Ballot Buzz: Trump Tops, Haley Hops, and Christie's Confession - The Sizzling GOP Scoop!

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Welcome to Ballot, the podcast where
we spice up your political insights with a

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dash of sass. I'm your host, journey Joe Mitchell, and today we're

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diving headfirst into the heart of the
political battlefield as we gear up for two

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major events, the Iowa caucuses and
the next fiery Republican debate. In what

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can only be described as political theater, Ron DeSantis and a few other GOP

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presidential hopefuls have hinted they might pardon
former President Trump if given the chance.

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It's like a game of who wants
to be a vice president? Let's set

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the stage. Fox News is planning
a town hall with Trump and des Moines,

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Iowa on January tenth, clashing directly
with CNN's GOP primary debate. Trump,

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ever, the master of his own
narrative, has been giving the traditional

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debate format the cold shoulder, instead
opting for these more controlled environments. What's

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driving this, Well, it's Trump's
apparent preference for them these town halls over

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debates. In a move that's less
about debate tactics and more about staying in

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the spotlight. He's been urging the
GOP to cancel the remaining debates zooming out.

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The CNN debate on the same night
will feature Jake Tapper and Dana Bash's

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hosts. The stage is likely to
see Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN

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Ambassador NICKI Haley. With the Iowa
caucuses just days away, it's a smaller

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field with only these two and Trump
clearing CNN's polling threshold for participation. But

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here's where it gets spicy. Vivik
Ramaswami, missing out on the CNN debate

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eligibility, isn't staying quiet. He's
decided to join forces with conservative media personality

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Tim Poole for a live town hall, making it a night of split screen

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political drama. In a twist,
Haley has publicly nudged Trump to join the

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CNN debate, perhaps a tactical move
to consolidate her standing as the GOP field

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narrows. The plot thickens with DeSantis, who has been doubling down on his

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campaign in Iowa, known for its
socially conservative electorate, Yet he faces a

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challenge from Haley, who's been gaining
momentum and could upset his plans. Meanwhile,

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vivek Ramaswami, despite a rigorous campaign
effort, in Iowa isn't seeing much

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movement in his polling numbers. Other
candidates like former New Jersey Governor Chris Christy

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and Asa Hutchinson are also in the
mix, but aren't making significant waves in

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Iowa. DeSantis, backed by influential
figures in Iowa, is still finding it

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tough to pull supporters away from the
Trump camp. Trump, meanwhile, is

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releasing ads targeting Haley, perhaps seeing
her as a more significant threat. All

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this sets the stage for a fascinating
political showdown in Iowa. While Trump's support

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seems unshakable, the battle for second
and third place is heating up. The

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real drama, however, might just
be the day after the caucuses, as

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Trump faces a slew of legal challenges. In the broader picture, Trump and

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by and are already in general campaign
mode, with Biden marking the January sixth

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insurrection anniversary and focusing on key campaign
issues. Let's dive in in a strategic

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move that's turning heads, Fox News
has announced their hosting a town hall with

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former President Trump in Des Moines,
Iowa, on January tenth. Coincidentally or

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not, it's the same time CNN
is rolling out their GOP primary debate here's

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the lowdown. The Fox Newstown Hall
set for nine to ten pm Eastern.

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We'll see Brett Bayer and Martha McCallum
playing hosts. Trump meanwhile, has been

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steering clear of the Republican primary debates. Back in October, he even suggested

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the Republican National Committee should just scrap
the remaining debates. Talk about playing by

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your own rules. Meanwhile, over
at CNN, their debate is scheduled for

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the same time slot on January tenth, hosted by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,

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with likely only Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
and former UN Ambassador Nicky Hayley stepping

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into the spotlight just days before the
key January fifteenth Iowa caucuses. Interestingly,

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Hailey, DeSantis, and Trump were
the only ones who made the cut for

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the CNN debate, according to the
network. And get this, Hailey's throwing

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a bit of shade Trump's way.
She called him out to join the CNN

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debate, pointing to the dwindling size
of the debate stage. As the debate

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stage continues to shrink, it's getting
harder for Donald Trump to hide, Hailey

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quipped. On the same night,
CNN hosts their Republican debate in Iowa,

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presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswami is charting his
own course with a town hall event.

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It's an interesting split screen moment in
politics, Ramaswami told Fox News Digital establishment

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insiders will be on the CNN stage
and outsiders will be speaking directly to the

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people, a clear indication of his
stance as an outsider in this political race.

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The Ramaswami campaign didn't mince words,
saying ratings wastelands Z has not only

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guaranteed themselves the most boring presidential debate
in modern history, with two career politicians

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reciting consultant vetted talking points, but
the network has exposed itself to be actively

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engaging in egregious interference with the Iowa
GOP caucus and disrespecting GOP voters. They

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further criticized CNN, alleging the network
disgracefully cut short a town hall event with

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Ramaswami last month. However, CNN
insiders pushed back against these claims. They

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insisted the December town hall wasn't cut
short and any legal threats stemmed from the

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Ramaswami campaign uploading the entire event online
as one Insider put it. The criteria

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was set on December seventh for the
January tenth Iowa debate, and Trump,

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Hailey, and DeSantis qualified. Ramaswami's
December CNN town hall ran the full length

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and as far as uploading the video
online, any individual cannot upload an hour

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of content from a cable television channel
onto YouTube. These are the same rules

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that apply to the nfl oscars,
Game of Thrones or other programming. This

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isn't the first time Ramaswami has butted
heads with CNN. In a previous town

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hall, he clashed with CNN anchor
Abby Phillip over his comments about January sixth,

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accusing the government of lying and mocking
phillips interruptions as the establishment doesn't approve

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this message. Politico looked closer at
Iowa. Donald Trump is sitting pretty at

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the top among Republican grassroots leaders,
while Nikki Haley has surprisingly overtaken Ron DeSantis

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for the runner up spot. This
shakeup comes from a new poll targeting GOP

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county chairs nationwide, showing a last
minute shift among those looking for a Trump

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alternative swinging towards Haley instead of DeSantis. Just before the Iowa caucuses. The

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numbers speak volumes. Trump leads with
thirty seven percent, Hailey follows with sixteen

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percent, and DeSantis trails at nine
percent. And the candidate least favored by

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these chairs Chris Christy. This poll
isn't just a one off. It's part

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of a year long effort to get
a handle on the so called invisible primary,

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that critical pre voting phase of the
campaign where backroom strategies and alliances are

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forged, often setting the stage for
who eventually comes out on top. County

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chairs are the movers and shakers in
this phase. They're deeply embedded in the

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party's internal workings and wield considerable sway
in local GOP networks. Their endorsements are

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golden tickets for candidates, but they're
not just political kingmakers. They've got their

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ears to the ground, staying in
tune with the grassroots. They're shifting allegiances

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are like a weather vein, showing
which way the party winds are blowing.

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More In a moment, Republican presidential
hopeful Chris Christie is hitting the airwaves with

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a new ad and guess what he's
eating a slice of humble pie. In

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this sixty second long May have k. Christy looks straight into the camera and

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says, okay, folks, here's
the deal. Eight years ago, I

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threw my support behind Donald Trump why
he was on a winning streak and I

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thought, hey, maybe I can
polish this diamond in the rough. Spoiler

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alert. I was wrong, big
mistake. And Christy isn't just stopping there.

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He's using this confession as a springboard
pointing out that we're back at square

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one with Trump leading the polls.
It's like deja vus, but with more

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at stake. Christie's ad is less
of a campaign pitch and more of a

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been there, done that got the
T shirt moment in political history. Chris

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Christy didn't hold back when radio host
Hugh Hewitt's questions didn't quite hit the mark.

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The sparks flew when Hewitt, probing
the former New Jersey governor and known

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Trump critic, asked a direct question, if it's Donald Trump, Republican nominee

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against Joe Biden Democratic nominee, who
will Chris Christie vote for. Christie's response

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was straightforward at this point, I
wouldn't vote for either one of them.

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But Hewitt not want to let it
go easily pushed further, asking Christy what

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his plan would be. Christy held
his ground, saying I'd vote down ballot.

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Hewitt, aiming for a more definitive
stance, pressed on, but Christy

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was ready with his rebuttal. I
mean, Hugh, this is not news.

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I've been saying this from the beginning. I'm the guy who didn't raise

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my hand on the stage when they
asked me if you would support him if

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he was a convicted felon, he
exclaimed, Clearly exasperated. As the interview

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progressed, Christy couldn't help but call
out the radio host for the lackluster line

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of questioning. Hugh, you've interviewed
me one hundred times. This is probably

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the least substantive chat we've ever had, he remarked. As we look ahead

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to the Iowa Caucuses and the next
Republican debate, keep your ears open and

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your minds alert. Remember, stay
informed, stay engaged, and always be

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ready to challenge the status quo.
Catch you next time for more insightful dives

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into the world of politics.