Nikki Haley accepts CNN debate after DeSantis attacks

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley accepted CNN’s invitation on Friday to participate in its pre-Iowa caucuses debate on Jan. 10.

“The first four debates have been great for our campaign and for voters, and we look forward to the fifth in Iowa,” Haley said in a press release.

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Haley did not immediately confirm her intention to join the debate when it was announced earlier this month. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), however, was quick to accept the invitation and criticized his opponent for not doing the same.

Haley’s campaign maintained that she planned to debate in Iowa no matter what but that the forum wasn’t yet determined. The campaign had also expressed Haley’s desire to compete with former President Donald Trump at the debate, despite his skipping all four of the Republican National Committee’s events.

“As the debate stage continues to shrink, it’s getting harder for Donald Trump to hide,” Haley said Friday.

In its press release, Haley’s campaign noted that “Trump pulled a similar stunt” during his 2016 primary campaign. He skipped the Iowa debate ahead of the Republican caucuses, leading to his taking second place in the contest, the campaign pointed out.

However, it seems unlikely Trump will change his tune and attend the CNN debate. Trump spokesman Steven Cheung recently told Axios, “There’s a CNN debate? Had no idea.”

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Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie are in danger of not qualifying for the CNN debate, which requires each candidate to reach “10% in three separate national and/or Iowa polls of Republican caucusgoers or primary voters that meet CNN’s standards for reporting.” Further, “One of the three polls must be an approved CNN poll of likely Iowa Republican caucusgoers.”

But Ramaswamy’s campaign isn’t concerned with this, telling the Washington Examiner it expects to qualify but doesn’t know if it will decide to accept the debate’s invitation.