Organized by CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, the first state where Republicans will be asked to vote for a nominee, the debate highlighted the substantial differences on Ukraine between Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the United Nations , and Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis exchanged accusations and clashed head-on on issues such as support for Ukraine in the last debate before the start of the Republican primaries, which will decide the presidential nomination of the United States of America.
Hosted by CNN in Des Moines, Iowa, the first state where Republicans will be asked to vote for a nominee, the debate highlighted the substantial differences on Ukraine between Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and former ambassador to the United Nations , and Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida.
“This is to prevent war, it always has been,” said Haley, considering it necessary to support Ukraine in defending against Russia in order to avoid a global conflict. The candidate referred to the country as “pro-American” and “freedom-loving” and stated that financial support represents only 3.5% of the United States defense budget.
Ron DeSantis was against continued US support for Ukrainian forces. “They [Ucrânia] They’re not going to tell you when they’ve reached their goal, and this is going to reach hundreds of billions of dollars in the future,” said DeSantis, who took the moment to attack Haley on the issue of illegal immigration, saying he is more concerned about the borders Ukrainian borders than with the southern borders of the USA.
The debate had a tense tone, in which the candidates accused each other of lying and exchanged insults about character and career. Haley said DeSantis “is desperate” and the governor said the candidate has a podiatry problem because she “is always shooting herself in the feet.”
The format of this debate, for which only Haley, DeSantis and Donald Trump, who again did not attend, qualified, allowed us to draw clearer differences between the two candidates with greater chances of challenging the poll leader, despite the considerable distance he enjoys. .
In addition to Ukraine and a very different view of international diplomacy, DeSantis and Haley have clashed on issues such as abortion, illegal immigration and taxes.
Florida’s governor said his opponent is “confused” about abortion and accused her of not supporting the same restrictions as him. Haley said she is “unapologetically pro-life,” but that she must not give in to demonization.
On the issue of immigration, the governor of Florida promised that, if elected, he will finish the wall that Trump started and make Mexico pay for it, while Haley said that it is necessary to tackle the problems that lead migrants to want to enter the country illegally. .
Both agreed that Donald Trump should have been present at the debate, to defend his presidency and talk about what he intends to do.
But none directed major attacks on the candidate leading the race, who, instead of participating in the debate, held a ‘town hall’ with voters, organized by Fox News.
The legal problems of the former president, who faces four criminal cases, were addressed but not explored in depth. Haley said Trump’s immunity defense is “absolutely ridiculous” and conceded that the former president lost the 2020 election, while DeSantis expressed doubts about where the legal limits lie.
Trump leads the polls in Iowa with 51.3%, followed by DeSantis with 17.2% and Haley with 15.8%. It is not expected that the primaries (in caucus format) on January 15th will deviate from these numbers.