Haley discovers the downsides of being the candidate on the rise
Four Republican candidates took the stage Wednesday. The focus was on one.
Being the ascendant candidate in a primary field is what everyone running for president wants. But it also comes with a price. And on Wednesday night, at the fourth primary debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Nikki Haley was paying for it.
The former U.N. Ambassador was on the receiving end of a number of early broadsides from the others on stage; attacked over her accumulation of wealth, her paid speeches, the donations received by her super PAC and her social media policy.
“I love all the attention, fellas,” said Haley. “Thanks for that.”
The debate, like the three before it, was done without the presence of the frontrunner, Donald Trump. And at one early point, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lamented that all the attention was being placed on Haley (who has seen her standing in the polls improve in recent weeks) rather than the actual frontrunner.
“I’m looking at my watch now. We're 17 minutes into this debate, and except for your little speech in the beginning, we've had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us,” he stressed.
Within minutes, the rest of the field, which included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy was back to arguing with each other.
Below are highlights of Wednesday’s debate.
Chris Christie: Say Trump’s name!
During his first time speaking, Christie criticized his debate competitors — and debate moderators — for not bringing up Trump or clearly denouncing his falsehoods and recent comments about being "dictator."
“I’m looking at my watch now. We're 17 minutes into this debate, and except for your little speech in the beginning, we've had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us. The fifth guy who doesn't have the guts to show up and stand here, he's the one as you just put it is way ahead in the polls,” said Christie.
Christie said Ramaswamy, Haley and DeSantis treated Trump like the Harry Potter villain Voldemort, whose name was forbidden from being spoken. The former New Jersey governor suggested they were afraid to take on Trump, whom he called a “bully,” directly and speak the truth because they have “future aspirations.”
“I'm in this race because the truth needs to be spoken. This is a guy who said this past week he wants to use the Department of Justice to go after his enemies when he gets in there. The fact of the matter is he's unfit to be president. There's no bigger issue in this race than Donald Trump and those numbers prove it,” Christie said.
Haley defends herself on social media verification
Haley insisted that she never said she would require social media companies to authenticate people before they can post on their apps, saying instead that she wants social media companies to “show us their algorithms.”
Except she did: “Every person on social media should be verified by their name,” she had said earlier this fall. But amid criticism she quickly walked it back and focused instead on the algorithm remark.
It's something that she received criticism from DeSantis and others, who said her proposal ran afoul of the First Amendment.
Haley pressed on private earnings and paid speeches
The former U.N. ambassador, who has recently surged into second place in some polls, faced an opening question about her corporate board memberships and ties to Wall Street — after DeSantis had already gone after her in his opening remarks, singling her out as not conservative enough.
In response, Haley touted her recent endorsement from Americans for Prosperity, the Koch brothers-linked group that opted to back her over DeSantis, as well as her conservative record.
From her account on X, Haley’s campaign tweeted the following right as she was answering the question: “I opposed the Wall Street bailouts when many Republicans supported them. I tell donors what I believe. They don’t tell me.”
After she finished Ramaswamy attacked her for the news that broke this week that prominent Democratic donor Reid Hoffman had given $250,000 to her allied super PAC.
Hoffman, he said, “is effectively George Soros Jr.”
