CNN Debate Gets Overhaul After Snubs from Major GOP Candidates

By Johnathan Jones January 17, 2024 at 11:45am

CNN has canceled a Republican primary debate that was scheduled for this coming weekend after only Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed to participate.

The other candidates in the race, former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, each declined an opportunity to debate in New Hampshire on Sunday.

Deadline reported that after a decision to cancel the debate was made by CNN, the far-left network agreed to host a town hall featuring Haley.

Following the snubs, the Haley town hall will now air at 9 p.m. ET and will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper.

DeSantis held a town hall on the network in New Hampshire on Tuesday — a day after he took second place in the Iowa caucus.

Haley finished third in the voting, followed by Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out and has since become a Trump campaign surrogate.

A representative for CNN told Deadline the network would “continue to pursue other opportunities as the campaign season progresses through 2024, including candidate town halls.”

CNN is not the only network to cancel a debate that was scheduled for this week.

ABC News and its Manchester, New Hampshire-based affiliate WMUR-TV also had a debate scheduled for Thursday.

Should the GOP debates be over?

The event was also canceled after only DeSantis agreed to participate.

Trump made the decision to skip all the debates last summer — a decision that so far has paid off for him.

The former president left Iowa with 20 delegates compared to DeSantis’ nine and Haley’s eight.

Trump won every county in the state except for Johnson County, which Haley took, according to The New York Times.

He also maintained his massive lead in the Real Clear Politics average, which showed him with the support of 61.9 percent of GOP primary voters as of Tuesday.

The average included an Economist/YouGov survey that showed Trump’s support as high as 68 percent.

In spite of Trump’s polling lead and his win in Iowa, his two remaining opponents have shown no signs they intend to drop out of the race.

Next Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary could change that.

The South Carolina primary will be held on Feb. 24.

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