In response to the CNN debate between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis tonight, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:

“Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis took their desperate mudslinging to embarrassing new lows tonight as the race for the MAGA base sank to levels none of us thought possible. It’s odd that Haley and DeSantis are at each other’s throats when they agree on so much, like whitewashing history, ripping away health care from millions, banning abortion, coddling election deniers, gutting Social Security and Medicare, and denying the threat of climate change. They can fight all they want about who is more MAGA – but neither of them will ever make it to the White House.”

Haley and DeSantis are both anti-abortion extremists who would sign a national abortion ban into law.

Fox News: “Nikki Haley, 2024 Republican candidate, vows to sign federal abortion ban if elected president”

New York Times: “Nikki Haley Says She Would Have Signed Six-Week Abortion Ban as Governor”

Politico: “Haley, who ‘often clashed with members of her party because she labeled them insufficiently conservative’ on abortion,

• ‘co-sponsored legislation in 2009 mandating a 24-hour waiting period between a woman’s abortion consultation and the procedure itself’
• ‘voted to end abortion coverage for victims of rape and incest in the state health plan for employees’
• ‘signed the most conservative abortion bill South Carolina Republicans were able to pass through both chambers at the time,’ and the law did not include exceptions for rape and incest.”

Kirsten Welker: “Would you support a 15-week federal limit?”

Haley: “I would support anything that would pass.”

Haley: “Whatever we can get 60 Senate votes on, isn’t that better than what we have now? And if it’s– if it’s six weeks, that’s great. If it’s 15 weeks, that’s great.” 

New York Times: “DeSantis Says He Would Sign a 15-Week Abortion Ban as President”

DeSantis: “As president, I’m going to welcome pro-life policies across the board at both [state and federal] levels.”

Radio Iowa: “Would you sign the nationwide 15-week [abortion] ban that the Faith and Freedom Coalition supports?”

DeSantis: “So I’ve said from the beginning of this, as president, you put pro-life legislation on my desk, I’m going to look favorably and support the legislation.”

Tucker Carlson: “You signed a ban on abortion after six weeks in Florida. Would you do the same as president, nationally?”

DeSantis: “I’m proud to have been a pro-life governor and I will be a pro life-president, so of course I want to sign pro-life legislation.”

Haley and DeSantis both oppose the Affordable Care Act, which provides health care coverage to millions of Americans.

Jack Heath: “They’re going ahead and saying you would repeal the Affordable Care Act, would you?”

Haley: “It’s not about one small policy of, you know, Affordable Care Act. It’s about fixing the entire health care system.”

Haley: “When it came to Obamacare, we didn’t just say ‘no,’ we said never. … And we’re going to keep on fighting until we get people like [Senator Tim Scott] and everybody else in Congress to defund Obamacare.”

MSNBC: “Ron DeSantis joins the Republican campaign to tear down the ACA”

Justin Dougherty, Fox Carolina: “If Republicans get control of Washington, [with] you in the White House, what’s your plan to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act?”

DeSantis: “Well, look, that was a big failure. … It’s a total mess. We’re gonna have a comprehensive plan to lower people’s costs, and yes Obamacare hasn’t done it, so we’ll transcend Obamacare, but I think you got to do a lot more than just that.”

DeSantis: “We must repeal ObamaCare. … I have no desire to ‘improve’ or ‘reform’ ObamaCare. I intend to repeal it.” 

HuffPost: “As a Republican serving in the U.S. House, [DeSantis] was part of a far-right caucus that voted against the first ACA repeal bill that leadership brought to the floor because, DeSantis and his allies said, it didn’t undo enough of the law’s protections for people with pre-existing conditions. GOP leaders eventually put forward a more aggressive repeal. DeSantis and his colleagues voted yes on that one, but it failed in the Senate.”

Haley and DeSantis have both whitewashed history and downplayed the horrific legacy of slavery.

Politico: “Haley declines to say slavery was cause of Civil War”

Haley: “What do you want me to say about slavery? Next question.”

