DeSantis appears to jab Haley by giving CNN anchor Iowa basketball jersey

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) appeared to take a shot at his 2024 competitor Nikki Haley for seemingly mixing up the names of a University of Iowa basketball player and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins.

DeSantis kicked off a CNN town hall in Iowa on Thursday by giving Collins a jersey with Iowa Hawkeyes basketball player Caitlin Clark’s name.  

“I heard the other day someone say that Kaitlan Collins had some basketball skills. Now, I don’t know what that was a mistake or not, but I know in Iowa, they have a Caitlin Clark,” DeSantis said.  

“So I just wanted to give you this as a memento and just, respectfully — if the game’s on the line, and we need a buzzer beater, I’m going with Clark over Collins,” he quipped while handing the CNN anchor a Clark jersey. 

DeSantis was taking an apparent jab at Haley, who appeared to reference Caitlin Clark as Kaitlan Collins while in Coralville, Iowa, last weekend. 

“We’re super excited to see the Lady Hawkeyes play. What a team they are, what a great coach they have,” Haley said, adding that “Kaitlan Collins is phenomenal.” 

Collins thanked DeSantis for the jersey, saying, “rest assured, her free throws and her threes are much better than mine.” 

Both the Florida governor and former President Trump have increasingly turned their firepower on Haley as her momentum grows in the polls, particularly in New Hampshire.  

At the same time, Trump has continued to hold leads over both DeSantis and Haley in Iowa and New Hampshire, raising questions of whether either will be able to blunt his momentum as the early-state contests kick off starting next week.