6 takeaways from Iowa town hall with Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley
Top 6 takeaways from Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley's Iowa town hall
Donald Trump is still dominating the polls among Republican presidential candidates. But the real competition is between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley. With only one and a half weeks left for the Iowa caucus, the two presidential contenders with the White House dreams are fighting neck to neck for the second position. During their back-to-back CNN town halls on Thursday, January 4, at Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, both candidates attempted to convince the voters against nominating former president Trump and choosing them instead. Let us have a look at the top six takeaways from the event.
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley ready to fight till the end
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis seemed like they were not ready to pull back from the presidential race despite Trump's opinion polls domination in Iowa. They want to fight until the end. After visiting all 99 counties of the Hawkeye state, the Florida Governor urged voters, "Don't let the media or the pundits make the decision. Vote for who you think will be the best President of the United States." On the other hand, although Haley's GOP presidential nomination depends on the result of the New Hampshire primary on January 23, she did not soft-pedal in Iowa. "You are going to see me fight until the very end, on the last day in Iowa," she said, adding, "And I'm not playing in one state. I'm fighting in every state. Because I think everybody's worth fighting for."
Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis warn against nominating Donald Trump as GOP nominee
The once-Donald Trump allies do not want the former president to have a second term at the Oval Office. Though Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis refrained from making specific comments about Trump's ongoing legal battles, both took the CNN town hall as a chance to warn people against voting for him. "Chaos follows him. And we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it," the former UN Ambassador stated. "We have a country to save, and that means no more drama. No more taking things personally," she added. While DeSantis alerted the Iowa voters that his legal battles may positively impact primary elections, it would adversely affect the general election against President Joe Biden. "Whatever may be beneficial in the primary doesn't mean it's beneficial in the general election," the Florida Governor said. "We're putting the future of the Republican Party and the future of the nation, perhaps, in the hands of 12 jurors in heavily Democrat DC," he added.
Nikki Haley recalls racist encounters during childhood as she addresses Civil War controversy
Nikki Haley's campaign was overshadowed by her refusal to admit that slavery was the cause of the Civil War during a town hall in New Hampshire on December 27. More than a week after the controversy, despite her clarifications, it was a topic of discussion in Iowa. When asked about the reactions to her remarks, the White House hopeful said, "I should have said slavery right off the bat, but if you grow up in South Carolina, literally in second and third grade, you learn about slavery." She added, "I was thinking past slavery and talking about the lesson that we would learn going forward. I shouldn't have done that." Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrant parents, also recalled several racist incidents she faced during her childhood days. "I remember when I would get teased on the playground, and I would come home. My mom would always say, 'Your job is not to show them how you're different, your job is to show them how you're similar,'" Haley added.
Both candidates' takes on Iowa school shooting
The town hall events occurred shortly after a school shooting in Perry, Iowa, where a middle school student lost their life, and five others sustained injuries. Questions on gun control, citing the unfortunate events, were directed at Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. The Florida Governor referred to the gun reforms passed by his predecessor, GOP Governor Rick Scott, in his home state in 2018 following the Parkland shooting that killed 17 people. "We've done everything like school resource officers, help with hardening, but also help identify students that are exhibiting really problematic behavior," DeSantis noted. "We're getting more information about what happened in Perry, but it seems like this student had some serious, serious problems," he added. Instead of limiting gun rights, Haley also directed her answer toward mental health. "We have got to deal with the cancer that is mental health," she said. She further added that the country lacked enough mental health therapists, mental health centers, and addiction centers and also pointed out that schools should be secured just like airports and courthouses. Haley then admitted that she is not in support of restricting people's right to protect themselves; instead, she is a concealed weapons permit holder. She insisted on dealing with mental health instead of taking away guns.
Donald Trump is not pro-life, says Ron DeSantis
With more than a year since the SCOTUS revoked Roe v Wade, restricting women's access to abortion, the issue has been a hot topic for the upcoming presidential election. However, in the town hall event, Ron DeSantis, standing by his anti-abortion stance, chose to have a softer tone on the matter. The Florida Governor deviated his answers to mostly Trump's approach to abortion, claiming the former president is not pro-life. Pointing out Trump's comment on stricter state-level bans as a "terrible thing", DeSantis said that the former president betrayed the conservative movement's anti-abortion activists. “For pro-life voters in Iowa, Donald Trump is taking positions that are way different than what he professed to believe when he first ran for president,” DeSantis told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
Ron DeSantis says January 6 Capitol attack rioters are not patriots
With only a day left for the third anniversary of the January 6 Capitol insurrection, Ron DeSantis, a Navy veteran, admitted that all the people who attacked the Capitol building in 2021 do not come under the definition of patriots. "That was not a good day for the country," he acknowledged. The Florida Governor also defined patriotism as when someone is "willing to put yourself out there and put service above self."