The Messenger: “Haley in First Campaign Event After Controversial Comments: ‘Civil War Was About Slavery … but It Was Also More’”

Haley: “We know the Civil War was about slavery, but it was also more than that. It was about the freedoms of every individual. It was about the role of government. … We stand by that.”

Haley: “You know for those groups that come in and say they have issues with the Confederate flag, I will work to talk to them about it. I will work and talk to them about the heritage and how this is not something that is racist. This is something that is a tradition that people feel proud of and let them know that we want their business in this state and that the flag where it is was a compromise of all people, that everybody should accept as part of South Carolina.”

CNN: “Haley also said she supported South Carolina’s ‘Confederate History Month’ during the interview, comparing it to Black History Month.”

New York Magazine: “Years after basking in national plaudits for her action on the the flag, Haley backtracked while serving in the Trump administration, saying the Confederate flag was seen as an emblem of ‘service, and sacrifice, and heritage’ before it was ‘hijacked’ by the Charleston murderer Dylann Roof.”

Washington Post: “DeSantis doubles down on claim that some Blacks benefited from slavery”

“Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is intensifying his efforts to de-emphasize racism in his state’s public school curriculum by arguing that some Black people benefited from being enslaved and defending his state’s new African American history standards that civil rights leaders and scholars say misrepresents centuries of U.S. reality.

“‘They’re probably going to show that some of the folks that eventually parlayed, you know, being a blacksmith into doing things later in life,’ DeSantis said on Friday in response to reporters’ questions while standing in front of a nearly all-White crowd of supporters.”

Politico: “New Florida teaching standards say African Americans received some ‘personal benefit’ from slavery”

Haley and DeSantis both spent last year campaigning with election deniers and have failed to denounce election denialism during their campaigns.

Washington Post: “[Haley] has endorsed and campaigned with a slate of Senate candidates who reject or question the 2020 election results as she positions herself as a potential 2024 presidential candidate. Haley appeared at a rally Tuesday with Don Bolduc of New Hampshire, who insisted Trump won the election and that President Biden was illegitimate … She also campaigned with Adam Laxalt of Nevada, who led the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn the results in that state. And she endorsed Ted Budd of North Carolina, who as a congressman voted against certifying the electoral college results on Jan. 6, 2021.”

Deseret News: “Nikki Haley adds controversial former U.S. Senate candidate to campaign team”

“Don Bolduc, a retired Army general and former U.S. Senate candidate, is the new chair for Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley’s New Hampshire campaign, the Haley campaign announced Tuesday morning. Bolduc made national headlines during his 2022 Senate campaign … for his controversial views on COVID-19 and the 2020 election.”

Fox News: “Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley has secured the endorsement of a top Trump ally, House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Ralph Norman. … His support comes … after Norman did not vote to certify the 2020 election, in a nod to his loyalty to Trump.”

Sarasota Herald-Tribune: “With many blaming President Donald Trump and allies who encouraged him to challenge the election results for the lawlessness in the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis defended his support for the president’s unprecedented push to overturn the election. DeSantis said after the election that Trump should ‘fight on’ and ‘exhaust all options’ in challenging the results.”

DeSantis: “I think it’s ridiculous how much money that they pumped in for the Capitol Police. It was not an insurrection. These are people that were there to attend a rally and then they were there to protest.”

New York Times: “Mr. DeSantis ducked only one question. A teenage boy invited him to condemn Mr. Trump’s efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. DeSantis declined to do so.”

Florida Politics: “DeSantis on Thursday stopped short of blaming Trump, himself and enablers who fueled election conspiracies or refused to accept the election results.”

Tampa Bay Times: “On Jan. 6 anniversary, DeSantis disputes that Capitol attack was an ‘insurrection’”

Politico: “Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday condemned the commemoration of the violent Jan. 6 Capitol riots as a way for Democrats and the news media to ‘smear’ supporters of former President Donald Trump.”

Politico: “DeSantis won’t say if he thinks 2020 was rigged. But he’s campaigning for Republicans who do.”

CNN: “DeSantis recently embarked on a national tour to boost the campaigns of some of the most fervent election deniers nominated by his party this cycle.”

