Staff Reports
Former President Donald Trump has caused quite a stir by announcing that he will not be participating in the upcoming Republican National Committee (RNC) debates. The first debate is scheduled to take place this Wednesday in Milwaukee and will be hosted by Fox News. Not only is Fox News not allowing Trump surrogates into the debate spin room, but they are also limiting access to “guests of media organizations.” This decision has garnered criticism not only from Fox News, but also from Republican primary voters.
A recent survey conducted by Morning Consult revealed that a majority of GOP primary voters believe that Trump should participate in the debates, both in Milwaukee and elsewhere. In fact, Trump supporters are even more enthusiastic about him participating. When asked about Trump’s involvement in the first debate, 68 percent of potential GOP primary voters said that he should participate, compared to only 25 percent who believed he shouldn’t. Among Trump supporters, a whopping 79 percent expressed their desire for him to debate, with only 18 percent opposing. Even when respondents were informed of Trump’s decision not to participate, a majority of both potential GOP primary voters and Trump supporters still insisted that he should show up.
Fox News Gives Trump Surrogates Some Unwelcome News Ahead of First GOP Primary Debate https://t.co/5lF75fhoAk
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) August 22, 2023
The survey also examined respondents’ views on Trump participating in any of the debates, and the results were clear: they want him to be involved. Only a small minority suggested that he should skip the debates entirely. Among all potential GOP primary voters, 48 percent believe that Trump should participate in “all of the debates,” 27 percent advocate for him to partake in “some debates,” and only 17 percent argue for “no debates.”
The level of support for Trump’s participation is even higher among his supporters. Fifty-eight percent of Trump supporters think he should participate in all the debates, while 29 percent believe he should partake in some, and only 7 percent feel he should skip them altogether. These findings were based on a survey conducted from August 18-21, involving 799 potential Republican primary voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 5 to 7 percentage points.
Trump’s decision to forgo the debates was announced last Friday. He himself addressed his stance on debates in a Sunday post on TruthSocial, highlighting his lead in the polls and asserting that he doesn’t need to participate. He specifically referenced a CBS News poll released that day, which showed him enjoying 62 percent support. However, this has sparked a debate among supporters of both Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, another potential candidate. During a Monday interview on Newsmax, national spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign, Carly Atchinson, expressed disappointment that Trump would not be debating, while Jessie Jane Duff, a Trump presidential campaign surrogate, defended his decision and pointed to his successful track record.
The RNC has announced the candidates who have qualified for the debates, which include North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina. However, both Larry Elder and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez falsely claimed that they had qualified.
As previously reported, DeSantis and Ramaswamy will occupy the center podiums during the debate, which is sure to be a heated and highly anticipated event.
