Tag Archives: debate watch

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Axios reports: Seven Republican presidential candidates appear to have qualified for the Republican National Committee’s first 2024 debate on August 23. The Fox News debate presents an opportunity for Republican 2024 hopefuls to try to launch their campaigns — but they’re likely to face the absence of Republican frontrunner Trump. Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, …

CNN reports: Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel excoriated the Commission on Presidential Debates in a letter on Tuesday, threatening to advise any future Republican nominee against participating in general election presidential debates unless significant changes are made to the commission. The letter is the latest example of the top Republican committee litigating something that was a key concern for …

CNN reports: Donald Trump’s more sedate debate performance on Thursday night was a departure in tone from his chaotic performance weeks ago, but the President continued to cast his warped view of the world as truth. Trump came into the debate needing to clean up from his first performance and he clearly listened to his advisers who urged him to …

NBC News reports: Any Americans still on the fence — and who haven’t been among the hordes of early voters — will have one final chance to hear from President Donald Trump and Joe Biden in their last debate Thursday, during which the president will try to re-energize his base and close the polling gap behind Biden. Thursday’s debate in …

CNN reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump will have their microphones muted during portions of the second and final presidential debate on Thursday night, the Commission on Presidential Debates announced on Monday in a decision that will likely anger the President. The decision came after the commission met Monday afternoon to discuss potential rule changes to …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden are expected to participate in competing town halls on Thursday, the same day both presidential candidates were originally scheduled to debate. The second presidential debate was canceled after Trump objected to the virtual format announced by the Commission on Presidential Debates put forward after Trump’s positive coronavirus diagnosis. Biden …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump will take part in an NBC News town hall event in Miami on Thursday, the network announced on Wednesday. The town hall, moderated by “TODAY” anchor Savannah Guthrie, will take place on the same evening — and at the same time — that Joe Biden is doing his own town hall in Philadelphia on …

The Washington Post reports: President Trump said during a television interview that he would not participate in a virtual debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden, dismissing an announcement less than an hour earlier by the Commission on Presidential Debates about the format change. The commission said the second presidential debate would be a “virtual town hall” to protect the health …

CNBC reports: The second presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, slated to take place on Oct. 15, will be held virtually, the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates said Thursday. Citing a need to “protect the health and safety of all involved,” the commission said in a statement, “The second presidential debate will take the form …