Haley and DeSantis have yearslong records of being proponents of devastating cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Andrew Ross Sorkin: “Are you on board with cutting entitlements in a big and meaningful way?”

Haley: “Social security goes bankrupt in 10 years, Medicare goes bankrupt in eight. Anyone that says they’re not going to take on entitlement reform means they’re going to go in and be president and leave the country bankrupt. You can’t do that.”

Associated Press: “Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is proposing changes to entitlement programs for younger generations, opening the door to potential cuts to Social Security and Medicare if elected.”

Washington Post: “[Haley] also praised Ryan’s Medicare proposal at the time and said lawmakers should examine Medicare and Social Security spending to address federal debt. ‘What they need to be doing is looking at entitlements,’ Haley said in a 2010 interview on Fox News. ‘Look at Social Security. Look at Medicaid. Look at Medicare. Look at these things, and let’s actually go to the heart of what is causing government to grow, and tackle that.’”

CNN: “[DeSantis] repeatedly said he supported plans to replace Medicare with a system in which the government paid for partial costs of private plans or a traditional Medicare plan. In one interview with a local newspaper, DeSantis said he supported ‘the same thing’ for Social Security, citing the need for ‘market forces’ to restructure the program.”

Semafor: “DeSantis voted for a series of budget resolutions crafted by the conservative Republican Study Committee that would have voucherized Medicare for new beneficiaries, slowed Social Security cost of living increases, and raised the retirement age for both programs.”

Haley and DeSantis have both sided with the gun lobby over the safety of American communities.

USA Today: “‘You’ve always got a partner in me,’ Haley told NRA delegates.”

The Messenger: “Nikki Haley Rejects ‘Red Flag’ Laws at CNN Town Hall”

USA Today: “After Nashville school shooting, Nikki Haley tells voters she is against gun control legislation”

Washington Times: “South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Sunday said the botched FBI background check that allowed the man accused of the massacre at a historic black church in Charleston to buy the handgun used in the attack is tragic but does not justify expanding such checks.”

NBC News: “Ron DeSantis quietly legalizes carrying concealed weapons without permits”

“With little fanfare, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed legislation Monday allowing residents to carry a concealed loaded weapon without a permit. DeSantis signed the bill in a nonpublic event in his office with only bill sponsors, legislative leaders and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, in attendance.” 

Naples Daily News: “During his time in Congress, DeSantis has backed legislation that seeks to allow anyone with a concealed gun permit in one state to carry it in another and has co-sponsored numerous proposals backed by the NRA.”

Tampa Bay Times: “Gov. Ron DeSantis was recorded Thursday telling a member of a gun rights group that he supports allowing Floridians to openly carry guns in public — a measure that has been publicly opposed by some law enforcement officials and that would go further than any bill now filed for the upcoming legislative session.”

“‘Yeah, absolutely,’ DeSantis is heard to say during a 10-second interaction recorded by Valdes and shared with the Times. ‘I don’t think they’re going to do it, but I would absolutely.’”

Haley and DeSantis both want to make permanent Trump’s MAGAnomics tax giveaways for the ultra-wealthy and big corporations. 

Haley: “Well I think what I’d like to see is us go back to what Trump had under the tax cuts under him … I was there.”

DeSantis on whether he’d keep Trump’s tax rates in place: “The current rates that are due to expire, we want to keep those rates in place. We don’t want to see increases in taxes. We definitely wanna see things like permanent bonus depreciation, making sure you have full expensing.” 

Haley and DeSantis have both supported policies that would bring us backward in our efforts to combat climate change.

Haley: “I pulled us out of the Paris Climate Agreement.”

The Hill: “As U.N. ambassador during the Trump administration, Haley played a key role in the former president’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, which she touts on her campaign website.”

New York Times: “[Haley] defended, for example, leading the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord while at the United Nations.”

The Guardian: “Ron DeSantis has been accused of a ‘catastrophic’ approach to the climate crisis after he launched his campaign for US president by saying he rejects the ‘politicization of the weather’ and questioning whether hurricanes hitting his home state of Florida have been worsened by climate change.”

DeSantis: “We are not going to enforce net zero commitments or things like the Paris Climate Accord.”