Nikki Haley says she will only debate Donald Trump or Joe Biden
After former President Donald Trump dominated the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said in a statement Tuesday that she will only debate Trump or President Joe Biden.
"We've had five great debates in this campaign," the former U.N. ambassador said in the statement. "Unfortunately, Donald Trump has ducked all of them. He has nowhere left to hide. The next debate I do will either be with Donald Trump or with Joe Biden. I look forward to it."
Haley's statement came after a disappointing defeat in Iowa's caucuses where she came in third with about 19% of the vote -- behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 21% and Trump with 51%.
Shortly after Haley's statement, DeSantis posted to X that Haley "is afraid to debate because she doesn't want to answer the tough questions."
"The reality is that she is not running for the nomination, she's running to be Trump's VP," DeSantis wrote.
Trump has not participated in any of the GOP debates so far, indicating he saw no point given his large polling lead.
"President Trump's statement was that he would not attend the debates," adviser Chris LaCivita said after the second GOP debate. "Plural ... And that's his position until it's not."
Instead, Trump has favored counter-programming events such as rallies or televised interviews.
Haley has turned her focus to New Hampshire, where primaries are set for Jan. 23. Haley's campaign is betting big on a performance that could propel her campaign forward.
The South Carolina Republican has seen a consistent bump in polling since September, including recent Iowa polls that showed her narrowly ahead of DeSantis.
The narrow divide in Monday's caucus results between her and DeSantis means that no candidate can claim the clear mantle of Trump alternative.
Both Haley and DeSantis vowed to carry on after losing to Trump in the Iowa caucuses.
"We're gonna make you proud, and we're off to New Hampshire," Haley told supporters Monday night.
On Monday night, Haley's campaign released a memo that said she would take on Trump and Biden and "go the distance in a long campaign."
"The Iowa results and the New Hampshire polls show Donald Trump is more vulnerable than commonly believed. He is the polarizing figure he has long been," the memo from campaign manager Betsy Ankeny reads. "Trump and Biden are the two most disliked politicians in America."
ABC News' Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.