Midwest

Trump wasn't there to defend himself, but comes away relatively unscathed in DeSantis-Haley Iowa debate

Published

2 years ago

January 12, 2024

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Trump wasn't there to defend himself, but comes away relatively unscathed in DeSantis-Haley Iowa debate

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DES MOINES, Iowa – It was a slugfest.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, sharing the debate stage in Iowa five days before the state’s caucuses kick off the Republican presidential nominating calendar, spent much of their two-hour showdown Wednesday night attacking each other and disagreeing on policy.

That allowed the absent front-runner in the GOP race – former President Donald Trump – to emerge relatively unscathed in a debate that was held a couple of hours after another contender – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, suspended his campaign.

Trump, who skipped a Republican debate for the fifth straight time since last summer, was a few miles away in downtown Des Moines, taking part in a Fox News town hall.

WHAT FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP SAID AT A FOX NEWS TOWN HALL IN IOWA

Former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, right, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, left, appearing at a Republican presidential nomination debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The verbal fireworks ignited moments into the debate, with DeSantis charging that Haley was a “mealymouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear just to try to get your vote.”

Haley immediate hit back, labeling DeSantis a liar.

“What we’re going to do is rather than have him go and tell you all these lies, you can go to DeSantislies.com and look at all of those,” Haley argued, in the first of numerous references to a new campaign website.

And she warned the audience at the debate – which took place at Iowa’s Drake University – “don’t turn this into a drinking game. You will be overserved.”

After DeSantis claimed that “Haley’s running to pursue her donors’ issues. I’m running to pursue your issues and your family’s issues,” she returned fire, arguing DeSantis “is only mad about the donors because the donors used to be with him, but they’re no longer with him now.”

And Haley charged that DeSantis’ “campaign is exploding.”

DeSantis, who touted a campaign website of his own full of opposition research clips of Haley, knocked her for suffering from “ballistic podiatry” as he pointed to her recent gaffes on the campaign trail.

He also targeted Haley over her record as South Carolina governor, from gas taxes to groceries, while she took aim at DeSantis for votes he took as a congressman from Florida.

CHRISTIE TAKES AIM AT HALEY AS THE FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR DROPS OUT OF THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

DeSantis, who was convincingly re-elected to a second term as Florida governor 14 months ago, was once the clear alternative to Trump in the Republican White House race. He was solidly in second place behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner as he makes his third straight presidential bid.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participates in a Republican Presidential Primary Debate at Drake University on January 10, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But after a series of campaign setbacks over the summer and autumn, DeSantis saw his support in the polls erode.

Haley grabbed momentum during the autumn, thanks to well-regarded debate performances. And in recent weeks she caught up with DeSantis for second place in the polls in Iowa and in national surveys.

Haley also surpassed DeSantis and surged to second place and narrowed the gap with Trump in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary — just eight days after Iowa’s caucuses.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, a former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, participates in a Republican Presidential Primary Debate at Drake University on January 10, 2024 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Haley and DeSantis battled over key issues, from the war in Ukraine and the bloodshed in the Middle East to border security, immigration, and raising the Social Security eligibility age.

DeSantis charged Haley was a globalist, saying “you can take the ambassador out of the United Nations, but you can’t take the United Nations out of the ambassador,

In a sharp exchange on immigration, DeSantis accusing Haley of being soft on securing the border. Haley returned fire, arguing “you can’t trust what Ron is saying.”

While DeSantis and Haley spent plenty of time targeting each other, they did step up their attacks on Trump, with both of them criticizing Trump for not showing up at the debate and knocking the former president on policy.

DeSantis slammed Trump for failing to “drain the swamp” and to finish building the border wall with Mexico, and slammed him on the issue of abortion.

Former President Donald Trump, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks during a Fox News town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. (KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Haley targeted Trump for the exploding national debt and not taking a tougher stance against China.

She also aimed to frame the race as a two-candidate contest between her and the former president, stressing “I wish Donald Trump was up here on this stage. He is the one that I’m running against.”

Longtime Republican strategist David Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns and statewide contests in Iowa, was in the debate hall on Wednesday night.

Kochel told Fox News that DeSantis and Haley are “both getting a little bolder in going after” Trump.

“There are two campaigns going on in Iowa right now. One is Trump vs. his expectations and the other one is Haley vs. DeSantis to see who gets the right to take on Trump one-on-one,” Kochel emphasized.

Kochel, who remains neutral in the GOP nomination race, noted that Haley and DeSantis “both want a shot at Trump and the other one’s in the way.”

“She certainly got her licks in. She came across as more polished,” he argued. But he added that DeSantis “knew what he wanted to do tonight.”

And Kochel didn’t see much downside for Trump – who is sitting on a massive lead in the latest Iowa polls – in skipping the debate.

“His people don’t care. They’re with him no matter what,” he said. And he noted that DeSantis and Haley are “in the semi-finals. Trump has a bye week.”

Not on the debate stage because he fell short of the qualifying thresholds was multi-millionaire entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

But Ramaswamy did appear, in a direct-to-camera TV ad that aired on Iowa TV during a commercial break where he urged viewers to “turn this sh– off.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

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Midwest

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

Published

2 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Ilhan Omar doesn’t have any regrets for her ‘unavoidable’ outburst at State of the Union

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., spoke candidly on Wednesday, defending her outbursts during President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.

