{"id":2007747,"date":"2023-08-22T04:14:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T08:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/candidates-look-to-set-themselves-apart-in-first-gop-debate-as-trumps-absence-looms-large\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T04:16:17","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T08:16:17","slug":"candidates-look-to-set-themselves-apart-in-first-gop-debate-as-trumps-absence-looms-large","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/candidates-look-to-set-themselves-apart-in-first-gop-debate-as-trumps-absence-looms-large\/","title":{"rendered":"Candidates seek to distinguish themselves in first GOP debate as Trump&#8217;s absence looms large."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcandidates-look-to-set-themselves-apart-in-first-gop-debate-as-trumps-absence-looms-large%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2007747&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>As the first Republican presidential debate approaches, \u200dmany may wonder how the various hopefuls are getting \u200bready\u2014and how the American people will receive their \u200cpitches against the backdrop of the absence of former \u2063president Donald J. Trump.<\/p>\n<p>In a series of interviews, campaign representatives and knowledgeable analysts shared insights \u2064on the coming spectacle.<\/p>\n<h2>DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and &#8216;Trump in Absentia&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Last week, a debate memo published on the website of a firm linked to Florida Governor\u2064 Ron DeSantis\u200b offered some initial\u200b clues as to what observers should expect at\u200b the event, which will take place \u200bin \u2062Milwaukee\u2062 on Aug. 23.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\">\n<div class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-ramaswamy-respond-to-desantiss-listless-vessels-comment-5477763\">Trump, Ramaswamy Respond to DeSantis&#8217;s &#8216;Listless \u2063Vessels&#8217; Comment<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/21\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-ramaswamy-respond-to-desantiss-listless-vessels-comment-5477763\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/desantis-fires-back-after-debate-preparation-memo-leaks-to-media-5477323\">DeSantis Responds After Debate Preparation Memo\u200d Leaks to Media<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">8\/20\/2023<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/desantis-fires-back-after-debate-preparation-memo-leaks-to-media-5477323\"><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The memo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/leaked-desantis-memo-outlines-debate-plan-hammer-ramaswamy-defend-trump-against-christie-5473194\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">suggested<\/a> Mr. DeSantis\u2064 could &#8220;hammer Vivek Ramaswamy in a response.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Take a sledge-hammer to Vivek Ramaswamy: &#8216;Fake Vivek&#8217; Or &#8216;Vivek the\u200d Fake,'&#8221; \u2062it reads.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, it advises him to attack both President\u2064 Joe Biden and the\u200c media\u2062 repeatedly and \u2063&#8221;defend Donald Trump in absentia in response to a Chris Christie attack.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>President Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/trump-confirms-he-will-skip-first-gop-presidential-debate-5477502\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed<\/a> he \u2062would \u2062not participate in the Aug. 23\u200b debate \u200cin an Aug. 20 <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/@realDonaldTrump\/posts\/110924112193729328\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post<\/a> on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n<p>The New York\u200c Times first\u2062 reported that an interview of President Trump by Tucker Carlson would run opposite the debate. Mr. Carlson&#8217;s new online show has \u200brun on X, formerly Twitter. His account can be reached <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TuckerCarlson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump-less candidate gabfest will air\u200d on Fox News, the network that recently fired Mr. Carlson.<\/p>\n<p>When asked\u200d by The Epoch Times about Mr. Christie&#8217;s debate strategy, the executive director of \u200cthe\u2062 former New Jersey governor&#8217;s PAC, Tell It\u200d Like It Is, shared a one-sentence &#8220;Memoranda&#8221; email: &#8220;Be yourself, and tell it like it is.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Mr. DeSantis <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/desantis-fires-back-after-debate-preparation-memo-leaks-to-media-5477323\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reacted<\/a> to \u2062the leaked debate memo in recent comments to Fox News, stating that it was not his document and that\u200c he had\u2063 not reviewed it.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s just\u200c something that we have and\u2063 put off to the side,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I know from the military\u2062 when you\u2019re over the target, \u200bthat\u2019s\u2063 when you\u2019re taking\u200c flak.\u200c And if\u200d you look really in the last six to nine\u2062 months, I\u2019ve been more attacked \u2064than anybody else,&#8221; Mr. DeSantis added.<\/p>\n<p>Reached by\u2062 The Epoch \u2064Times, a spokesperson for Mr. \u200dDeSantis&#8217;s campaign shared messaging guidance from DeSantis campaign \u200cmanager James Uthmeier.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We are fully prepared for Governor DeSantis\u2064 to be the center of attacks,&#8221; Mr. Uthmeier&#8217;s email reads, predicting that Mr. DeSantis&#8217;s rivals \u200dwill seek to &#8220;grab headlines by attacking the governor.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We \u2062all know why our competitors have to go down this road:\u2063 because this is\u2063 a\u2062 two-man race for the Republican nomination between Governor DeSantis and Donald Trump,&#8221; it adds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Governor\u200b DeSantis\u2019 objective in this debate will be to lay out \u2064his \u2064vision to beat Joe Biden, reverse American decline, and revive the American Dream,&#8221; the\u200c messaging email continues.<\/p>\n<p>The spokesperson declined to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-admin-snubs-gop-leaders-on-new-iran-diplomacy\/\" title=\"Biden Admin Snubs GOP Leaders on New Iran Diplomacy\">provide specific details<\/a> about how Mr. DeSantis is preparing\u2014for\u2062 example, whether or not he is staging mock debates.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2023\/08\/18\/politics\/republican-debate-prep-rnc\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN\u200b reported<\/a> former Vice \u2063President Mike Pence \u2064has held multiple mock \u200bdebates, including one with a stand-in\u200b for President Trump and one without a proxy Trump.