Republicans prepared for significant debate moments with Trump, regardless of his presence.
The 45th President Will Dominate the First GOP Debate
Whether he’s there or not, the upcoming Republican presidential debate in Milwaukee is set to be a highly anticipated event. It will be the first time many of the top candidates share the same stage, although it’s unlikely that Donald Trump will be among them.
Up for Debate: Where Trump, DeSantis, and the Rest of the Republican 2024 Field Stand on Big Tech
“They’re all going to try to break out, have a moment where they demonstrate their strength and their ability to be successful and to beat Biden,” Republican strategist David Carney said.
In fact, according to Carney, there may be even more discussion about Trump if he’s absent from the debate. Without the risk of an in-person rebuttal, candidates might feel more comfortable attacking him.
“If the former president isn’t there, there will be a lot more attacking of him than if he is there,” Carney said.
It’s a well-known political axiom that incumbent candidates usually avoid debates to maintain their advantage over challengers. Although Trump is not an incumbent, he is polling like one, with a significant lead in the latest RealClearPolitics average.
As of now, Trump has not confirmed whether he will participate in the Milwaukee debate, leaving rival campaigns with different strategies. Governor Ron DeSantis, the second-place candidate, has stated that he’s ready to go regardless.
“I’m the only guy that Trump’s campaign attacks, basically,” DeSantis told Fox News. “The other candidates, a lot of them don’t really say much about Donald Trump, and they focus more on me. So we’re going to be ready for all of that.”
The DeSantis campaign estimates that Trump has already spent $20 million attacking him. Whether due to those attacks or not, DeSantis has seen a decline in national support and is now facing competition from other candidates in state-level polls.
This indicates that some candidates will indeed focus on DeSantis, as he predicted. However, a DeSantis debate playbook suggests that the attacks could go both ways.
A memo posted on the website of the super PAC supporting DeSantis outlines a four-point debate plan, including attacking Joe Biden and the media, stating DeSantis’ positive vision, responding to Vivek Ramaswamy, and defending Donald Trump in absentia against a Chris Christie attack.
Ramaswamy’s campaign responded to the memo with a tongue-in-cheek statement.
“Vivek’s job on Aug. 23 is to introduce himself and his vision to the American people,” spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said. ”These boring, canned attack lines from a robotic candidate don’t change that. If DeSantis struggles to use a spoon, I can’t imagine he is particularly agile with a sledgehammer.”
Christie’s campaign did not respond to questions, but it is widely expected that he will strongly criticize Trump during the debate, as it has become a central part of his campaign. The challenge for Christie and other non-Trump candidates is to establish themselves in the minds of voters while escaping Trump’s shadow.
One strategy is to call out Trump for threatening to skip the debate. Former Vice President Mike Pence’s team has expressed eagerness for a debate, stating that Pence is ready if Trump “has the courage to show up.”
However, even if Trump does skip the debate, he may still overshadow his rivals by offering counterprogramming or posting on social media throughout the night.
“You can’t pretend he’s not here,” Carney, the GOP strategist, said. “I’m not saying people will be Christie and attack him 24/7, but he’s going to be paramount to the less competitive guys who want to show they’re willing to take him on. Trump will dominate that stage in conversation whether he’s there or not.”
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