Another Republican presidential debate has been cancelled after Nikki Haley refused to participate in any forum that does not also include Donald Trump.
The move means that for the first time in years there will no on-the-ground face-off before New Hampshire’s primary next week.
CNN announced on Wednesday that it was calling off its debate, which had been scheduled for Sunday at New England College.
It comes a day after ABC and WMUR-TV said they were also cancelling Thursday’s debate, planned at Saint Anselm College, following Ms Haley’s assertion that the next debate in which she participates “will either be with Donald Trump or Joe Biden”.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis had committed to take part in both debates, but with front-runner Mr Trump having skipped all of the Republican debates so far, Ms Haley’s participation had been the deciding factor in whether they would go on.
The move by the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador could be in part a result of the last debate, which featured only her and Mr DeSantis.
Ms Haley did not perform as well as expected, and Mr DeSantis ultimately ended up beating her for second place in Monday’s lead-off Iowa caucuses.
Ron DeSantis edges Nikki Haley to win second place behind Donald Trump in the Iowa Republican caucuses, CNN projects. Follow live updates: https://t.co/H04ClcpEwQ pic.twitter.com/RFRRXO1qNS
— CNN (@CNN) January 16, 2024
Her decision to skip the debate prompted a reaction from rivals, with Mr DeSantis saying she is “afraid to debate because she doesn’t want to answer the tough questions”, and a Trump spokesman calling her a “desperate globalist”.
Ms Haley had argued that picking her gives Republicans a better chance to defeat Mr Biden, a Democrat, in November’s presidential election, pointing to survey data showing her with the largest lead among the Republican field in a theoretical general election match-up.
Although she finished third in Iowa, she has been shown to be better-positioned in the next state to vote, New Hampshire, and has angled to frame the remainder of the primary as a two-person race between Mr Trump and herself.
CNN said on Wednesday that it would instead host a town hall event with Ms Haley on Thursday from New England College.
Mr DeSantis took part in his own CNN town hall on Tuesday.
