Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley skirt around question about Trump’s character during debate

DES MOINES, IOWA — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former US Ambassador Nikki Haley restrained themselves when speaking on former President Donald Trump’s character during their debate Wednesday evening.

Both candidates underscored their gripes about Trump’s behavior — but stopped short of a full-throated rebuke.

The debate moderators took note of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s parting message in which he knocked his rivals for not taking the fight to Trump and asked for their perspective on the former president’s character.

“I think the next president needs to have moral clarity,” Haley replied. “I think you need to have moral clarity to understand that when you’re dealing with dictators in the world.”

“Then you look at Donald Trump, I have said I think he was the right president at the right time,” she added. “I agree with a lot of his policies, but his way is not my way. I don’t have vengeance. I don’t have vendettas. I don’t take things personally. For me, it’s very much about no drama.”

DeSantis emphasized Trump’s shortcomings on the policy front during his tenure in the White House.

“I appreciated what President Trump did, but let’s just be honest, he said he was going to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. He did not deliver that. He said he was going to drain the swamp. He did not deliver that,” DeSantis said.

The Sunshine State governor then pivoted to bashing Haley.

“I debated the governor of California Gavin Newsom. You know, I thought he lied a lot. Man, Nikki Haley may give him a run for his money,” he chided.

CNN hosted the fifth GOP debate from Drake University — the final bout before the Iowa caucuses next Monday.

Trump chose to skip the debate, opting for a town hall on Fox News instead.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy missed the cut to make the debate stage and took part in a streaming forum with podcasters Tim Pool and Candace Owens instead.

Christie dropped a political bomb in the 2024 GOP contest, announcing his withdrawal.

The former governor had been polling in third place in New Hampshire.