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After a second debate widely panned as “disappointing” by conservative viewers and pundits, strategists are questioning whether the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) third presidential primary debate hosted by NBC serves much of a purpose at all. The RNC gave its first two debates to Fox News and Fox Business, the second of which was heavily criticized for not focusing on the issues Republican primary voters care about. Despite that criticism, the RNC gave its third debate on Nov. 8 to NBC, failing to meet earlier promises to prioritize up-and-coming conservative, independent media for coverage. [cut] The RNC’s current chairman of...

NEW YORK (AP) — Lester Holt, Kristen Welker and Hugh Hewitt will moderate the third Republican presidential debate, scheduled for Nov. 8 in Miami, NBC said Wednesday. The first one held outside the confines of Fox News, the two-hour debate will be seen at 8 p.m. Eastern on NBC and the NBC News Now streaming service. Holt is the anchor of “NBC Nightly News” and Welker is the moderator of “Meet the Press.” Hewitt hosts a morning talk show for the Salem Radio Network, a co-sponsor of the debate. Qualified participants will be announced later. Former President Donald Trump, leading...

Many leading Republicans and conservatives want someone other than Donald Trump to run for President in 2024. But this judgment requires an assessment of Trump’s vices and virtues in the context of our current political and cultural circumstances, as well as an assessment of other prospective Republican presidential candidates. Tom Klingenstein, Chairman of the Claremont Institute, explains Trump's Virtues.

'We're working really hard to qualify for the debate,' the former vice president told NBC's Kristen Welker -------------------------------------------- Pence got asked directly on Sunday if he would drop out of the 2024 presidential race should he fail to qualify for the upcoming third Republican primary debate. The former vice president wouldn't directly answer the question. "We're working really hard to qualify for the debate," Pence said in response to the question on NBC's 'Meet the Press' posed by host Kristen Welker. "I don't have the most money in this campaign, but I do have the most experience." To qualify for...

Former President Donald Trump will host a campaign rally at the same time as next month’s third Republican primary debate, his campaign announced Friday, reaffirming the 2024 GOP frontrunner’s absence from the RNC-sponsored event. The 7 p.m. Trump rally in Hialeah will take place approximately 10 miles northwest of the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Miami, where his rivals will square off in the 8 p.m. debate co-hosted by NBC News. Trump has said he will be boycotting the RNC’s debates, citing his wide polling lead, and will do so “until he changes his mind,” campaign spokesperson...

'We should be doing these Republican debates in New Hampshire and in Iowa.' Gov. Ron DeSantis has participated in two Republican presidential debates so far, with a third scheduled, but he doesn’t think any of these events have been in the right place. “We should be doing these Republican debates in New Hampshire and in Iowa, since we’re going to be there anyway,” DeSantis said in Concord, New Hampshire, where he was Thursday to qualify for that state’s Primary ballot. The Governor offered specific criticisms of the debate last month in California. “I mean, I love the Ronald Reagan …...

The Governor is still the top second choice, but Trump has a commanding lead despite not debating. Gov. Ron DeSantis hasn’t gained ground on Donald Trump in the wake of the GOP presidential debate. That’s a conclusion to be drawn from new polling done by Harris for The Messenger. DeSantis has 11% support in the poll released Sunday, down from 14% in the previous poll, and 45 points behind former President Trump. He lost more than 20% of his support from the previous administration of the survey. While DeSantis is still the top second choice of 31% of GOP voters,...

link only: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-30/desantis-super-pac-cuts-back-iowa-new-hampshire-tv-ads-in-shift#xj4y7vzkg

There was an eight-point swing to former President Donald Trump away from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) among likely Republican primary voters after Wednesday night’s second debate. Two days before Wednesday’s debate, Trump had 58 percent support in Morning Consult’s poll. After the debate, where he did not appear, Trump’s support surged to 63 percent.On the other hand, DeSantis fell three points in the poll, down to 12 percent from the 15 percent he held on Monday.Trump now holds a 51-point advantage over DeSantis, according to Morning Consult’s poll.“The sizable shift from Monday to Thursday is notable compared with what happened...

Fox News contributor and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “The Ingraham Angle” that former President Donald Trump will be the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.Gingrich said, “I suspect the money is there, but the votes aren’t. I’m a big fan of Glenn Youngkin. I think he’s doing a great job as governor. I think in 2028, he could be a very impressive, maybe even frontrunner for president, but not this time. Not this year.”He continued, “I was talking to our mutual friend, the pollster Matt Towery this afternoon, and Matt said to me, based on...

