Tag Archives: debate watch

Schedule Set For General Election Presidential Debates

The Messenger reports: The locations for next year’s presidential debates have been set for Virginia, Utah, and Texas according to the Commission on Presidential Debates. Texas State University will hold the first debate on Sept. 16, 2024. That will be followed by another one on Oct. 1 at Virginia State University. The last debate will be held on Oct. 9 …

Read More »

RNC Taps Megyn Kelly To Host Fourth GOP Debate

The New York Times reports: Megyn Kelly, whose high-flying career as a Fox News anchor fell to earth after an ill-advised move to NBC — and then remade herself as a conservative podcaster and radio host — is set to return to the political spotlight next month as a moderator for the next Republican primary debate. The event, set for …

Read More »

Haley: My Heels Aren’t Fashion, They’re Ammunition

Real Clear Politics reports: When the moderators returned to Ramaswamy later in the evening, he launched an attack that seemed at once a snarky fashion review and a critique of neoconservatism. “Do you want a leader from a different generation who’s going to put this country first? Or do you want Dick Cheney in three-inch heels? In which case, we’ve …

Read More »

Sen. Tim Scott Debuts “Girlfriend” At Miami Debate

USA Today reports: Tim Scott had a very special guest at Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate: His girlfriend. A campaign statement said the woman who greeted Scott onstage after the debate and posed for a picture with him “is his girlfriend Mindy.” The mystery woman was later identified as Mindy Noce, a design and renovations manager in Charleston, S.C. Scott’s …

Read More »

Vivek Ramaswamy Appears To Call Zelensky A “Nazi”

The New York Times reports: Vivek Ramaswamy drew shock and criticism online on Wednesday when he appeared to accuse the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, of being a Nazi — but Mr. Ramaswamy’s campaign insisted that wasn’t what he meant. The remark came in response to a question about Mr. Zelensky’s recent plea for more American aid …

Read More »

Burgum To “Skip” GOP Debate He Didn’t Qualify For

The Daily Beast reports: North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum will have to find something else to do Wednesday night, as he hasn’t been granted an invite to grace the stage in Miami for the third Republican presidential debate. The five candidates who qualified—Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott—all met the Republican National Committee’s criteria, which …

Read More »

Scott Becomes Fifth To Qualify For Third GOP Debate

CBS News reports: Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has secured his spot in the third GOP presidential debate in Miami next week, announcing that he has met the final requirement — gathering enough individual donations needed to qualify for the event, his campaign announced. Expected to join the senator on Nov. 8 will be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former …

Read More »

Ramaswamy To RNC: Only The Top Four Should Debate

The Hill reports: GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign is asking the RNC to cut the number of candidates for the third debate down to the top four. Vivek 2024 CEO Ben Yoho urged the RNC to limit the next debate to the top four candidates in national polling besides former President Trump . Besides raising the threshold, the Ramaswamy …

Read More »

Hutchinson Fails To Qualify For Second GOP Debate

NBC News reports: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson fell short of qualifying for the second GOP presidential primary debate this week, but the seven other candidates who were there for the first debate in August will be back onstage Wednesday in California. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador …

Read More »

Fox Debate Drew 13M Viewers, 2015 Debate Drew 24M

Politico reports: Fox News drew 12.8 million viewers during the first Republican presidential debate, the network announced Thursday. The viewership numbers from Wednesday night reflect an interest in GOP candidates other than the current frontrunner, former President Donald Trump, but do not outpace the first GOP debate in August 2015 during Trump’s first run for the White House. Viewership for …

Read More »

DeSantis Goes Viral For Attempt To Smile At Debate

The Huffington Post reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appearance at Wednesday night’s Republican presidential debate might be best remembered not for what he said, but what he did. Or rather, what he tried to do. DeSantis seemed to attempt a smile at the end of an applause line, then either thought better of it or simply failed to pull it …

Read More »

Fox To Play Trump Clips During Tonight’s GOP Debate

The Daily Beast reports: People familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that the network has committed to a plan to “beam Trump in” by playing clips of him throughout the debate and having the candidates respond. The move partly satisfies the network’s need for an active, lively debate with the frontrunner somehow involved, as well as its post-2020 …

Read More »

Burgum Injured Playing Basketball, Might Miss Debate

CNN reports: North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum was taken to a Milwaukee emergency room Tuesday after suffering an injury while playing a game of pick-up basketball with his staff, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. The injury Burgum sustained makes it unclear whether he will be able to stand for the debate tonight, putting his attendance now in …

Read More »

Suarez, Elder, And Johnson Fail To Make Debate Stage

The New York Times reports: The RNC had imposed a 9 p.m. deadline for candidates to accumulate at least 40,000 donors and hit 1 percent in a certain number of qualifying national and state polls. But two officials familiar with the R.N.C.’s decision said that three candidates all fell short: Perry Johnson, a businessman who previously tried to run for …

Read More »

Fox Bans Trump Surrogates From Attending Debate

The New York Post reports: Fox News informed the Trump campaign on Monday that surrogates for the former president will not be allowed to attend the first Republican primary debate. The barring of Trump surrogates from attending Wednesday’s debate at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee comes one day after the 77-year-old former president confirmed that he would not participate in …

Read More »

Trump Confirms: “I Will Not Be Doing The Debates”

NBC News reports: Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that he will skip the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday — and indicated he may not attend future ones, either. The former president wrote on his Truth Social media platform that polling shows him leading in the Republican primary field by such a wide margin that he doesn’t need to stand alongside …

Read More »

Asa Hutchinson Says He’s Qualified For First Debate

Little Rock’s NBC affiliate reports: Presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he will be on the debate stage this week. Hutchinson announced that he passed the requirements to qualify for the first Republican National Committee Debate on Aug. 23. “Thank you to everyone that donated for believing that consistent, commonsense, conservative leadership is needed to bring out …

Read More »

Miami Mayor Says He’s Qualified For RNC Debate

The Associated Press reports: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said Friday that he has qualified for next week’s Republican presidential debate, becoming the ninth White House hopeful to meet the fundraising and polling thresholds required to participate in the opening face-off of the 2024 campaign. Suarez, 45 and the only Hispanic in the field, will be perhaps the least-known Republican on …

Read More »

DeSantis’s Debate Strategy Revealed: “Defend Trump”

The New York Times reports: Ron DeSantis needs “to take a sledgehammer” to Vivek Ramaswamy, the political newcomer who is rising in the polls. He should “defend Donald Trump” when Chris Christie inevitably attacks the former president. And he needs to “attack Joe Biden and the media” no less than three to five times. A firm associated with the super …

Read More »

Christie: Just Drop Out “If You Don’t Make The Debate”

Fox News reports: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has a blunt suggestion for some of his rivals for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination that they likely don’t want to hear. Christie says that for the candidates who “haven’t made the stage” at the upcoming first GOP presidential primary debate, “it’s time to go.” “If you don’t make the debate …

Read More »