News

The stage is set prior to the start of the presidential debate hosted by CNN and moderated by journalists Dana Bash and Jake Tapper at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10. (Christian Monterrosa - AFP / Getty Images)

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.

An Important Message from Our Staff:

In just a few months, the world is going to change forever. The 2024 election is the single most important election of our lifetime.

We here at The Western Journal are committed to covering it in a way the establishment media simply will not: We will tell the truth, and they will lie.

But Big Tech and the elites don’t want the truth out. That’s why they have cut us off from 90% of advertisers. Imagine if someone cut your monthly income by 90%. That’s what they’ve done to people like us.

As a staff, we are asking you to join us to fight this once-in-a-lifetime fight. Without you not only will The Western Journal fail, but America will fail also. As Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Will you support The Western Journal today and become a member?

A Western Journal Membership costs less than one coffee and breakfast sandwich each month, and it gets you access to ALL of our content — news, commentary, and premium articles. You’ll experience a radically reduced number of ads, and most importantly you will be vitally supporting the fight for America’s soul in 2024.

This is the time. America will live or die based on what happens this year. Please join us to get the real truth out and to fight the elites, Big Tech, and the people who want America to fail. Together, we really can save the country.

Thank you for your support!

P.S. Please stand with us!

Submit a Correction →