California governor Gavin Newsom mocked Florida governor Ron DeSantis on live television for taking the “bait” in debating him while calling DeSantis a “distracted” candidate. “Why is he doing it? That’s the right question. He’s running — I think, I’m not sure after tonight — but currently he’s running for president of the United States,” Newsom said in an interview Wednesday. The California governor’s remarks come on the heels of the second GOP debate, in Simi Valley, Calif., where he said he wasn’t particularly impressed with DeSantis or the rest of the Republican presidential field. Newsom attended the event. Newsom...

People were wondering how many people were tuned into the Fox Business RNC debate, the second GOP primary debate without Donald Trump. The answers are in per an NBC review of Nielsen ratings.Approximately 9.3 million people tuned in to watch the debate on Fox, Fox Business and Univision. That’s a drop of 27% from the first debate which had 12.8 million viewers.[…] Even though it was broadcast on Fox Business Network, Fox News Channel and Univision, it still attracted roughly 3.4 million fewer viewers than the first GOP debate just one month ago, which was hosted by the Fox News...

For reasons mysterious to the rational human mind, Fox News and the Republican National Committee decided to subject Americans to the most bizarre public spectacle in recent memory. It was stupid. It was strange. It was the second Republican presidential primary debate, which began with British-American Stuart Varney having a seizure while attempting to introduce his Univision cohost Ilia Calderón and concluded with Dana Perino asking the contestants who should be “voted off the island.” “Leading the charge, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dismissed the question outright,” The Independent reported. “I’m not going to do that, with all due respect, we’re...

The second Republican primary debate on Wednesday drew a considerably smaller audience than the first debate, bringing in more than three million fewer viewers. Hosted at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the debate drew about 9.5 million viewers through Fox Business, the network's other channels, and Univision, The Hill reported, citing Nielsen data. The first debate drew in 13 million viewers, meaning the second debate saw a roughly 27% drop. Former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate in the race, attended neither event and the only lineup change on Wednesday evening was the absence of former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson,...

Florida blogger and Ron DeSantis campaign influencer Chris Nelson was ejected from the Republican primary debate in Simi Valley, California after harassing Kari Lake and other debate guests. In the hours prior to the event, Nelson posted a series of videos to X (formerly Twitter) that show him shouting at Lake and others. In one video, he can be heard ranting about former President Donald Trump – suggesting his supporters intend to make him ‘Emperor of the United States.’Nelson has become a fairly regular figure among the DeSantis campaign’s online trolls, routinely attacking Trump supporters. Sources close to Nelson have...

The Trump campaign on Wednesday urged the Republican National Committee (RNC) to end the debates and save resources to defeat President Joe Biden, making the call after the second Republican debate went off the rails, with plenty of criticism from viewers over Univision’s leftist bent throughout the two-hour spectacle.“The RNC should immediately put an end to any further primary debates so we can train our fire on Crooked Joe Biden and quit wasting time and money that could be going to evicting Biden from the White House,” the statement adds. “Tonight’s GOP debate was as boring and inconsequential as the...

About last night:Where was the rabid attack on disastrous Bidenomics & the championing of pro-growth economic policies?Where was the righteous outrage over the weaponization of our most fearsome government agencies?Where was America First?In Michigan, coming from Trump 🇺🇸— Monica Crowley (@MonicaCrowley) September 28, 2023

Former President Donald Trump, responding to heated criticisms from his primary opponents during the second GOP debate, said it was “much more important” for him to work to “save” autoworkers Wednesday night than to appear at the debate due to his massive lead in the primary polls, while dismissing Chris Christie’s “Donald Duck” nickname for him. […] Trump spoke before a crowd of autoworkers in Clinton Township, Michigan Wednesday night, pleading that, if elected, the future of the automobile will be “Made in America.” […] The most recent Fox News poll shows 60% of Republican primary voters supporting Trump for...

Former President Donald Trump won the second Republican debate on Wednesday night by simply staying away, according to a snap poll of viewers for DailyMail.com. But there was good news for challenger Ron DeSantis who was declared the most 'presidential' and the most 'competent' of the candidates who took the stage at the Ronald Reagan presidential library in California. Analysts said DeSantis put in a more assured performance than the first debate when he disappeared from sight at times. This time, he dinged Trump directly and leant into his record as Florida governor to describe how he would lead the...

Viewers of the second Republican National Committee (RNC) debate blasted the RNC as well as Fox News for including Univision as a partner in the event. The debate kicked off with Univision anchor Ilia Calderón opening up the debate by speaking Spanish, telling viewers that the candidates are trying to win them over. [cut] But the irritation of the inclusion of Univision only grew throughout the night, as moderators asked about “gun violence,” amnesty, Obamacare, and more. “It’s a good thing Univision is an official media partner of this debate so issues that matter Republican voters are covered — said...