Republican presidential rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley are set to square off in a face-to-face debate showdown next week in Iowa, and they’re trying to goad former President Donald Trump to join them.
But the prospect of that happening took a serious hit Tuesday when Fox News announced Mr. Trump will headline a town hall event, set to air at the same time as the debate in Des Moines, Iowa.
Mr. DeSantis, the Florida governor, and Ms. Haley, a former U.N. ambassador, have been pining for the opportunity to share the stage with Mr. Trump, but the chance has escaped them — frustrating the candidates, their campaigns and their supporters. Mr. Trump, the front-runner by far in polls, has refused to take part in the previous debates.
“With only three candidates qualifying, it’s time for Donald Trump to show up,” Ms. Haley said in a statement. “As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide.”
The DeSantis campaign said Mr. Trump “is scared to get on the stage because he’d have to finally explain why he didn’t build the wall, added nearly $8 trillion to the debt, and turned the country over to [Dr. Anthony] Fauci,” a reference to the former federal health official who is heavily criticized on the right for his influence over pandemic policies.
“If it would make the debate more inviting, we would gladly agree to make it a seated format where the former president would be more comfortable,” said DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo, in an apparent swipe at the age of the 77-year-old Mr. Trump.
CNN announced on Tuesday that Mr. Trump, Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley qualified for the Jan. 10 debate at Drake University.
The network announced the debate last month and said participants needed to receive at least 10% in three separate national and/or Iowa polls of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters.
Mr. DeSantis has a lot riding on a strong showing in the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, where he is polling a distant second behind Mr. Trump.
Ms. Haley, meanwhile, is nipping at Mr. DeSantis’ heels in Iowa and has seized the second-place momentum in New Hampshire ahead of the first-in-the-nation primary on Jan. 23.
Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech investor, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie failed to meet CNN’s requirements to receive a debate invite.
Mr. Ramaswamy accused CNN of cutting him out of the debate to boost Ms. Haley, and said he plans to appear instead at a live-streamed town hall hosted by podcaster Tim Pool.
“Ratings wasteland CNN has not only guaranteed themselves the most boring presidential ‘debate’ in modern history with two career politicians reciting consultant-vetted talking points, but the network has exposed itself to be actively engaging in egregious interference with the Iowa GOP caucus and disrespecting GOP voters,” the Ramaswamy campaign said in a statement.
Mr. Christie has basically written off Iowa and focused squarely on a strong showing in New Hampshire.
Mr. Ramaswamy is polling at nearly 6% in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls that shows he has been mired in the single digits for months.
The Ramaswamy campaign, however, said refusing to invite him would amount to “a desperate bid by CNN to limit the scope of debate in the Republican presidential primary and to prop up the least conservative and most corrupt candidate in the race (Nikki Haley).”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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