christie announced he was ending his presidential ambitions, he also said, he was unwilling to say that the former president, anyone who is unwilling to say that the former president is unfit to be president's, and i'm quoting chris christie now, unfit themselves. haley and desantis, both aston i'd, if the former president has the character to hold that office, and neither answer the question directly. governor desantis did mention trump not fulfilling campaign promises, and give a similar reply when anderson just asked him that question again a few moments ago. haley responded by saying, quote, his way is not my way. joining me now is republican governor of new hampshire, chris sununu, who has endorsed nikki haley. i should note, governor, thank you, why do you think both of the candidates onstage tonight were unable to answer that question with a yes or no i'm? >> i don't think it is that
attack which is very, very potent. her stated position, that we should raise the retirement age of social security for new entrance into the workforce. it may be an intellectually respectable position. i certainly can make the argument. but it's a very volatile issue and trump and desantis have both taken the opposite of it. so i think we saw some previous to come. and if she's rattled by these, things she had better get her act together. because i think this is just the beginning. >> that's a great example of how much trump has changed the republican party. it used to be that republican party position, we have to deal with these things, because of the fiscal cost -- now, you're right. trump has made that anathema. and desantis, who used to before, it is not against. >> i'll answer a basic question. i think desantis won tonight. on the first 12 or 15 minutes didn't help either of them. i thought the initial squabbles made them both look fairly small, frankly. but i think desantis settled down as that not went on and
>> no one has changed their mind, basically? some are undecided, but have any of you switch from one candidate to another? >> cody? >> when they started, i was certain on desantis. he's done good in the debates, it's not that that's changed my mind, but now that trump is polling better against biden, and seemingly, has a better shot in the swing states, i find myself leaning back towards trump. i'm stuck in the middle. >> or any of you bothered by the fact that, maybe, politically, it makes sense to donald trump wasn't here, but you haven't learned anything from him because he wasn't today these debates? does that bother any of you? >> i don't think it bothers me, i think that he's out on the road, he's doing town halls, he is at sioux city, he's in davenport, des moines, so i feel like we are getting a good gauge of where he stands on issues. what i like for him to come to the debates? of course. i think it helps him not being here, because all they do is attack him, because he's the front runner. i think, at the end of the day, donald trump won this debate, and i think that's why many
tweeted like the respectful issue that it is. those trump so you talk about, where is anybody talk about putting a woman in jail, or giving her the death penalty, it was enough to put a woman in jail she got an abortion, and that is why i say that. >> arguably, the winning line of the night for nikki haley, these fellows don't know how to talk about abortion. we will judge when, and we won't demonize them. and any traditional election environment, take the trump factor out, she would, by end away, be the front runner. she can tackle an issue like this that matters to the base, but that, in the post roe era, you cannot have us hard-line as a stances run desantis. we've seen ballad and issues and deep rich states, protecting abortion rights, that republicans turned out to vote for and ohio, kansas, kentucky. there is a disconnect in the post-dobbs era of where republican voters are. it was a broader view there. you have trump on another network today, actually going
desantis is really more in touch with a working and medical voters that now populate the republican party under donald trump. >> the question of course, all those voters with donald trump, are they willing to vote for rhonda santas? i wonder what you make of that argument, not only that you definitely saw around desantis making that appeal, but also, whether or not nikki haley, herself, who some argue had more to lose in this debate, whether or not should be lost in some of her recent moments in iowa. >> this more populist turn in the republican party is not new. it was donald trump in 2016 who heralded the beginning of that shift, who saw market in the gop electorate, and tap into it. so, the problem that desantis has run into is that he is trying to run as trump but slightly not, and most voters who like trump, just want the original formula. so what's fascinating, in that interview he was not just trump,
great. i think it was substantive. all the questions for things i would care about. i just heard a little snippet about that, not taking on trump. i had him. obviously he should have been on the stage and we would have mix of more. but they talk about his quote, he the insurrection act to enter the cities. he had the blm right on our watch. he never did nothing to stop any of the writing. he didn't give any federal support. so we held him accountable for that. we held him accountable for not building the wall, not the deportations and other broken promises. but it's easier to do that when somebody is going to go on the stage. i think the reason he doesn't go on the stage as he knows the vulnerabilities and his record. >> you are asked tonight about the character issue. you are asked about if you believe former president trump has the character to be president again. i want to play what you said. >> i appreciated what president trump did but let's be honest. he is that he was going to build a wall and have mexico
republicans believe that the. she said, trump lost, biden. what she criticized for critically about january 6th, saying history would hold him to account. and she said his argument in court about presidential immunity was ridiculous. not a full frontal assault on donald trump, but her ruling if she's going to have any hope, she has to consolidate the anti trump vote. it's a little tougher there. to every's point about desantis, he knows where he is and how important this is to him. this is a much more conservative electorate here in iowa than you have in new hampshire. school choice, woke, transgender, a reckoning coming against fauci and the science and the washington bureaucracy. he is appealing, that's a very trumpy trump base message. but it's also, if he has any hope, it's to be strong here. everyone assumes trump's going to win. we'll see what happens on monday. he was playing conservative, conservative, conservative oh night long because that's iowa. >> given chris christie was the candidate most aggressive trump against, it doesn't make sense
poll, after poll, after poll. it shows that trump would at least be within the margin of error, a nail-biter, for sure, but some of these candidates, like nikki, we'll win by double digits. that's fundamental. that means you get stuff done. again, you can talk about those issues as much as you want, but it's not what the american public is looking at. maybe what the media has talked about, but not what american voters are looking at right now. >> it could be in the general election, and that's what governor desantis says articulated. governor sununu, thank you. back to the panel now. alyssa, governor sununu had inched closer in previous interviews, saying he would vote for trump if he was the republican nominee, and obviously, he is endorsing governor haley, and out here supporting her, but, basically, point blank said, yes, he would vote for donald trump, even if he was a convicted felon. >> i won't criticize my favorite governor, kristen who knew. listen, reading the tea leaves here, there is a chance that republicans who engage in the primary need to plan.
this, i don't know, cage match with each other. that you almost just didn't even notice there was a trump of it. all which is critically important in iowa, for his lighting. i don't know. at the end of, it i thought to myself, who once the debate? it's really unclear. because there was so much back and forth that you almost got lost in it. it was hard to say the forest for the trees, frankly, between these two. but on nikki haley's part, she really needs to solidify where she is. i don't think that. she seemed flustered, frustrated, she said on multiple occasions that desantis was demeaning her, which seemed to imply she was taking it really personally. i don't think that really helped her tonight. >> two sets of tactics, that each candidate differently. there was not a lot of direct confrontation with trump. but haley, with christie out of the race, did go father. trump lost, biden won. she said it clearly. that's running against most
not do it. and not just for trump, for anybody. >> for as a poll in new hampshire, that says the second choice for a lot of christie supporters, the majority is nikki haley. what would you say to chris christie's supporters tonight, tarik i know? then >> chris, even though he was in a police, that he has a more conservative record as governor of new jersey than nikki has got owner of south carolina. we saw a lot of differences tonight. i think response just constantly say you are lying, does not pause that smell test. she's on video saying all the stuff. literally, she was at a fox news can hold off on it, saying the governor said social security is what to look. i never saw that. they play it. okay, i did say it. i don't think it was effective. but if you look at chris, what he was able to do in for a blue state, his record was more conservative that nikki haley. and if you look, i've been willing to hold trump accountable. i just do it more from that right that more focused on some of the things that media likes to talk about. but i've been out there, very frank.