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Republican \u200bpresidential \u2062candidate, \u2064former Vice President Mike Pence delivers\u2062 remarks at the Christians United for Israel (CUFI) summit in Arlington, \u200bVa., on July 17,\u200b 2023. (Anna Moneymaker\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>Trump&#8217;s &#8216;Smart \u2062Move&#8217;<\/h2>\n<p>Mr. Trump&#8217;s absence from Wednesday&#8217;s debate, and \u200dprospective appearance with Mr. Carlson on another medium, has elicited a range of responses.<\/p>\n<p>While Mr. Christie accused his competitor of &#8220;running scared,&#8221; a Ramaswamy&#8217;s campaign representative <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/ramaswamy-campaign-reacts-to-trump-reportedly-skipping-gop-debate-5475920\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told The Epoch Times<\/a> \u2063 that the former president &#8220;should do whatever he wants!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Having \u200dcounter-programming during the \u200cdebate is a smart move by both Carlson and Trump since it will help distract from the debate and attract attention, which is their \u2064goal,&#8221; said Kevin Tober, a news analyst\u2062 with the \u200cMedia Research Center, \u200cin an email interview with The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We can expect Trump\u2019s absence to loom large over the debate. Many of the questions, if\u2063 not most, will end up having to\u2062 do with him or about him,&#8221; Mr. Tober predicted.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Former President \u200bDonald Trump leaves the Iowa State Fair \u2063in Des Moines, Iowa, on Aug. 12, 2023. \u2064(Madalina \u2063Vasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University, said he thinks Mr. Trump will ultimately &#8220;overshadow everything the seven candidates on the stage do, and thus \u2062will undermine the ability of all of them to achieve their\u2063 respective goals due to the fewer number\u2062 of eyeballs watching the\u200c debate and the less intense media coverage of the debate.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the end of the day, the Republican candidate Democrats most want \u200dto face \u200din 2024 is Donald Trump, since they believe Biden can beat Trump but would have a much more difficult time beating DeSantis, Scott, Haley, etc.&#8221; Mr. Jones told The Epoch Times\u200b via email.<\/p>\n<p>Timothy Head, executive director of the Faith &#038; Freedom Coalition, told The Epoch Times that Mr. Trump&#8217;s rivals for the presidential slot are\u2064 in a \u2062delicate position.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Not \u200conly do you attack Trump at your own peril of being retaliated against by Trump\u200d himself, but even more importantly for the other candidates is trying to court Trump voters,&#8221; Mr. Head said in a\u2062 telephone interview.<\/p>\n<p>Both Mr. Tober and Mr. Jones expect Mr. DeSantis to be the most mercilessly scrutinized candidate on stage.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Due \u2062to some recent missteps from \u200bthe DeSantis campaign, you can expect some tough questions to come his way. That\u2019s expected, though, since he\u2019s\u2062 the leading candidate among those participating,&#8221; Mr.\u2063 Tober said.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Jones said he anticipates Mr. DeSantis &#8220;will try to set himself clearly apart as the only viable option to Trump without being seen as overtly anti-Trump.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He suggested that Mr. DeSantis&#8217;s rivals will go after the governor &#8220;with\u200b the goal of\u200c freeing up his donors and voters&#8221;\u2014a prediction \u200din line with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/analysis-ramaswamys-rise-in-polls-impresses-insiders-5427848\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">what other insiders have told The Epoch Times<\/a> about the intra-GOP scramble for the presidential \u200bnomination.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The lane is for Trump and a\u2064 non-Trump candidate. That&#8217;s an oversimplification, but sometimes a simple \u2063story is \u2062right,&#8221; Daron Shaw, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/analysis-not-every-republican-running-in-2024-has-sights-set-on-the-presidency\/\" title=\"ANALYSIS: Not Every Republican Running in 2024 Has Sights Set on the Presidency\">presidential campaign veteran<\/a> and professor of government \u2062at the University of Texas at Austin, told The\u200d Epoch Times in a\u200c July \u2064interview.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) speaks at the Heritage Foundation&#8217;s Leadership Summit in National Harbor, Md., on April 20, 2023. (Terri Wu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>According to \u2062Mr. Head, a very\u2064 big question will loom over\u2063 the debate: &#8220;Which\u200b candidate can \u2064establish \u2064themselves as \u2063the Trump alternative?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He said he&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fbi-fla-authorities-investigating-hack-on-pinellas-county-water-supply\/\" title=\"FBI, Fla. authorities investigating hack on Pinellas County water supply\">paying close attention<\/a>\u2062 to which\u2062 candidates succeed in connecting with the electorate.<\/p>\n<p>That \u200bholds true even \u2062for candidates who have \u200bstrong records on the Faith \u200d&#038; Freedom Coalition&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/candidates-look-to-set-themselves-apart-in-first-gop-debate-as-trumps-absence-looms-large\/\" title=\"Candidates seek to distinguish themselves in first GOP debate as Trump's absence looms large.\">central \u2064issues\u2014parental rights<\/a>, religious liberty, and abortion.<\/p>\n<p>While he argued that Mr. Pence&#8217;s &#8220;political and policy\u2062 backgrounds could hardly \u200bbe any stro<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Republican presidential debate nears, preparations of hopefuls and their pitches are under scrutiny. The absence of former president Donald J. Trump adds intrigue to the event. Campaign representatives and analysts provide valuable insights on the upcoming spectacle, including DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and &#8216;Trump.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":2007748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2007747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/152"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2007747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007747\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2007748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2007747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2007747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2007747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}