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he's said after the midterms that some candidates had jeopardized their positions on the republican side because they had been too tough on apportion. he's pointed out ron desantis in that respect. for his campaign then, which is trying to get him to say, "i'm against a federal ban. we'll have a 15-week ban, because that's where most of the american public is." >> that's nikki haley's position, by the way, which is funny. they lifted nikki -- but he can't do it. play the clip again. again, i was shocked when i was sitting there. i was absolutely shocked, sitting watching, going, you know, are they going to, like, bring out some dreamland ribs for him? >> they might as well have. >> sit there and talk about football. >> right. >> it was the easiest thing. i've never seen, never seen a paid advertisement on fox news,
party. they did a great job of focus where to build their base and the support to have a strong showing in iowa. nikki is on the verge of winning this state. that's what you do. talk about yourself and grow your support. >> they didn't focus on him much at all. do you think that's a nuanced question? you've endorsed someone else in this race. >> most of us are going to support the republican nominee. there's no question. when it comes to the general election, we need biden to lose. he is destroying the middle class and the economy. he is destroying the family. that's what folks are focused on.
candidates were unable to answer that question with a yes or a no? >> i don't think they are unable. the candidates talk about what they are going to deliver. they're not going to do the trump question. that gets the headlines. but they're there to earn the trust and the votes of the iowa voters. effectively a neck and neck race. desantis says he is going to win iowa. not the expectations on haley's side. she is doing well. getting out there, earning the votes, not worried about what the other candidates do. i'm not surprised at all. n nikkk took on trump strong. there's no question where nikki stands. she's not playing for second base. she has made it clear where she stands on donald trump. >> it's not just that it gets headlines, with all due respect.
vivek didn't qualify for this debate. i'm not seeing the enthusiasm for him on the ground we've seen. you drive around iowa, you don't see the flags and those things. a lot of people are saying he's going to be the candidate, i guess. i had a lady at town hall. she was leaning trump coming in. she said, after this, i'm for the governor. as more people pay attention, i've seen in difference in iowa since 2024. more people are coming to our events. i think the caucus night will be clarifying. the fallout of the debate tonight, nikki, i think she lost her cool. she is saying you're lying. that doesn't do it. she wouldn't explain why she is taking the the decisions. i don't think people buy that.
that's where it is right now. that's a fact. look at the polls. poll after poll after poll, trump would be in the margin of error. some of the candidates like nikki will win. you can luke will at the issues. that's not what the american voters are looking at right now. >> it could be in the general election. that's what governor desantis has articulated. thank you for your time tonight. and for joining us. back with the panel now. what do you make -- governor sununu had inched closer in previous interviews, saying he would vote for trump if he is the nominee. he's endorsing governor haley and supporting her. he just said he would vote for donald trump if he is a convicted felon.
but he was the only candidate out there taking on trump directly. what do you think of what he did? >> he absolutely was, but it goes back to authenticity. at the end of the day, as sankmonious as he comes across now and lecturing everybody in the free world about how they kowtowed to donald trump and nat stood up to him, he was the first person in 2016 to endorse trump after they dropped out. stood there behind -- i wish we had video of it, stood behind trump after endorsing him, looking sheepish and awkward in 2016. he led trump's transition team. his thing about oh, i'm not going to endorse nikki because she refuses to say she's not going to be his vp, that's because he's jealous he didn't get picked to be vp in 2016. it's really sad. >> so the campaign continues. let's see where we head next. thank you, friends. really appreciate it. talking about campaign,
>> was there a moment of most impact in this debate? >> wow. it was like watching two drowning victims, like, grapple with each other to see which one was going to get the last gasp of air before they went under. again, the most impactful moment is when donald trump decided not to show up. i think this is the first time they both did so poorly that i think they might be better off that trump didn't show up because he would eviscerate them. >> what was poor about it? you think they're getting worse, not better at this? >> they both have been getting much better in the debate. nikki has always been a strong debater, and desantis has gotten better. but they just were reading a script. they literally were given by their campaigns the opo research book and just memorized stuff. nikki going back to, go to rondesantislies.com over and over again. they seemed stiff and uncomfortable. they seemed as uncomfortable to deliver the attacks on each
because of that background knowledge and expertise. and given these international issues are really at the forefront more so than we've seen in other presidential campaigns in the past, i think that's one of it reasons you see her surging in iowa, new hampshire, and it really has become that one-on-one race between her and donald trump. >> in our latest poll as you know, governor, the now former republican presidential candidate chris christie received 12% of the vote while nearly two-thirds of his voters say haley is their second choice. does christie's exit put haley in position to defeat trump and win your state of new hampshire? >> without a doubt. there's no question. now, you've still got to go earn them, right? all those voters don't just come onboard. nikki had a better ground game in new hampshire here than anyone. she connects with people better. she does retail politics. trump doesn't try on the retail politics side. he comes in and takes off, doesn't answer any questions. she's going to earn those voters
governor chris sununu. he's endorsed nikki haley for president. nikki haley spent a lot of time last night making the case against ron desantis but spent much time talk about donald trump or joe biden for that matter. was this a mistake? >> no, look, nikki she understands that right now desantis and trump are the two that have set expectations very high in iowa. they've both said they're going to win iowa. she hasn't really set those expectations. so when someone's on the stage she's going to go after desantis. i thought she was very clear about trump as well talking about election denialism, talking about january 6th so she took her shots where she had to. as nikki does she knows voters vote for someone and not just against others. i think she did a phenomenal job especially you look at the international stuff she really just owned ron on those issues. i think she ownalize the candidates on those issues
and she's going to continue to engage with them all the way to election day. there's no doubt i think you're absolutely right, they're poised to come over to her team. we'll see what happens with ron depending how he does in iowa. this has become a one-on-one race. he's right there. no one thought anyone was going to challenge trump in any of these states and she's shattered all presumptions on that so far. to win here in new hampshire would be an amazing opportunity for the country. as your previous report was saying, you've got to get out to vote. it really is important. getting folks out, making them realize they've got to get behind nikki and come out to the ballot box. looks like we're going to have some pretty good weather, probably a bit better than iowa will have. i anticipate our turnout to be pretty high. >> just before chris christie took the stage for his final campaign speech yesterday he was heard on a hot mic talking about nikki haley. let me play that clip for you. listen to this. >> she's going to get smoked and you and i both know it.