ABC News and WMUR’s GOP primary debate, scheduled to be held in New Hampshire on Thursday before of the state’s primary voting, has been canceled.
“Our intent was to host a debate coming out of the Iowa caucuses, but we always knew that would be contingent on the candidates and the outcome of the race. As a result, while our robust election coverage will continue, ABC News and WMUR-TV will not be moving forward with Thursday’s Republican presidential primary debate in New Hampshire,” An ABC News spokesperson said in a statement.
ABC News, and WMUR, a New Hampshire television station, set a Tuesday afternoon deadline for the three remaining qualifying candidates to reply to invitations. The Nikki Haley and Donald Trump camps have not confirmed their presence.
The cancellation comes after Haley said on X Tuesday morning that she will only face Trump for Joe Biden in her next debate, claiming that Trump had “ducked” all five debates held during primary campaigns.
Following his second-place victory in the Iowa caucuses, Ron DeSantis hit back at third-place Nikki Haley, who said that she would only agree to participate in another debate if Donald Trump appeared beside her.
DeSantis said that his fellow Republican presidential contender was just “afraid,” and pledged to keep his commitment to debate in New Hampshire, even if it meant taking the stage next to “two empty podiums.”
In another tweet, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that Haley was “afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions,” and that he would visit New Hampshire and “look forward to debating two empty podiums in the Granite State this week.”
In other news, Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the 2024 presidential race on Tuesday and threw his endorsement behind the leading candidate Donald Trump.
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