Haley cancels all in-person Friday campaign events in Iowa due to blizzard warning
From CNN's Ebony Davis
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has canceled all in-person campaign events scheduled for Friday in Iowa due to a blizzard warning in the region.
Haley had three campaign events scheduled in Fort Dodge, Le Mars, and Council Bluffs, as she tries to sell her final pitch to voters ahead of the caucuses on January 15. The events will now be telephone town halls, according to a campaign media advisory. More details on the tele-town halls will be provided by the campaign.
“Stormy weather won’t stop us from ensuring Iowans hear Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America. With only three days until the caucuses, we’re going to keep telling voters why they should Pick Nikki,” Team Haley Iowa spokesperson Pat Garrett said in a statement.
Inclement weather is expected in the Hawkeye State through the caucus. During her campaign stops on Thursday, Haley encouraged voters to not let freezing temperatures deter them from caucusing.
“I know it’s going to be -15 [degrees] on Monday. I don’t even know what that is. I literally can’t comprehend it. It’s going to be -15, but I’m going to be out there, and I want you to go out there,” Haley said to a crowd in Cedar Rapids.
1 min ago
Trump and DeSantis slam Haley over Social Security as they duck their own records on the issue
It’s the latest example of how the GOP’s seesawing approach to the program’s looming solvency crisis is surfacing in this primary – with the former president, who previously used the issue to attack Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, now trying to blunt Haley’s momentum in the final days before voting begins.
Trump’s campaign released a new ad on Thursday targeting his rival Republican over her plans to reform government retirement benefits. Haley’s team shot back that the former president’s record undermines his claims that he is a champion of the popular entitlement program.
And the back-and-forth over Social Security isn’t reserved to the two leading candidates in New Hampshire. One of the most heated exchanges of Wednesday night’s CNN debate between DeSantis and Haley in Iowa, where Trump has dominated polling, occurred when the discussion veered to Social Security.
Social Security has long been a thorny issue for presidential candidates, especially in general elections, when the two nominees are in a heated race to win over reliable senior voters. But for Republicans, Trump’s arrival altered the dynamics of how the GOP talks about the program.
For decades, conservative budget hawks have attempted to tinker with it to keep it solvent. That changed in 2016, when Trump vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare, forcing Republicans to retreat from a bedrock position.
Conservatives have often expressed wariness of the program since it began in the 1930s. But as Americans have embraced Social Security – 79% opposed reducing the size of benefits in an AP-NORC poll conducted in March – opponents have changed tactics from trying to eliminate the benefit to cutting it or making drastic changes. An effort by then-President George W. Bush to privatize the program during his second term was met with strong resistance and ultimately failed.
Today more than 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, many of whom depend on it for basic living costs. In October, the Social Security Administration announced that recipients would receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 3.2% in the next year – smaller than recent adjustments.
As of now, the main fund for Social Security is projected to be depleted by 2033, according to a Social Security Administration report. Once that happens, the fund’s reserves will only be able to cover about 75% of the “scheduled benefits,” the report warned.
Countdown to the Iowa caucuses: GOP presidential candidates are racing to give their final pitch to Iowa voters with just days until the state's pivotal caucuses. Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are battling to emerge as a top alternative to former President Donald Trump, who continues to dominate the GOP primary.
Weather impacts: Somein-person campaign events in Iowa have been canceled due to a blizzard warning in the region as a powerful winter storm moves east. Iowa will have their coldest caucuses ever on Monday, and GOP candidates are growing increasingly concerned the weather could negatively impact turnout.
What's at stake on Monday: The outcome of the caucuses can help build or break candidates’ momentum as they vie to be the GOP party's nominee and take on President Joe Biden in November. Trump is aiming for a definitive win in Iowa in his pursuit to regain the presidency as DeSantis and Haley aim to dent his lead.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has canceled all in-person campaign events scheduled for Friday in Iowa due to a blizzard warning in the region.
Haley had three campaign events scheduled in Fort Dodge, Le Mars, and Council Bluffs, as she tries to sell her final pitch to voters ahead of the caucuses on January 15. The events will now be telephone town halls, according to a campaign media advisory. More details on the tele-town halls will be provided by the campaign.
“Stormy weather won’t stop us from ensuring Iowans hear Nikki’s vision for a strong and proud America. With only three days until the caucuses, we’re going to keep telling voters why they should Pick Nikki,” Team Haley Iowa spokesperson Pat Garrett said in a statement.
Inclement weather is expected in the Hawkeye State through the caucus. During her campaign stops on Thursday, Haley encouraged voters to not let freezing temperatures deter them from caucusing.
“I know it’s going to be -15 [degrees] on Monday. I don’t even know what that is. I literally can’t comprehend it. It’s going to be -15, but I’m going to be out there, and I want you to go out there,” Haley said to a crowd in Cedar Rapids.
It’s the latest example of how the GOP’s seesawing approach to the program’s looming solvency crisis is surfacing in this primary – with the former president, who previously used the issue to attack Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, now trying to blunt Haley’s momentum in the final days before voting begins.
Trump’s campaign released a new ad on Thursday targeting his rival Republican over her plans to reform government retirement benefits. Haley’s team shot back that the former president’s record undermines his claims that he is a champion of the popular entitlement program.
And the back-and-forth over Social Security isn’t reserved to the two leading candidates in New Hampshire. One of the most heated exchanges of Wednesday night’s CNN debate between DeSantis and Haley in Iowa, where Trump has dominated polling, occurred when the discussion veered to Social Security.
Social Security has long been a thorny issue for presidential candidates, especially in general elections, when the two nominees are in a heated race to win over reliable senior voters. But for Republicans, Trump’s arrival altered the dynamics of how the GOP talks about the program.
For decades, conservative budget hawks have attempted to tinker with it to keep it solvent. That changed in 2016, when Trump vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare, forcing Republicans to retreat from a bedrock position.
Conservatives have often expressed wariness of the program since it began in the 1930s. But as Americans have embraced Social Security – 79% opposed reducing the size of benefits in an AP-NORC poll conducted in March – opponents have changed tactics from trying to eliminate the benefit to cutting it or making drastic changes. An effort by then-President George W. Bush to privatize the program during his second term was met with strong resistance and ultimately failed.
Today more than 70 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, many of whom depend on it for basic living costs. In October, the Social Security Administration announced that recipients would receive an annual cost-of-living adjustment of 3.2% in the next year – smaller than recent adjustments.
As of now, the main fund for Social Security is projected to be depleted by 2033, according to a Social Security Administration report. Once that happens, the fund’s reserves will only be able to cover about 75% of the “scheduled benefits,” the report warned.
