Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis targeted each other with personal insults during the CNN-hosted Republican primary debate on Wednesday, as both leaders attempted to present themselves as an alternative to former President Donald Trump, whom they criticized for choosing to skip the debate.
Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley (R) speaks as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (L) looks on ... [+]
The personal attacks came quick and fast, as DeSantis opened by calling Haley a “mealy-mouthed politician…who’s going to look down on middle America” and mocked her writing in her book that Hillary Clinton inspired her to run for office.
Haley then mocked DeSantis, saying his campaign was “exploding”, pointing out his team’s struggles and repeated personnel changes, adding: “Why should we think you can manage or do anything in this country?”
Haley then accused the Florida Gov. of being a serial liar and even joked that people should not take part in a drinking game when they have to take a drink every time DeSantis lied, as they will be “over-served.”
At several points during the debate, Haley urged people to visit the website desantislies.com, which is run by her campaign.
DeSantis questioned Haley’s conservative credentials and even suggested that “she may even be more liberal than Gavin Newsom,” referring to California’s Democratic Governor.
When Haley leaned on her foreign policy experience to discuss aid to Ukraine and Israel, DeSantis attacked her, saying she was more concerned about Ukraine’s border instead of the U.S. southern border, adding: “You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations, but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador.”
Amid all the sharp personal insults, one of the more awkward moments of the debate came when one of the moderators, CNN’s Jake Tapper, asked Haley and DeSantis to say one positive thing about each other. DeSantis struggled to come up with praise for his rival and dropped a line about Haley speaking out strongly on “some key issues” during her stint as the U.S. ambassador at the United Nations. The Florida governor then switched to praising Haley’s home state, South Carolina, and its people, while avoiding any mention of her Governorship. Haley was more succinct and said: “I think he’s been a good governor.”
DeSantis trotted out one of the more unique phrases of the debate when he accused Haley of “ballistic podiatry” or “shooting herself in the foot every other day,” which drew a few laughs from the audience.