Republican presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley participate in the CNN Republican Presidential Primary Debate, in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The most tumultuous day in the struggle for the Republican presidential nomination brought a new, sharp contrast between the two principal remaining challengers to former president Donald Trump – and with five days remaining before the first test of the 2024 campaign, the drama mounted, the stakes grew and the mysteries deepened.
After the departure from the race of former governor Chris Christie, the incendiary comments he shared in his angry withdrawal, and the separate appearance of Mr. Trump on a Fox News broadcast, the questions that Iowans face has they prepare for Monday’s caucuses seem all the more vital. Here are some of them:
Did former governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina and Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida satisfy Mr. Christie’s demands that they explicitly say that Mr. Trump was unfit for office?
No. Not even close. The two candidates – either afraid of Mr. Trump, afraid of alienating those who support him or, in the case of Ms. Haley, afraid of jeopardizing her chance to be Mr. Trump’s running mate – remained tepid in their remarks about the 45th president. Far from taking the challenge Mr. Christie set out hours earlier, they took refuge in saying that Mr. Trump hadn’t fulfilled all of his 2016 presidential campaign promises, but saying little more.
Ms. Haley described Mr. Trump’s broad view of presidential legal immunity as “ridiculous.” Otherwise, the closest she came to deploring Mr. Trump’s actions and character was saying that “the next president needs to have moral clarity” and arguing that “January 6 was a terrible day and Donald Trump will have to answer to it.” Mr. DeSantis did no better, speaking of Mr. Trump’s “word vomit on social media” and accompanying his critique of unsatisfied Trump promises by saying that “I appreciated what President Trump did.”
How did the withdrawal of Mr. Christie affect the debate?
Missing in two hours of debate: Mr. Christie’s strong criticism of Mr. Trump and his argument that the various issues that the candidates have been debating pale in importance in comparison to questions about Mr. Trump’s character.
For all their bluster, did the two candidates actually draw important differences between them?
Mr. Christie’s absence, along with that of entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who did not satisfy the eligibility qualifications to join the podium, allowed the two to attempt to draw contrasts. Their thrusts and parries may have been designed to show how their views and outlooks diverge, but they principally served to show their similarities: they oppose high taxes, illegal immigration, China, crime and, generally, abortion.
At one point Mr. DeSantis actually used one of the standard elements of Ms. Haley’s stump speeches – a comparison between illegal immigration under Mr. Trump and Barack Obama. Strip away the invective and charges that the other one was dishonest, and standing there at Drake University in Des Moines were two political figures – one struggling to show he is a conservative, one striving to show that she’s more moderate and practical – who have more similarities than differences.
Did the ascendancy of Ms. Haley in the polls result in making her a special target and, as a result, put her on the defensive?
The latest CNN/University of New Hampshire Poll showed Mr. Trump with support in the Granite State at 39 per cent and with Ms. Haley right on his heels, with 32 per cent. Poll findings such as that would have prompted a large podium of candidates to gang up on her. With only Mr. DeSantis standing there, Wednesday’s debate became a one-on-one attack fest.
Ms. Haley defended her record but was on the offensive. At the opening, she said that Mr. DeSantis’s campaign “is exploding.” Repeatedly she uttered variations on “Ron’s lying because Ron’s losing” and urged viewers to consult www.DeSantislies.com. And, referring to the chaos in the DeSantis effort, she five times spoke of how the campaign had “blown through $150-million” and said, “If you can’t manage a campaign, you can’t manage a country.”
Was Mr. DeSantis on the offensive?
Yes, with brio. He repeatedly argued that his rival was running “for her funders,” a charge that she was in the pocket of establishment-oriented financial supporters. He called her a “mealy-mouthed politician who just tells you what you want to hear [and] do her donors’ bidding.” By arguing that “Nikki Haley is not somebody who has been willing to stand in and fight on behalf of conservatives,” he was making a direct appeal to conservatives who have contempt for moderates.
Did viewers suddenly miss Mr. Ramaswamy?
The conservative pharmaceutical entrepreneur was both incendiary and irritating in earlier debates, provoking his panel colleagues to lash out at him. But Mr. Ramaswamy provided a useful foil for the others – and his searing attacks on Ms. Haley provided her with a breakthrough riposte and gave an opening to Mr. Christie to label him “the most obnoxious blowhard in America.”
That dynamic, and the opportunity for a candidate to portray himself as Not Vivek, was clearly missing in this session. With some of his staffers fleeing his campaign, there are signs that his effort may be in a death spiral. Though invisible in the Iowa debate, he remains worth watching, with a vigorous campaign schedule and as a potential (and not ineffective) endorser of Mr. Trump, perhaps even as his running mate.