As his Republican primary rivals return to the debate stage next week, former President Donald Trump will be headlining a closed-door fundraiser in Florida. Trump’s campaign has been advertising a chance to win tickets to the “end-of-year reception” in Hallandale Beach, Florida, near Miami on Dec. 6.
Quick Read
- Trump’s Upcoming Fundraiser: Former President Donald Trump is hosting a closed-door fundraiser in Hallandale Beach, Florida, near Miami, on December 6.
- Skipping GOP Primary Debates: Trump has chosen not to participate in the Republican party’s primary debates, despite leading early state and national polls. He also did not schedule a counter-event to the upcoming debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, diverging from his previous strategy of hosting public events during debates.
- Previous Counterprogramming Efforts: In the past, Trump has held a rally in Hialeah, Florida, and traveled to Michigan during GOP debates. He also released a pretaped interview with Tucker Carlson to coincide with the first debate.
- Reason for Skipping Debates: A senior Trump aide, requesting anonymity, attributed the decision to bypass the debates to Trump’s dominant position in the race and decreasing interest in the debates.
- Upcoming GOP Debate Dynamics: The next GOP debate, scheduled for next Wednesday, will feature a reduced number of candidates due to higher thresholds for participation. Candidates must have at least 6% in national polls or in early-voting state polls, and a minimum of 80,000 unique donors.
- Competition Within GOP: The debate will likely spotlight the competition between Trump and other candidates like Nikki Haley, who has recently surged in support, and Ron DeSantis, who has been a distant runner-up.
- Notable Dropouts: High-profile Republicans such as Senator Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence have already withdrawn from the presidential race.
- Trump Campaign’s Stance on Debates: Trump’s campaign has urged the Republican National Committee to cancel the remaining debates and focus on supporting him in a potential race against President Joe Biden.
The Associated Press has the story:
Trump will hold a fundraiser instead of attending next week’s GOP debate
Newslooks- NEW YORK (AP)
As his Republican primary rivals return to the debate stage next week, former President Donald Trump will be headlining a closed-door fundraiser in Florida.
Trump’s campaign has been advertising a chance to win tickets to the “end-of-year reception” in Hallandale Beach, Florida, near Miami on Dec. 6.
The former president has chosen to skip his party’s three previous primary debates, citing his commanding lead in early state and national polls. But his decision not to schedule a public counterprogramming event to upstage the debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, marks a change in strategy.
Trump held a rally in Hialeah, a Miami suburb, during the last debate, which felt, in many ways, like the main event. He traveled to Michigan in lieu of the second debate to rail against President Joe Biden at an auto-parts manufacturing plant during an autoworkers’ strike. And he sat for a pretaped interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that was released on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, to coincide with the first GOP gathering.
A senior Trump aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address the decision, cited waning interest in the debates given Trump’s dominant front-runner status.
Next Wednesday’s debate comes as former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley has seen a surge in support that has threatened Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ status as the distant runner-up to Trump.
The two are expected to continue to clash on a stage that will feature just a handful of candidates, as the Republican National Committee ups the threshold for participation. To make the stage, candidates must garner at least 6% in two approved national polls, or 6% in polls from two separate early-voting states. They will also need to have raised money from at least 80,000 unique donors.
Several high-profile candidates, including Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Vice President Mike Pence, have already dropped out of the race.
Trump and his campaign have called on the RNC to cancel the remainder of the debates and instead focus on backing him against Biden.
