republican presidential candidates on Wednesday evening (local time) in the state of Iowa, Haley and DeSantis stood on stage for the first time and fought a duel. The former US ambassador to the United Nations and the governor of Florida used almost every response to verbally attack the other. Trump, both of whom delivered rather tame attacks, once again stayed away from the group and instead did his usual show in a solo town hall for another TV station.
The first Republican primaries will take place in Iowa next week. Anyone who wants to become the party’s presidential candidate must first win the internal votes in the individual states. The actual presidential elections are in early November. In polls, Trump is far ahead of the dwindling number of Republican candidates, despite all the scandals and legal troubles, and is generally nearly 50 percentage points ahead of Haley and DeSantis. In the first two primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire, the gap is smaller and things are looking better, especially for Haley. She and DeSantis are currently mainly competing for second place.
Attack and counterattack
During their matchup on the televised stage in Iowa, Haley and DeSantis were engaged in constant attacks and counterattacks. The governor of Florida accused his fellow party of being opportunistic, of having repeatedly changed his position in the past and, above all, of accommodating the wishes of wealthy donors. The 45-year-old joked three times that the country did not need “pale pastels”, but rather a clear direction. Haley is the only woman among the Republican presidential candidates and wore a pastel-colored dress during the debate.
The former governor of the state of South Carolina, in turn, consistently called DeSantis a liar and repeatedly referred to a website about her election campaign that reported his untruths. Haley teased that DeSantis was just jealous that donors had turned away from him and were now supporting her. “You’re so desperate,” she said.
Tame criticism of Trump
Both tried to score points again with tough messages, for example towards Iran or China. Compared to Trump, however, DeSantis and Haley dared to stand out a little more than in previous debates. “I appreciate what President Trump has done,” DeSantis said. However, his fellow party member did not deliver what he promised in many places. Politicians should be “servants of the people” and not “rulers of the people,” he teased. And with Trump as a candidate, everything would revolve around the past elections, legal problems and lawsuits.
Haley was also more reserved toward Trump. “I think he was the right president at the right time. “I agree with many of his policies,” she said. But his kind is not hers. She doesn’t care about revenge or drama. And Trump is not the right president for the future. With him there would be “four more years of chaos”. However, the 51-year-old at least emphasized that Trump lost the most recent presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. Continuing to say the opposite is wrong, she criticized.
Trump has never admitted his election defeat, but continues to spread lies that victory was stolen from him through fraud. At the time, he tried with all his might to overturn the election results, which culminated in the unprecedented attack by his supporters on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The ex-president will have to deal with four criminal cases in parallel with the election campaign in the coming months due to his role after the elections and various other allegations.
The parallel Trump show
During his solo appearance on the Fox News television channel, which aired in parallel with the debate, Trump criticized DeSantis on Wednesday and said he was practically out of the race. The 77-year-old once again alluded to helping DeSantis early in his career. “He would be working in a pizzeria or maybe a law firm if I hadn’t supported him.”
An important topic of the show was migration. “We will conduct the largest deportation operation in the history of our country,” Trump announced, referring to undocumented immigrants in the country. “We’re bringing everyone back to where they came from.” Regarding his comment a few weeks ago that he would be a dictator on his first day in office, Trump said Democrats are portraying him as a dictator. “I will not be a dictator,” he assured, referring to a possible second term.
In rare agreement, Haley and DeSantis criticized Trump for refusing to participate in the debate as he had done in previous rounds. Just hours earlier, New Jersey’s former Republican governor, Chris Christie, had withdrawn from the primary – given poor polling. In recent weeks, the 61-year-old has stood out as the only Republican presidential candidate to sharply criticize Trump. On Wednesday, he again accused his colleagues of being too cowardly to crack down on Trump – for fear of scaring his supporters. (sda/dpa)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
