Haley and DeSantis mudsling at Iowa debate, while Trump looks like the guy in first place
Nikki Haley spent much of the time rolling her eyes or smirking, and Ron DeSantis awkwardly clenched his teeth while trying to smile when Haley spoke.
Let me first say this: What a relief that entrepreneur and annoyer-in-chief Vivek Ramaswamy was absent from the fifth Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night in Iowa.
He didn’t qualify, nor did former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who finally dropped out of the race a few hours before the debate began in Des Moines.
That left former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who's also a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on stage to duke it out.
And, boy, did they.
Former President Donald Trump also met CNN’s criteria for the event, but as usual, he opted to go it alone. This time, he did a competing town hall on Fox News (go figure). It was his first time live on Fox in nearly two years.
Just days from the Iowa caucuses, Trump remains the dominant front-runner in Iowa and nationwide. And he acted like it Wednesday.
And without Trump on stage with his "closest" rivals, it made the evening feel pretty pointless – at least for DeSantis and Haley.
Enough with calling each other 'liar'
At the debate, the candidates harangued each other – rather than their leading opponent: Trump. Haley spent much of the time rolling her eyes or smirking, and DeSantis awkwardly clenched his teeth while trying to smile when Haley spoke.
With just two of them on stage – and strong CNN moderators in Jake Tapper and Dana Bash – DeSantis and Haley were forced to stay more on message and interrupted each other less than at previous matchups.
They really kicked up the viciousness, however, and it got old fast. I lost track of how many times Haley invoked her opposition research site “DeSantisLies.com.” But it was too many.
Similarly, DeSantis harped on Haley's alleged dishonesty. He treated this debate the same way he did last month when he went head-to-head with Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The techniques that served him well in that contest, though, did not translate here against a fellow Republican.
At one point, DeSantis said Haley may be “more liberal” than Newsom ‒ a laughable accusation.
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I get that it would be weird for the two candidates on stage to avoid critiquing the other’s performance as governor and on the campaign trail. Yet they wasted their last national opportunity before Iowa's caucuses to contrast themselves with Trump. That’s what voters needed to hear.
The one thing that DeSantis and Haley could agree on is that they thought Trump should be on the stage with them.
And he should have been.
Trump looks like a guy who’s winning
At his town hall over on Fox, Trump mostly ignored Haley and DeSantis and focused on attacking President Joe Biden's handling of the border and the economy.
He kept calm (for him) and focused on the questions from Fox News moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, as well as questions from the audience. He seemed relaxed, engaged and more like 2016 Trump than post-2020 election Trump.
Here’s the thing, though: He can’t rewind time and the past few years of election denial, lies and vitriol.
Make America great again: If Trump cares about America and its greatness, he must leave politics. Permanently.
Haley likes to say that “chaos follows” Trump. He creates chaos – and thrives on it. Trump’s life will be mired in court battles in the coming months, including over indictments related to his conduct in office.
Even though Trump makes big promises about what he'd accomplish in a second term, he is stuck in the past and focused on seeking personal retribution.
Haley and DeSantis would each make a fine Republican nominee to take down President Joe Biden, which should be the top goal for Republicans.
It’s a shame that the American people didn’t get a chance to see them face their chief GOP opponent directly.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at Paste BN. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques