An adviser to GOP presidential primary candidate Nikki Haley said what her strategy will be during the first Republican debate later this month. Haley, and likely the other candidates, too, will focus their fire on Ron DeSantis. It is not expected that the other candidates will take shots at Trump. Except, Chris Christie. He’ll be on the stage to aggressively go after Trump.

Christie has said as much – his focus is on taking out Trump and if he can’t take him out as a candidate, he wants to slow his path to the nomination. Christie has been regularly campaigning in New Hampshire in hopes of winning that primary. He won’t but he may finish in the top three. With a win in the top three, Christie could justify going on in the primary if he has the funds to do so.

NEW: Adviser to @NikkiHaley says candidates who attend first GOP primary debate will likely treat Trump “gingerly” and instead train their fire on @RonDeSantis.

This is not a surprise, as we all know most of the candidates are unofficially working in league with Trump to take… pic.twitter.com/YZ0w5GKadH

— Cryptid Politics 🇺🇸🐊 (@CryptidPolitics) August 7, 2023

Haley’s adviser was honest about the attitude toward Trump. None of them are going to be bold enough to attack Trump. They could challenge him and his record in office. His record is mostly a good one, to be sure, but he has vulnerabilities, too. He accepted the pandemic mandates and advice from Fauci with little more than an off-hand comment about wanting to keep the economy strong and businesses open. That didn’t happen, though, and Team Fauci got what they wanted. The country shut down and everyone stayed home. The economy that had been so robust during Trump’s time in office took a nose dive because so many people were at home and unable to work. It was something we’ve never seen in our lives.

Last week Haley told Good Morning New Hampshire that she is “tired of commenting on every Trump drama” after he was indicted for a third time.

During an appearance on the Good Morning New Hampshire with Jack Heath radio show, Haley was asked how much time should be devoted to talking about the former president and the issues he faces, versus the issues the country faces.

“Unlike the other candidates, I didn’t rush out with a statement yesterday on Trump’s indictment for one simple reason: Like most Americans, I’m tired of commenting on every Trump drama. I’ve lost track of whether this indictment is the third or fourth or the fifth,” she said.

“We should be focusing on how to stop China,” she added. “We should be focusing on how to close the border. We need to be reversing Bidenomics. Putting a 77-year-old former president in prison doesn’t do any of that. We’ve got to move on already.”

Nikki Haley won’t lay a glove on Trump. Heck, she called Trump before she entered the primary and all but asked for his permission to run, according to how Trump tells the story. The only person standing in the way of Nikki’s campaign is Ron DeSantis. And Vivek Ramaswamy. And Mike Pence. You get the point. Haley isn’t even in the top three in the primary race. She’s running for vice president.

It’s easy to understand why no one is going after Trump, besides Christie and Will Hurd. They don’t want the personal attacks and the derogatory nicknames. Some of the other candidates are letting loose with a zinger against Trump now and then but nothing has been consistent. It’s hard for them to break through with all the publicity of the indictments and hearings into the Biden family business. Thanks to the Democrats and their overreach as they try desperately to keep Trump out of the White House, he is receiving support from primary voters. Trump is number one in the polls by a substantial percentage. A distant number two is DeSantis. His campaign’s reboot is still a work in progress and I do expect to see him close the gap between himself and Trump as the summer moves on. I look for a breakout moment in the debate that sets DeSantis well on his way in the primary. His polling numbers have been stagnant and I look for that to change.

It is expected that Trump will sit out the first Republican primary debate and if so, DeSantis will have center stage. Every other candidate will be gunning for him. DeSantis can handle it. He’s sharp, well-versed on his positions, and he can articulate his message well.

The Real Clear Politics website shows the aggregated total numbers, with Trump up by 38 points over the rest of the field of Republican candidates. Trump is at 53.7%, and DeSantis is at 15.7%. Next is Vivek at 6.0%, Pence at 5.1%, and then Haley at 3.6%. Tim Scott is at 2.9%, Christie is at 2.3%, Hutchinson is at 0.9%, Burgum is at 0.5%, and Hurd at 0.3%.

The media is all Trump 24-7. They want him to be the nominee because they think Biden can beat him in 2024. The problem with that is Biden is hugely unpopular and his numbers are actually down a little over what they were before the last Trump indictment was announced. Kamala is also very unpopular. Democrats don’t want another Biden-Harris election but that’s what they have, at least as it stands now.

DeSantis is campaigning hard in Iowa with Casey and the kids. He promises to visit all 99 counties in Iowa, which is a big deal for Iowans. He is also concentrating on New Hampshire and to a lesser degree, South Carolina. He seems to be inching up in Iowa. The latest poll there is the NY Times/Siena poll from 7/28 – 8/1. Trump and DeSantis are the only two candidates in double digits. Trump is at 44% and DeSantis is at 20%. Trump’s overall lead in Iowa is 24%.

State polls are more important than national polls. We don’t have a national election. There are some stories popping up that Trump is losing support of Iowa’s evangelical voters, a very large and important bloc of voters in a Republican primary. There is time before the Iowa caucuses in mid-January for movement with candidate support.