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CNN town hall with Nikki Haley

By Shania Shelton, Matt Meyer, Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 11:57 PM ET, Thu January 18, 2024
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9:26 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Haley says she's not bothered with Trump's personal attacks against her

From CNN's Maureen Chowdhury

Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18.
Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18. Will Lanzoni/CNN

During Thursday's debate, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley brushed off recent personal attacks hurled at her by former President Donald Trump.

CNN's Jake Tapper brought up the attacks Trump has posted regarding Haley's parents — who are immigrants from India — and falsely questioning her eligibility to run for president.

Haley responded by saying she is "the proud daughter of Bamberg, South Carolina, so I love my sweet town and I'm proud to say I'm from there."

"The name calling? I know Trump well. That's what he does when he feels threatened. That's what he does when he feels insecure. I don't take these things personally. It doesn't bother me," Haley said. "So it's not going to waste any energy for me. I'm going to continue to focus on the things that people want to talk about and not get into the name calling back with him."
9:16 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Haley attacks Trump and Biden for not participating in any debates

From CNN's Elise Hammond

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024. Will Lanzoni/CNN

GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley attacked her opponent former President Donald Trump for not participating in any debates.

"I would love for him to debate, that's what I have said this whole time, I think it's good for voters to see what their options are," she said at a CNN town hall, answering a question from New Hampshire voter Benjamin Grayzel, an undeclared voter who voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and currently supporting Haley.

Haley said the former president tends “to throw a temper tantrum” and likened Trump to incumbent President Joe Biden.

"Neither one of them will debate their opponents," Haley said. "It's very telling that we're dealing with more of the same. More of the same where you've got these incumbent presidents that they think they don't have to show you the differences between them and their opponents."

Haley argued that she would be a new generational leader, something she has said several times on the campaign trail, reiterating that most Americans don’t want to see a rematch between Trump and Biden in the general election.

9:27 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Haley says she wants a strong performance in New Hampshire primary: "We want to do better than we did in Iowa"

From CNN's Tori B. Powell

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024. Will Lanzoni/CNN

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said a stronger performance in the New Hampshire primaries is her "personal goal" after finishing in third place in the Iowa caucuses, behind former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"What I want to do is be strong. We're not going to know what strong looks like until those numbers come in," she told CNN's Jake Tapper when asked if a second-place ranking in the primaries would be good enough for her.

"We want to do better than we did in Iowa, that's my personal goal. To make sure we do better than we did in Iowa," she added.

9:20 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

CNN's GOP presidential town hall with Nikki Haley has begun in New Hampshire

From CNN staff

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley participates in a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18, 2024. Will Lanzoni/CNN

CNN is hosting a GOP presidential town hall with Nikki Haley from New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, following the network's town hall with Ron DeSantis earlier this week.

Haley is taking questions from CNN anchor Jake Tapper and a live audience of New Hampshire voters who say they intend to vote in the state's GOP primary, both registered Republicans and undecided or independent voters who are allowed to participate in the state's primary election.

Tapper said at the start of the event that to find tonight's questioners, CNN cast a wide net and solicited help from various organizations including universities, business groups religious groups and conservative advocacy organizations.

Guests of the Haley campaign and New England College are also in the audience tonight, but they will not be asking questions, Tapper noted.

The town hall comes ahead of next week's pivotal primary in that state, where Haley is looking to secure a strong showing to springboard her campaign.

How to watch the Haley town hall: The town hall is streaming live without a cable log-in via CNN.com, CNN connected TV and mobile apps and on CNN Max for Max subscribers. The town hall will also be available On Demand beginning Friday to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN apps, and Cable Operator Platforms.

8:28 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Haley ramps up attacks on Trump in New Hampshire as primary draws closer

From CNN's Ebony Davis in Hollis, New Hampshire

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on Thursday.
Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on Thursday. Matt Rourke/AP

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley ramped up her attacks on former President Donald Trump on Thursday as the New Hampshire primary draws closer.

“Trump says things. Americans aren’t stupid to just believe what he says. The reality is: who lost the House for us, who lost the Senate, who lost the White House? Donald Trump, Donald Trump, Donald Trump,” Haley said to reporters, following a campaign stop in the town of Hollis.

“Nikki Haley will win every single one of those back for us — I’ve proven that. So, he can say whatever he wants. His record has been that he lost the House, he lost the Senate, he lost the White House. That’s a fact,” she continued.

The former South Carolina governor continued to point to her electability, touting the Wall Street Journal poll from December that shows her leading in a head-to-head matchup against President Joe Biden.

“I win by 17 points against Biden. And Trump can call that a dirty poll all he wants. It was his own pollster that did it,” Haley said.

Retail stop: Haley also made a brief stop at Robie’s Country Store in Hooksett, New Hampshire, Thursday afternoon. She spoke for about two minutes, arguing that a majority of Americans do not want to see a Trump-Biden rematch, and that she could serve instead as a "new generational leader."

Haley's campaign says it is ramping up the number of shorter retail stops Haley makes in New Hampshire ahead of the primary.

8:08 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Haley says answer on racism wasn’t a slip of the tongue

From CNN's Ebony Davis in Hollis, New Hampshire

Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on Thursday.
Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign event in Hollis, New Hampshire, on Thursday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Thursday said her recent comment that the US has “never been a racist country” was not a slip of the tongue, adding that she doesn’t want anyone to think they live in a racist country or that being a minority in the US is a disadvantage.

During an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Haley claimed the US has “never been a racist country” when asked whether she thought the Republican Party was a racist party. 

Speaking with reporters on Thursday in New Hampshire, Haley was asked if those comments were a “slip of the tongue.”

