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Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, declined on Sunday to endorse a Republican presidential candidate a day before the Iowa caucuses, but said she would not rule out backing former President Donald Trump if he wins in the state.
In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Ernst also said when asked about former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley’s favorable polling in a general election matchup against Biden that Haley is a “great candidate” and has experience on key issues that could resonate with Iowa Republicans.
Trump has a nearly 30-point lead in the final NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll before Monday’s caucuses. The poll also shows Haley narrowly ahead of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, with 20% versus his 16%.
“Meet the Press” moderator Kristen Welker asked the GOP senator about her response to recent polling.
“In our poll, [Haley] comes in second place,” Welker said. “But if you look at the polls overall, she does best against President Biden in a general election campaign. Former President Trump is tied effectively with President Biden. If Republicans want to win back the White House, is Nikki Haley your best bet?”
Ernst responded that “if you look at the issues that are top of mind for Iowa Republicans, they are the economy, they’ve suffered under President Biden, it is the southern border and the flow of illegal migrants into the United States. But overall, if you look at national security, protecting our borders, and pushing back against our adversaries worldwide, Nikki Haley does have the experience there, and she’s really spoke to that to the Iowa voters. So that may be one of the tipping points that resonate with so many different voters.”
Asked whether she plans to endorse whichever candidate emerges as the winner after the Iowa caucuses, Ernst said, “It’ll depend — I have gone round and round in my mind,” but acknowledged that Trump is the front-runner in the race thus far.
“But it’s not a foregone conclusion,” she said. “So we’ll see who comes out the winner here in the Iowa caucuses. We’ll know that tomorrow night, and then we’ll know how to move forward.”
Pressed again on whether she would endorse Trump if he wins the Iowa caucuses, Ernst repeated her refusal to weigh in, but indicated she had made up her mind on who she would caucus for.
“We’ll see the margin. I guess I am assuming that President Trump wins, but it could be any one of these fantastic candidates,” she said. “So again, we’ll see who emerges. I’ve made up my decision on who I will caucus for — it is a private ballot. And I would expect that we’ll have a very good turnout. But again, Kristen, I’m not going to tip my hand to who I might be supporting.”
Ernst went on to say that nearly all the candidates have reached out to her for her endorsement, but she did not rule out endorsing Trump if he wins the nomination.
“No, I’m not ruling that out at all. But certainly we want to let Iowans make that decision,” she said.
The new NBC News/Des Moines Register poll found that the majority of likely Republican caucusgoers said they will vote for Trump in the general election if he wins the GOP nomination, but nearly half of Haley’s supporters in Iowa said they would vote for Biden over Trump in a general election matchup.
“Haley is consolidating the anti-Trump vote,” pollster J. Ann Selzer said. “She does well with the people who define themselves as anti-Trump.”
Ernst on Trump’s Jan. 6 ‘hostages’ remarks
Welker also asked Ernst about Trump’s use of the word “hostages” to describe his supporters who were imprisoned in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, which has draw criticism from families of those being held hostage by Hamas after the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and from others.
Ernst, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who recently traveled to the Middle East with other lawmakers as part of efforts to secure the release of remaining American hostages, was asked whether the former president’s characterization of the Jan. 6 rioters as hostages bothers her.
“It does in this context because we do have American hostages that are being held against their will all around the globe, and especially if you look at the innocents that were attacked and kidnapped on Oct. 7,” she said. “We are approaching nearly 100 days, these are people that have been taken. They’re held in tunnels with terrorists, they are being tortured, they have been raped, they have been denied medication. So equating the two, there is no comparison.”
She added: “The hostages are hostages. I would certainly, you know, ask to speak to any of their families and see the anguish and the pain of not knowing whether their loved ones are alive or dead. There is a very clear difference.”
Welker then asked about Trump raising the possibility of pardons for Jan. 6 rioters and whether she would advise him against that.
“Are you opposed to pardoning those who are serving time for Jan. 6?” Welker asked.
“I am not opposed to that, that is a president’s prerogative,” Ernst said.
After Welker noted that hundreds of the Jan. 6 rioters have pleaded guilty to crimes in connection with the Capitol attack, Ernst said she was not saying she would support pardoning them, but repeated her assertion that it is a president’s prerogative to do so.
“We have seen many presidents through the years that have pardoned many others. And so if Donald Trump chooses to do that as our next president of the United States, again, that will be his decision,” she said.
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