CHARLESTON, S.C. — Presidential candidate Nikki Haley has accepted CNN's invitation to debate in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, five days before the Iowa caucuses. Haley called on Donald Trump to participate in the Iowa debate after having skipped all previous debates.
In the 2015-2016 campaign, Trump pulled a similar stunt. After participating in early campaign debates, then leading in the polls and thinking he had the race in the bag, Trump skipped the Iowa debate days before the 2016 caucuses only to take second place.
"The first four debates have been great for our campaign and for voters, and we look forward to the fifth in Iowa," Haley said. "As the debate stage continues to shrink, it's getting harder for Donald Trump to hide."
Nikki Haley, Haley Campaign Press Release - Haley Accepts Iowa Debate, Calls on Trump to Show Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/369751