“No. Listen, I was born a brown girl in a small, rural town in South Carolina. If my parents never wanted us to think we lived in a racist country -- did we face racism? Yes. But what I can tell you is that brown girl that grew up in that small rural town, grew up to become the first female minority governor in history, went on to become UN ambassador and is now running to for president of the United States,” she said.

“I don’t want any brown, Black, or other child thinking they live in a racist state – racist country," she continued. "I want them to know they can do and be anything they want to be without anyone getting in the way. Does that mean we have racism in our country? At times, yes, we do. Our goal should be how do we make today better than yesterday. I’m not going to make any child think that they’re coming in disadvantaged right off the bat just because of how they look. Thank God my parents didn’t raise me that way."

8:20 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Here's what to watch for at Nikki Haley's upcoming CNN town hall in New Hampshire

From CNN's Eric Bradner

The stage is set ahead of a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18.
The stage is set ahead of a CNN Republican Presidential Town Hall with former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire, on January 18. Will Lanzoni/CNN

Nikki Haley is set to participate in a CNN town hall tonight at 9 p.m. ET, just days before a New Hampshire primary that the onetime South Carolina governor hopes will shake loose former President Donald Trump’s hold on the 2024 Republican race.

Haley’s campaign has long viewed the Granite State — where the GOP primary electorate includes more moderates and independents than other early-voting states — as her best shot at a win. Trump, whose campaign in recent weeks has identified Haley as a threat, has escalated his attacks against her ahead of the primary.

Here are a few things to watch for at Thursday night's town hall:

  • Haley will need to hit Trump, but how? Wary of alienating the huge portion of the GOP base that remains loyal to the former president, Haley in recent days has lumped Trump together with President Joe Biden — swiping at both of them with an argument for generational change.
  • Will she reply to Trump's racist attacks? In a post Tuesday on his Truth Social platform, Trump slammed Haley while referring to her first name, Nimarata — which he misspelled as Nimrada. Trump also recently amplified a post that falsely claimed Haley was ineligible to run for president because her parents were not United States citizens at the time of her birth. She was born in South Carolina, and is a US citizen. Her response to these attacks will be a key element of this town hall.
  • If she wins in New Hampshire, what about South Carolina? While New Hampshire’s GOP primary electorate is relatively moderate, South Carolina’s is much more conservative — and even though it’s Haley’s home state, polls show Trump is well ahead there. If Haley defeats Trump in New Hampshire, all eyes would be on the Palmetto State’s February 24 primary

Read up on more things to watch ahead of tonight's CNN town hall.

7:21 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Andrew Yang endorses Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips

From CNN's Ali Main

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips gestures while addressing a gathering during a campaign stop on Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Dean Phillips gestures while addressing a gathering during a campaign stop on Thursday in Manchester, New Hampshire. Charles Krupa/AP

Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang endorsed Dean Phillips for president on Thursday while campaigning with the Minnesota Democrat in New Hampshire.

"In this time of need, only one person decided to place his country above his professional aspirations, put his conviction above the chattering class, and that is the man I am proud to endorse tonight as the next President of the United States, three-term congressman from Minnesota Dean Phillips," Yang said at an event in Hanover.

Phillips has adopted policies supported by Yang, like Medicare for All and Universal Basic Income pilot programs, as he attempts to appeal to a progressive base of voters and looks to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden.

6:58 p.m. ET, January 18, 2024

Here's what's been happening on the campaign trail with New Hampshire's primary only days away

From CNN staff

Nikki Haley talks with people at the historic Robie Country Store on January 18, in Hooksett, New Hampshire.
Nikki Haley talks with people at the historic Robie Country Store on January 18, in Hooksett, New Hampshire. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump is escalating attacks against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as he looks to clinch another victory in New Hampshire next week.

Meantime, Haley is ramping up the number of short campaign stops around the state, and is criticizing the former president along the way.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is back in his home state to attend to official business. He is expected to return to New Hampshire on Friday before spending some of the weekend in South Carolina — where he is shifting resources in an urgent move to salvage his White House bid.

Here's a look at what's been going on on the campaign trail:

  • Biden: President Joe Biden delivered remarks from Raleigh, North Carolina, Thursday, touting steps his administration has taken to invest in the state through his administration’s signature pieces of legislation. He also slammed Trump for comments predicting a recession. Next week, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will make their first joint campaign appearance as they look to lay out how abortion rights are at stake in November’s election.
  • Trump: The former president has been going after Haley in the Granite State where Haley’s rise in the polls has been aided by the state’s more moderate electorate and the outsize role independents play in the primary. Trump and his allies have ramped up spending to counter signs of momentum for the former South Carolina governor. Those ads have attacked Haley on immigration, something Trump’s team views as a top issue for Republicans in the state.
  • Haley: The GOP candidate, in turn, has also increased her attacks on the former president. “Trump says things. Americans aren’t stupid to just believe what he says," she said at a campaign stop, while also blaming Trump for losing control of the Senate and the White House in the last election. At another stop, Haley argued that she could serve as a "new generational leader." The former US Ambassador to the United Nations also defended her recent comment that the US has “never been a racist country," saying it was not a slip of the tongue. She said she doesn’t want anyone to think they live in a racist country or that being a minority in the US is a disadvantage.
  • DeSantis: The Florida governor said he has the money, the staff and the ability to stay in the presidential race until the end of March. In comments made on Hugh Hewitt's radio show Thursday, DeSantis said that he’s in the race to “win the nomination,” he indicated that he wouldn’t stay in for vanity’s sake. In recent days, DeSantis' campaign has left the New Hampshire airwaves to his rivals and abruptly shifted his campaign to South Carolina. As DeSantis prioritized Iowa and tacked further to the right to appease conservatives there, he fell out of favor with New Hampshire’s more moderate New England electorate.

Other news to know: