Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley was the subject of repeated attacks during Wednesday’s Republican presidential debate, as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis sought to blunt her momentum just weeks before the party’s first nominating contest in Iowa.
The two rivals were vying to emerge as the chief alternative to the absent former President Donald Trump, who has maintained a commanding lead in opinion polls ahead of Iowa’s Jan. 15 contest.
The debate, which also included tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, saw a flurry of insults interspersed with discussions of the Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the U.S. southern border.