At the Republican White House nomination banquet, there is no cake for everyone. The host, Donald Trump, has already poured himself half and is ready to devour it; The other half is disputed by four guests: Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy and Asa Hutchinson. Chris Christie called yesterday afternoon to say he wasn't arriving. Ramaswamy and Hutchinson eat at the children's table. DeSantis and Haley, the only ones on time, threw plates at each other's heads before dinner. Trump, master of the mansion, seems to be eating separately.
After four primary debates between the alternative candidates to the former president, last night came the first face-to-face between the only two with options – although slim – of dethroning him. In a debate hosted by CNN, DeSantis and Haley had their last chance to shine before the Iowa caucuses, which will begin the primary cycle next Monday. The event featured, once again, Trump's voluntary absence, which he counter-programmed with an appearance at a town hall (a live meeting) on Fox News, in which he faced docile questions from the public.
"Donald Trump is running to fix his problems, Nikki Haley is running for his donors' problems, I'm running for your problems, your family's problems and to turn this country around," said Florida Governor DeSantis. in the intervention that opened the debate. And he went to war against his contender, who counterattacked by announcing the launch of a new website (desantislies.com) that compiles his "lies."
"DeSantis is worried about my donors because they have abandoned him as they see his campaign crumble," responded Haley, who was US ambassador to the UN during part of the Trump administration. "Every time I lie, don't turn it into a drinking game, because you'll be well served at the end of the night," she joked. Haley, launched in the polls, but still fifty points behind the former president, presented herself to the audience as the alternative to "chaos" and the bearer of "generational change" of the Republican Party.
The two hours of debate became an incessant exchange of attacks, all of them described as "lies" by the person affected. DeSantis accused Haley of having a weak anti-immigration speech and promised that if he is president, "we will build the wall and make Mexico pay for it." She said that during her time as governor "she sold South Carolina to China" for allowing the entry of companies from the Asian Giant. And she claimed that Haley "cares more about the Ukrainian border than our southern border."
The former governor, who defends sending additional aid to Ukraine, unpopular among Republican voters, defined the country as "pro-American and freedom-loving." When the moderators introduced America's other ally in the war, Israel, the debate turned into a competition to see who is most pro-Israel. Although they differed on one point: the policy of forced population displacement that Tel Aviv is implementing, which is supported by DeSantis, and which Haley opposes, as does the Biden administration. "You have the UN way of thinking," DeSantis replied.
In the field of cultural wars, in which the governor of Florida moves like a fish in water, DeSantis defended his policies in the southern state, such as the legal battle against Disney's self-government in Orlando for its "woke" culture, the banning of anti-racist books in schools or the persecution of LGTBI rights.
"The government should not bully our companies," Haley criticized, defending a more traditional position in the Republican Party. He then agreed with DeSantis in criticizing early gender transition: "Boys should go to the men's bathroom, and girls should go to the women's bathroom," he said, adding: "minors should not be able to change their gender, when in the US they are not old enough to get tattoos.
The debate has been preceded by the early withdrawal from the electoral race of the former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, the only candidate openly opposed to Trump's postulates. His fall is representative of the critical situation experienced by the most traditional sectors of the Republican Party. Christie, who the polls gave him a poor 3.6%, has not even had the opportunity to confront Trump, his main target, given the former president's absence in all the debates held.
Predictably, Haley, somewhat more moderate than DeSantis, will benefit from Christie's withdrawal, especially in New Hampshire, the next state to hold primaries (on January 23) and one of the few where Trump does not exceed 50% of the intention to vote. vote. But no one trusts his options, including Christie: shortly before his announcement, he was caught with the microphone open saying that Haley "is going to be overwhelmed" by the former president and that "she is not up to the task" of the situation.
Haley's popularity has been rising with the passing of the primary debates: before the first one, on August 23 of last year, she had 3% voting intention; This Wednesday, she appeared in the fifth debate with 11.5%, according to the FiveThirtyEight model.
DeSantis wasted last night his great opportunity to distance himself from Trump, perhaps the last, after a year that began as his undisputed alternative and that has ended in third position in the polls, losing the support of important donors and the moment of media attention. Aware of the importance of Iowa in the electoral cycle that begins, he has toured its 99 counties and has earned the support of the governor, Republican Kim Reynolds.
Following his strategy, Trump has once again been absent from the debate and has counter-scheduled it. His town hall on Fox News was more friendly and brief, about half an hour, in which he left some headlines. In a question about the US remaining in NATO, he said that "it depends on whether they treat us properly," since member countries "took advantage of our trade and our military protection."
Responding to another question from the audience, he took credit for ending federal abortion protections: "I'm proud to have achieved it," he said, even though it was the Supreme Court, with a conservative majority, that unprotected the right at the national level. federal. And shortly before leaving the set, he left one last announcement: "I know who is going to be my vice president, but I can't tell you yet."
In the US capital, it is rumored that the chosen one could be Haley herself, who was already part of her cabinet in 2017. But first she must defeat her at the polls. If the former ambassador to the UN takes second place in Iowa and wins in New Hampshire, an early withdrawal of DeSantis from the electoral race can be expected. Then the Nevada caucuses will arrive, where an overwhelming victory for Trump is predicted, and her litmus test will be in South Carolina, the state of which she was governor, where she currently has low popularity ratings. If she loses that battle, before the key date of Super Tuesday (March 5), she will clear the way for Trump, who will eat the entire cake at the Republican banquet.
