Everything You Need to Know About the First Republican Presidential Debate on Fox News
Bret Baier, right, and Martha MacCallum, left. AP Photo/Matt Rourke.
The first Republican presidential debate for the 2024 nomination takes place this week with eight qualifying candidates set to take the stage in Milwaukee — with the exception of the frontrunner, former President Donald Trump.
When is the debate?
The first Republican debate takes place Wednesday, Aug. 23 and will be aired on Fox News. Anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum are moderating the event that’s scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. and last approximately two hours.
What’s the format of the debate?
According to the New York Times, there will be no opening statements. Candidates will have 45-second closing statements. They will have one minute for questions. MacCallum and Baier have said they plan on asking candidates about Trump’s criminal indictments.
Who has fully qualified for the debate?
In alphabetical order:
- Doug Burgum – Governor of North Dakota, tech entrepreneur. Relatively unknown on the national stage.
- Chris Christie – Former Governor of New Jersey. He has hammered Trump and his defenders since launching his campaign.
- Ron DeSantis – Governor of Florida. Says he will focus on “vision to defeat Joe Biden” rather than taking shots at rivals.
- Nikki Haley – Former Governor of South Carolina. Considered a skilled debater, will be the only female candidate on the stage.
- Asa Hutchinson – Former Governor of Arkansas and a former U.S. Attorney, who could team up with Chris Christie to “prosecute Trump.”
- Mike Pence – Former Vice President. Has been steadily more critical of Donald Trump’s indictments and participation in Jan. 6.
- Vivek Ramaswamy – Tech billionaire and avid Trump supporter. Says he hasn’t had formal debate practice sessions because he doesn’t want to be “too prepared.”
- Tim Scott – U.S. Senator from South Carolina. Has remained above the fray when it comes to criticizing Trump or his fellow contenders.
What are the qualifications to participate in the debate?
The Republican National Committee set out the following requirements for GOP primary candidates to make it to the debate stage:
- Attract at least 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique donors per state
- Reach at least 1% in three RNC-sanctioned national polls or at least 1% in two national polls and in two polls from separate early voting states (Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina).
- Sign the RNC’s pledge to back the eventual Republican nominee.
What do the polls show?
Despite four criminal indictment in the past few months, Trump retained his commanding lead, according to the RealClearPolitics average of polls:
- Donald Trump: 55.8%
- Ron DeSantis: 14.9%
- Vivek Ramaswamy: 7.0%
- Mike Pence: 4.4%
- Nikki Haley: 3.3%
- Chris Christie: 3.1%
- Tim Scott: 3.0%
- Asa Hutchinson: 0.9%
- Doug Burgum: 0.6%
What candidates still haven’t qualified to Debate?
- Larry Elder (hasn’t met donor threshold)
- Will Hurd (hasn’t met polling minimums)
- Perry Johnson (hasn’t met polling minimums)
- Francis Suarez (hasn’t met polling minimums)
Why won’t Donald Trump be there?
Although he’s the undisputed frontrunner to clinch the GOP nomination, Trump announced on Sunday he will not attend the event. The former President posted to Truth Social:
The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!
Instead, Trump said he will post a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for the Tucker On Twitter series. Trump does plan to have surrogates at the debate working the spin room, including son Don Jr. and his fiancee Kimberly Guilfoyle, according to a report from Daily Caller.
