Republican rivals Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis attacked each other during their primary debate, rather than focus on former president Donald Trump, the party’s absent front runner to contest November’s US election.
Florida Governor De Santis and the former South Carolina governor called each other liars and insulted each other’s record and character early as they tried to demonstrate they were the strongest alternative to Mr Trump.
The former president again dodged the debate in Des Moines, Iowa, staging his own event on Fox News elsewhere in the city.
The Republican rivals drilled into each other’s policy ideas and directed viewers to different fact-checking websites as they displayed their sharp differences over issues ranging from foreign policy to abortion, less than a week before the Republican primary process begins in Iowa.
“You’re so desperate. You’re just so desperate,” Mrs Haley, a former UN ambassador, interrupted Mr DeSantis at one point.
The Florida governor said Mrs Haley has a “problem with ballistic podiatry, shooting herself in the foot every other day”.
One rare point of agreement was that Mr Trump should have been on the stage with them.
I think I hit a nerve.
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 11, 2024
When asked about Mr Trump’s comments in 2022 calling for the “termination” of parts of the Constitution over his lie that the 2020 election was stolen, Mrs Haley was blunter about critiquing the president she once worked for.
“That election, Trump lost it. Biden won the election,” she said, calling the January 6 2021 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters “a terrible day” and saying “I think President Trump will have to answer for it”.
Mr DeSantis predicted the former president would likely end up being convicted for the criminal charges he faces for his efforts to overturn the election.
“I don’t think he gets through that,” he said of one of Mr Trump’s trials. “So what are we going to do as Republicans?”
Hours before the debate, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie – the most aggressive critic of Mr Trump among the GOP candidates – announced he was dropping out of the race.
I agree with Christie that Nikki Haley is “going to get smoked.”
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) January 10, 2024
Along with biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Mr Christie did not qualify for Wednesday’s debate after appearing in earlier events.
Mr Trump said he’s “not exactly worried” about the decision, saying he agreed with comments Mr Christie made on a hot mic ahead of his announcement when he said Mrs Haley is “going to get smoked” and is “not up to this”.
The debate offered Mrs Haley a chance to reset a campaign that has come under fresh scrutiny by everyone from her GOP rivals to President Joe Biden, a sign her opponents in both parties see her as a rising contender.
Mr DeSantis vowed to win Iowa’s caucuses despite trailing badly in most state polls.
Each tried to take the position as the leader who would address the US-Mexico border and the strain of record-high numbers of migrants crossing while the central role the US is playing in the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war emerged as a clear dividing line.
Mrs Haley offered a passionate defence of sending aid to Ukraine and Israel while Mr DeSantis accused her of being more concerned about the Ukrainian border than the southern border of the US.
Across town, Mr Trump maintained his argument that the legal proceedings against him were “a witch hunt”.
When asked about his previous statements that a second term would be about retribution for his enemies, the former president said he would not have time for it.
“The ultimate retribution is success,” he said.
