What we’re covering here
- GOP rivals face off tonight: Republican presidential candidates are preparing to take the stage in Milwaukee for the 2024 campaign’s first primary debate, which will air at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News.
- Candidate lineup: Eight Republicans have qualified for the debate. They had to meet several criteria to qualify, including polling and fundraising requirements, as well as sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
- Trump will be a no-show: Former President Donald Trump – the current GOP front-runner in national and early-state polls – is not planning to participate in the debate but his growing legal challenges are expected to be a key topic. Trump has been indicted in four separate criminal cases, and tonight’s debate comes on the eve of his expected surrender in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case.
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DeSantis blames economic woes on Trump administration’s handling of Covid-19
9:44 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: When asked about the US economy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the first GOP presidential debate that “a major reason” for inflation and the country’s debt is the federal government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
DeSantis, who often touts his response to the pandemic on the campaign trail, took an unnamed shot at former President Donald Trump and blamed his administration for “locking down this economy.”
“It was a mistake. It should’ve never happened,” DeSantis said during the Fox News debate. “And in Florida, we led the country out of lockdown. We kept our state free and open.”
The governor also directly attacked Dr. Antony Fauci, who led the White House Covid-19 response at the start of the pandemic during the Trump administration and supported social distancing measures.
“As your president, I will never let the Deep State bureaucrats lock you down,” DeSantis added. “You don’t take someone like Fauci and coddle him. You bring Fauci in, you sit him down and you say, ‘Anthony, you are fired.’”
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie: Washington’s spending is robbing our country
9:42 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie shared how he would tackle the U.S. economy during the first GOP primary debate on Fox News.
“Truth and accountability are the things we need to do to fight waste. And I’d say the last thing is this, Brett. We cannot sit by any longer and allow the kind of spending that’s going on in Washington. Because every dollar they spend is a dollar that these people are not allowed to spend on their children and their grandchildren. It’s robbing our country and it’s wrong.”
Biden campaign plans to run an ad during GOP debate coverage on Fox
8:35 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: President Joe Biden’s campaign plans to run an ad during Fox News’ debate coverage as the president’s reelection effort ramps up its advertising presence and looks to counter the GOP messaging on display tonight.
The campaign booked about $250,000 worth of national airtime on Fox News today, AdImpact data shows, a pricey reservation reflecting the high-profile opportunity.
The campaign has a total of $1.2 million in ad reservations this week, while the DNC is also rolling out billboards and a plane across Milwaukee, where the first Republican presidential primary is taking place.
Earlier this week, Biden’s reelection effort announced plans to spend $25 million behind a major new advertising push and launched three new spots touting his administration’s record.
Why Republicans have been hesitant to go after Trump
8:35 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: Donald Trump is ahead by a country mile in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. The former president is polling so much better than the competition that he isn’t even showing up for tonight’s debate in Milwaukee.
Yet, most Republicans have been afraid to attack the front-runner. Here’s why:
Republican voters — by a near unanimous majority — say they want Trump’s rivals to make the case for their own candidacies and not go against the former president in the first debate.
The polling on candidates’ popularity among Republican voters backs this up. The most ardent Trump critics (former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson) all have negative net favorable ratings among Republicans.
In contrast, the candidate who has climbed to third in the national polls (entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy) and the one who’s polling in third place in Iowa (South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott) have both mostly stayed away from attacking Trump.
Just remember as the candidates start making their cases tonight, going after the former president has not been a winning proposition among Republicans.
We’ll see if that changes after tonight.
Trump likely to watch first GOP primary debate, sources say
6:35 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: Former President Donald Trump will be at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club during tonight’s Republican presidential debate with a very small group of advisers while a majority of his team are in Milwaukee to do media and spin for the former president around the debate.
Trump has also floated calling into different shows after his interview with former Fox New host Tucker Carlson concludes, two source close to the former president told CNN.
In recent days, Trump has talked extensively about the debate — and his decision not to participate — and said that he believes he made the right choice, according to sources who have spoken to the former president. He has also told people he thinks Fox News is worried about ratings in his absence, something he has cited for part of his reasoning for skipping the debate.
Some Republican operatives are not convinced that is the case and are waiting to see if Trump gave another candidate an opportunity to seize the spotlight, particularly Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Why tonight’s debate is being held in Wisconsin
7:12 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: Republicans seem to have a fascination with the Badger State. After all, that’s where they’re holding the first presidential debate and their 2024 convention.
So what’s the deal? Republicans know that no Democrat has won the presidency since 1960 without carrying Wisconsin.
Over the past few cycles, elections in the state have been particularly close. Donald Trump took Wisconsin by less than a point in 2016 on his way to winning the White House. Joe Biden followed up in 2020 with a similar margin of victory.
For the past two cycles, Wisconsin has been what is known as the “tipping point” state. If the Democratic presidential candidate won every state that was more Democratic-leaning than Wisconsin and the Republican presidential candidate won every state that was more Republican-leaning, then neither side would have an Electoral College majority. Wisconsin would have been the ultimate arbiter.
We’ll see what happens in 2024, but keep in mind that Wisconsin maintained its swing-state status in 2022. The state was a rarity in that it elected a candidate of one party (Democratic) to the governorship and another party (Republican) to the US Senate.
Trump seeks to steer attention away from first 2024 GOP debate as rivals prepare for the big night
4:00 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: The front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination is not only skipping the first presidential primary debate of the season – he’s also attempting to wrest the spotlight away from the stage in Milwaukee.
With the Republican National Committee’s window to meet fundraising and polling requirements having closed Monday night, the debate stage is set, and the GOP contenders vying to become the party’s top alternative to former President Donald Trump are making their final preparations ahead of what will be among the most-watched moments in many of their political careers. As his rivals prepare for the two-hour showdown on Fox News, Trump’s campaign is attempting to counter-program the debate.
The first debate, a key moment in any presidential primary, is also taking place in the middle of a week in which Trump’s legal troubles will once again take center stage.
Trump has already taped an interview with Tucker Carlson, the fired former Fox News host, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN Monday. It is unclear what platform the interview with Carlson will be published on. The sources said that it would be released around the time of the debate Wednesday night.
The former president, who on Sunday said he will skip the first debate and could skip others, is expected to spend Wednesday evening at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
But Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and other surrogates planned to travel to Milwaukee, where they would have had opportunities to weigh in on national broadcasts before and after the debate in the spin room.
However, Fox News informed the Trump campaign on Monday that they will no longer provide credentials to some surrogates of the former president to attend the spin room at the debate since the former president is not participating in the debate, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN.
President Biden says he’s going to try to watch tonight’s GOP debate
4:00 PM ET, Aug. 23 | The Informant: President Joe Biden told reporters Wednesday that he plans to watch the Republican debate tonight.
Asked if he would watch the debate, Biden, who’s traveling in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, said he was “going to try and get as much as I can, yeah.”
When asked what his expectations were for the debate, the president said, “I have none.” He chuckled, and walked away from cameras.
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