Omar, along with colleague Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who was seated next to her, appeared on video repeatedly interrupting and gesturing toward Trump several times throughout his speech.

Omar appeared to shout “You are a murderer” and “You’re a liar.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar, right, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib at her side, spoke at a news conference at the State Capitol. (Renee Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty Images)

When appearing on CNN, Omar was pressed by host Wolf Blitzer, who noted that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., asked members of his caucus to either sit in silence or to not attend at all.

“Should you have just boycotted the address? And do you think you violated the guidelines set out by your own leader?” he asked.

“No, I think it was really unavoidable. The president talked about protecting Americans, and I just had to remind him that his administration was responsible for killing two of my constituents,” Omar responded.

“Do you have any regrets at all about the interaction we played between you and President Trump just last night?” Blitzer asked.

“I do not, and I think many people look at that moment when the president says, ‘It is our responsibility to protect Americans,’ and he does not acknowledge the fact that two Americans, two of my constituents, two of our neighbors, were killed,” she said. “And it was important for me to just remind the American people that the president and his administration was responsible for killing two American citizens.”

Blitzer proceeded to ask, with hindsight in mind, whether she still thinks she made the right choice by showing up.

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., shout at President Donald Trump as he delivers his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“I brought four Minnesotans up as guests for the Minnesota delegation. It was important for us to be there, to bear witness, to hold space for our constituents that have lived through an occupation from federal law enforcement, that have been terrorized, that have seen our neighbors been killed and traumatized in so many ways and, so, no. I think it was really important for my constituents to see me there,” she said.

“It was really important to my constituents to hear that. I was reminding the president that Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed under this administration.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE

Democrats have rallied around the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good as a means to criticize ICE and immigration enforcement efforts. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

It responded with a Truth Social post from Trump in which he called for critics like Omar and Tlaib to be put on a boat and “send them back from where they came.”

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

Alexander Hall is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Alexander.hall@fox.com.

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Detroit, MI

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Published

4 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Rex Satterfield’s 1956 Bel Air takes 2026 Ridler Award in Detroit

Rex Satterfield hoped to see his 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible snag one of the BASF Great 8 finalist spots at this year’s Detroit Autorama. But winning the Ridler Award — one of the highest honors in the custom car business — was something he didn’t foresee.

“It’s just overwhelming right now,” said the man from Russellville, Tennessee, as he left a ballroom at downtown’s Huntington Place and made his way back to the show floor on Sunday, March 1. “We weren’t expecting this.”

Getting a car recognized as one of the BASF Great 8 vehicles is a win in and of itself as they are considered the “absolute pinnacle of custom automotive craftsmanship worldwide,” according to the show. The cars undergo an intensive judging process.

And this effort had an unexpected and emotional complication with the passing in December 2024 of the original builder, Jeff Wolfenbarger, who was battling cancer even as he continued working on the car named “Elegant Lady.”

Kevin Riffey of Kevin Riffey’s Hot Rods and Restorations in Knoxville stepped in to finish the work Wolfenbarger started. He’d had two other cars in the past make the Great 8. He said the goal with this vehicle was straightforward, calling it a “purpose-built show car.”

From its prominent spot at the front of the show floor, “Elegant Lady” sported a creamy exterior, dubbed Light Coffee. The car carries a 1,000 horsepower Don Hardy race engine. The gauges, wheels and gas tank are custom, and the dash is from a 1956 Pontiac.

Satterfield plans to show the car around some and enjoy the moment with it. He said he’s been a car guy since he was a little kid.

The Ridler Award, named in honor of Detroit Autorama’s first publicist, Don Ridler, comes with a $10,000 prize. It was awarded on the final day of this year’s Detroit Autorama, which ran Friday, Feb. 27-Sunday, March 1. This was the event’s 73rd year.

Eric D. Lawrence is the senior car culture reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Send your tips and suggestions about cool automotive stuff to elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

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Milwaukee, WI

Milwaukee Weather – Frosty and cold morning, sunny day ahead

Published

5 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels

Frosty Monday morning with temps in the teens inland to low 20s near the lake.
Mostly sunny to sunny skies on Monday. Highs in the mid-40s inland, upper 30s near the lake.
A total lunar eclipse will happen Tuesday morning, total eclipse from 5-6am. It may be tough to see due to increasing clouds.
Increasing clouds on Tuesday with highs in the low 40s. Chance of rain and storms possible Wednesday through Friday with warming temperatures.

Today: 39 Lake. Mostly sunny.
High: 44°
Wind: SE 5-10

Tonight: Partly cloudy this evening, mostly clear overnight.
Low: 27°
Wind: SE 5

Tuesday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy.
High: 43°
Wind: E 5-10

Wednesday:41 Lake. Chance for scattered showers and t-storms.
AM Low: 32° High: 45°
Wind: E 5-10

Thursday: 39 Lake. Mostly cloudy. Chance storms.
AM Low: 37° High: 42°
Wind: NE 5-10

Friday: Chance for showers and t-storms Warmer. Warming at night.
AM Low: 37° High: 57°
Wind: SE 5-15

Saturday: Mostly cloudy with AM rain showers. Blustery with falling afternoon temperatures.
AM Low: 47° High: 53°
Wind: NE 5-10

6-day planner

FOX6 Weather Extras

Local perspective:

Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:

FOX6 Storm Center app

FOX LOCAL Mobile app

FOX Weather app

FOX Weather

Big picture view:

Maps and radar

We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.

School and business closings

When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.