The GOP primary is detouring again from the debate stage to the courtroom

CNN —

Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis are tearing into each other to stay alive in the Republican presidential primary. But the front-runner, Donald Trump, is running another race entirely – against the courts and the rule of law.

This dual reality of the 2024 election playing out in the run-up to Monday’s Iowa caucuses will take another surreal twist on Thursday when the ex-president deserts the conventional campaign trail again – for his second court appearance this week.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis participate in a CNN Republican Presidential Debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 10, 2024. (Will Lanzoni/CNN)

Takeaways from CNN’s Iowa debate with DeSantis and Haley

That means the focus will quickly shift from the fireworks of Wednesday night’s CNN debate between the former South Carolina governor and Florida’s governor, who are fanning out across snowbound Iowa on Thursday, seeking to win the post-game of the first head-to-head debate of the presidential race.

Trump will be back in the Manhattan courtroom of Judge Arthur Engoron, arguably a more formidable adversary for the former president than any of his GOP rivals. Trump will attend closing arguments in the civil fraud trial targeting him, his adult sons and the Trump Organization. His appearance is the latest episode in his effort to choreograph the headlines and to turn his legal quagmire into a narrative of political persecution. Engoron, however, put a crimp in those plans, saying Trump would not be allowed to take a speaking role because he hadn’t agreed to conditions the judge set for a statement.

Trump is skipping between court appearances on the east coast and the first-in-the-nation