During CNN’s coverage of the Republican presidential debate on Wednesday, CNN host Abby Phillip reacted to the exchange between 2024 GOP presidential candidates Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on their records on China and donors by stating that it’s unclear “what the point is of all of this and what it has to do with actual United States policy toward China. They are trying to signal toughness by saying we’re going to kick China out of the United States, kick out the Confucius Institutes. It’s not really linked to real policy.”
After viewing the exchange between Haley and DeSantis, Phillip stated, “To me, this was — putting the substance aside for just a second — just those dynamics there, this was an example of Haley receding a little bit in a way that I don’t think really helped her. In the last debate, they had a huge blowup. Haley, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy over China and she was really in the mix. I think DeSantis did well there and really kind of outshined her on this issue.”
Host Anderson Cooper then asked, “Why do you think she was receding?”
Phillip responded, “Honestly, it’s hard to say, it’s hard to say. Look, some of this stuff is really in the weeds. I’ve heard them talk about this stuff multiple times. It is unclear to me what the point is of all of this and what it has to do with actual United States policy toward China. They are trying to signal toughness by saying we’re going to kick China out of the United States, kick out the Confucius Institutes. It’s not really linked to real policy. However, when it comes to signaling to the Republican base on China, I think DeSantis probably did a better job than Haley there in that moment.”
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