With less than two weeks left before the Iowa caucuses, DeSantis and Haley will appear at a Fox News debate stage in Des Moines in order to vie for position as the definitive GOP alternative to Donald Trump.
Both candidates are actively supporting immigration reform, yet their policies differ considerably.
The Haley-DeSantis Debate
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis faced off against one another in what proved to be their most heated exchange yet during Wednesday night’s debate at Drake University, as both candidates tore into each other’s records and characters during its opening minutes. Sitting arm-in-arm on stage, they drilled down into each other’s policy ideas while also leading viewers to opposing fact-checking websites set up by each of their campaigns.
Both candidates have served as governor of conservative Southeastern states and represent right-of-center governance; yet in this debate they revealed stark philosophical disagreements over the purpose and function of government.
DeSantis began his speech with his standard campaign sound bite of suggesting Trump cares only about “his issues,” while Haley swiftly attacked her former president for increasing the federal deficit and not being strong enough against China. Both candidates appeared to be jostling for second place among Republicans with polls showing him ahead. Our USA TODAY Fact Check team went through their claims made during this debate to separate lies from truth while providing contextual details where possible.
The Haley-DeSantis Campaign
Candidates debated foreign policy and immigration issues but focused more on attacking each other than on President Donald Trump, who remains central to their campaign platforms. Candidates were eager to position themselves as leaders who could address strain on U.S.-Mexico border caused by record numbers of migrants crossing into America illegally; DeSantis accused Haley of not being sufficiently supportive of his plan to build the wall he considers essential to his presidency.
DeSantis accused Haley of exploiting Israel-related issues to push her donors’ agendas and she accused DeSantis of supporting an anti-Semitism resolution with which only Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky opposed. She responded to DeSantis by criticizing her 2020 Twitter post that described George Floyd’s death at police officer Derek Chauvin’s hands as personal and painful; later Haley claimed she only meant it as a joke when telling New Hampshire voters they would get an opportunity to “correct” Iowa results with their caucuses results being corrected through their caucuses results.
The Haley-DeSantis Town Hall
Florida governor candidates stood arm-in-arm on lecterns at Iowa’s Republican caucuses on Feb. 1. Both hoped a strong showing in Iowa could propel either to second place behind Donald Trump.
DeSantis and Haley held an intense debate that focused on their records and foreign policy views, particularly regarding Israel. DeSantis maintained that America must support Israel “both verbally and with actions,” while Haley accused her opponent of supporting military operations in Gaza despite civilian casualties.
Candidates clashed over immigration issues as well. When asked by DeSantis whether Trump had kept his promises of building a border wall with Mexico paying for it, prosecuting Hillary Clinton or draining the swamp, DeSantis dismissed much of what the former president had said as “word vomit” while Haley described him as someone who tells voters what they want to hear while then doing their donors’ bidding once in office.
The Haley-DeSantis Strategy
Haley hopes that her second-place finish in Iowa can serve as an effective springboard to expand her presence across Iowa, and making DeSantis appear like a shapeshifting corporatist could do just that. Within 10 minutes of their debate, both participants exchanged plenty of verbal jabs against one another with DeSantis criticizing Haley as an insufficiently hardline China critic and criticizing her climate science commitment as well as time at UN.
DeSantis struck back by advocating that Republicans must lead with conviction and govern with bold colors, not pastel shades. He also criticized her support of an increase in gas taxes in South Carolina and claimed she would only do so if state legislators also approved of cutting income tax rates simultaneously.
Regarding her comments regarding the racial justice movement, he dismissed them as “BLM-speak” and warned her against caving into pressure from woke mobs; otherwise they will “threaten to turn this country into chaos”. Additionally, she hinted he might not fully support President Trump’s wall at the U.S.-Mexico border.
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