It’s another game of will he or won’t he and we won’t know the answer probably until a day or two before the debate.
Sources close to Donald Trump indicate that the former president remains very skeptical of joining the first Republican debate, hosted by Fox News, and seeks to avoid elevating any of his opponents.
Things have become so hectic within Fox itself that many on-air hosts have started openly pleading and perhaps daring Trump to join the event, according to the Washington Post:
Fox News personalities Steve Doocy, Brian Kilmeade, John Roberts and Piers Morgan have all come out in agreement: In their opinion, Donald Trump should absolutely participate in the first Republican presidential candidates debate of the 2024 cycle, which will be held next month in Milwaukee — and broadcast on their very own Fox News.
The former president has refused to commit to the Aug. 23 debate, and he indicated as recently as Sunday that he’s leaning against it. (“When you have a big lead, you don’t do it,” he told interviewer Maria Bartiromo.) So in the meantime, various hosts on Fox have taken it upon themselves to use the network’s airwaves to try to make the case to the man himself.
“If you’re watching, Donald, come on!” Morgan, who hosts a show on the Fox Nation streaming platform, said in an appearance on Fox News last week. “Get on that stage and show us what you’re made of. If you want to be president again, you’ve got to come out and face the debate music. … You know you want to secretly.”
While Morgan and other Fox personalities have argued that Trump’s participation is an essential part of the democratic process, it also seems clear that a Republican debate without Trump is much less likely to attract a significant viewing audience, given his standing in the party and massive lead in the polls.
With Trump anywhere from thirty to forty to fifty points ahead depending on the poll, it’s arguable that he doesn’t need to step foot on the debate stage unless he wants to.
Furthermore, with the apparent Fox News tilt toward promoting Ron DeSantis, Trump remains skeptical that he’ll be given a fair shake, a reasonable position given the debacle of Fox-hosted debates back in 2016.
However, Fox News, which is still losing viewers after firing its most popular primetime host, Tucker Carlson, needs eyeballs, and Trump, according to some estimates, would bring in millions of additional viewers.
In other words, it’s arguable that Fox News needs Trump more than Trump needs Fox News, a situation that many establishment forces didn’t foresee earlier this year as they put all their weight behind Ron DeSantis waiting for him to take off.
Sources within the Trump circle seem to be indicating that it’s unlikely, at this point, for Trump to attend the first Republican debate, but anything could happen:
But according to one Trump adviser, the former president is “highly unlikely to participate” — though he could always change his mind and continues to ask associates about the benefits and drawbacks of participating, the adviser said. [Emphasis added]
Despite the public pleadings of Fox News personalities, it’s the Republican National Committee that has been most active in lobbying him to attend. Trump met on Monday at his Bedminster club with Ronna McDaniel, the Republican Party chairwoman, and David Bossie, a longtime Trump adviser who is helping lead the RNC’s debate efforts.
Both told Trump that he should participate in the debates, according to four people familiar with the meeting. McDaniel, in particular, has argued to Trump that the other candidates will be talking about him, so he should be there to respond. But Trump has countered that his participation would only help his competitors by bringing higher ratings to a debate that would get lower ratings without him.
It’s a double-edged sword and a gamble either way.
However, if history is a guide, Trump weathered the 2016 debates quite well and fought off numerous attacks as his opponents dropped out like flies along the way. The Bush machine, personified by Low-energy Jeb couldn’t touch him, Marco Rubio’s “little hands” comment fell flat, and Ted Cruz was never able to close the deal.
Are we to believe that this year would be any different with Chris Christie on the warpath, likely to fall on his own sword? Sure, DeSantis is not a bad debater but he also risks ticking off the MAGA votes that he needs to win a primary. If he attacks Trump too vociferously on stage, it could end his campaign before it starts. In other words, Trump’s locked-in base of support has heard it all before and it’s unlikely even a poor Trump debate performance would shift much of anything.
The first Republican debate is scheduled for Wednesday, August 23, 2023.
Follow the Republican debate schedule for details on all the upcoming GOP debates.
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