CNN town hall with Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley’s goal in New Hampshire’s Republican presidential primary Tuesday is to “be strong" and do better than she did in the Iowa caucuses, she said at a CNN town hall Thursday night at New England College in Henniker, New Hampshire.

But the former South Carolina governor stopped short of saying she needs to defeat former President Donald Trump in the Granite State primary. Polls, however, do show she is much closer to Trump in New Hampshire, where she is expected to benefit from a more moderate Republican primary electorate — with undeclared voters also able to participate in Tuesday’s contest.

Here are key takeaways from the CNN town hall:

Catch up on all of the key takeaways from the town hall with Nikki Haley.

Let's be real: It's all on the line for Nikki Haley in next week’s Republican primary in the Granite State. If the former South Carolina governor can't win in New Hampshire, I'm not sure where she can win. 

 Here are the facts. 

It goes beyond these three stats, however. 

New Hampshire is custom-made for Haley. We know from the polling that Trump has struggled with Republican-leaning independents. They are expected to make up nearly 50% of the vote in next week’s primary. (This has historically been the case, and, no, registered Democrats can't vote in the primary, unlike what Trump has said.)

We know that Trump has been relatively weak with moderate voters. They will make up far more of the GOP electorate in New Hampshire than they did in Iowa or will in any of the other early-voting states. 

Trump also has issues with wealthier voters. New Hampshire Republicans tend to be on the relatively wealthy side compared to other Republican primary electorates. 

Now, none of this is to say that Trump would lose the GOP nomination if Haley wins on Tuesday. He'd still be the heavy favorite to emerge as his party’s 2024 nominee. 

It's more to say that Haley has no real statistical argument for how she can win the nomination if she can't win in New Hampshire. 

During tonight's CNN town hall, GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley repeatedly referred to rising prices squeezing American families – something borne out by the numbers.

US inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) , hit a peak of 9.1% year-over-year in June 2022, well above the 2% the Federal Reserve targets (albeit through a separate inflation measure called the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index). And while inflation has slowed down since then – the December CPI came in at 3.4% annually – it’s still running hotter than policymakers, politicians and everyday, bill-paying Americans would like.

It’s important to note, as well, that just because the pace of price increases has slowed down, that’s not the same thing as prices actually going back down. You might not be seeing the same kind of jump in prices at the grocery store or at the mall, but you’re likely still seeing the prices for a number of things go higher.

And economists say that so-called last mile, getting inflation down that final stretch back to target, could be the trickiest bit of the Fed’s inflation fight. Housing costs are still a challenge, as mortgage rates remain elevated and housing supply scarce. And attacks on merchant ships in the Red Sea could ultimately make some goods more expensive by adding costs to global shipping needs.

CNN political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin called GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley's remarks on race Thursday "a missed opportunity for her."

In response to a question from CNN's Jake Tapper during a town hall, Haley doubled down on her claim that America has "never been a racist country."

Griffin said Republicans display "a stunning lack of leadership" when it comes to discussing race, and called on the party to be willing to learn.

"I realize there is an element of the right that does not want to be lectured about race, but element of the right needs to learn and need to grow," Griffin said.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Thursday that it took Iran “shooting our men and women in Iraq and Syria … 130 times” for President Joe Biden to “do something” about it.   

 Fact’s First: Haley’s claim is false. 

The first time the US took action against Iranian-backed forces on October 26 — when an F-15 fighter jet and a pair of F-16 fighters used precision-guided munitions against weapons and ammunition storage facilities linked to Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria — US and coalition forces had come under attack 19 times in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. Those strikes have been followed by several more, including on November 8, November 12, November 20, and December 25. 

As of Thursday, there have been at least 142 attacks on US and coalition forces in Iraq and Syria since the attacks began on October 17.  

Asked during a CNN town hall about whether she would support a recent bipartisan deal in Congress to expand the child tax credit, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she would want to “do it across the board and make sure that it’s fair.” 

“If you're gonna do tax credits, do it for everybody,” she said. “Don't play favorites. Don't pick winners and losers. That's not what we do in America.” 

Facts First: Haley is mischaracterizing how the child tax credit works. A wide swath of American families are already eligible for and claim the child tax credit. Very low-income and very high-income households don’t qualify. The congressional deal would temporarily enable lower-income families to claim more of the credit.  

The child tax credit allows eligible families to reduce their tax liability by up to $2,000 per qualifying child. The agreement calls for increasing the maximum refundable credit for those households who owe little or no income taxes.  

Also, many low-income families currently receive the same child tax credit whether they have one or more kids. Under the deal, these households would receive the same credit for each of their children, just as higher-income families already do. These provisions would be in effect for three tax years, from 2023 through 2025. 

The proposal would help more than 80% of the 19 million children who receive no credit or a partial one because their families earn too little, according to the left-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Once fully in effect in 2025, the provisions would lift at least half a million children out of poverty and improve the financial situation of about 5 million more children who would remain below the poverty line. 

Some Democrats and advocates are disappointed with the deal because it wouldn’t expand eligibility for the child tax credit to all lower-income families, as the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act did for one year. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley once again characterized President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle policies as mandatory, saying the president’s goal is “everybody's got to drive an electric car by 2033.”  

“Americans don't all want electric cars; quit telling them how to live,” Haley said during Thursday’s town hall.  

Facts First: Haley’s claim – along with a very similar claim she made during CNN’s presidential debate earlier this month where she said Biden’s goal was for everyone to drive an EV by 2035 -- is misleading. Biden has not moved forward with EV mandates, though his administration has made an aggressive push for automakers and consumers to move toward electric vehicles. 

The Biden administration has proposed ambitious new tailpipe emissions regulations for automakers, offered tax credits to people who buy certain electric vehicles, invested in new electric vehicle charging stations and ordered federal entities to purchase electric vehicles, among other policies promoting the adoption of EVs. But there is no Biden requirement mandating the use of electric vehicles and no Biden proposal to prohibit citizens from continuing to use gasoline-powered engines as more EVs hit the roads. 

Depending on how automakers were to respond, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed new tailpipe rules could, if adopted, require electric vehicles to make up two-thirds of new cars sold in the US by 2032. Several blue states, including California, have passed laws banning the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035. 

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said there is a possibility of a two-state solution at the end of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, though she claimed Palestinians have repeatedly rejected the idea.  

Haley’s comments come as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday dismissed the idea of creating a Palestinian state, saying it would clash with Israel's security, which is at odds with President Biden's stated position.

“The Palestinians don't want Israel to exist … Any discussions we had with them, the Palestinian Authority doesn't want to negotiate with Israel,” she added. 

Haley’s stance contrasts with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who has criticized her for supporting a two-state solution when she was at the UN.

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley participated in a CNN town hall in New Hampshire on Thursday night.

See some of the best photos from the event: