It’s long been known that former President Donald Trump wasn’t going to attend the third GOP presidential debate, which is slated to be held in November.
He already has skipped the first two primary debates, saying that it doesn’t do him any good to attend, seeing as he has such a huge lead in polling.
But, Trump’s intentions for the night of the debate were shrouded into mystery until late last week.
On Friday, the Trump campaign announced that the former president would hold a rally close to where the third primary debate will be held.
On November 8, the top GOP candidates for president will head to Miami to appear on the debate stage. And that same night, Trump will hold a rally for his supporters only about 15 miles away – in Hialeah, Florida.
This will mark the third time that Trump has made alternative and public plans for when the GOP debate is going on. During the first debate that was held in Milwaukee in August, Trump gave an exclusive interview to Tucker Carlson. That interview aired on the social media platform X while the debate was going on.
During the second GOP debate, held in California in September, Trump headed to swing state Michigan where he spoke with various workers.
Trump announced a while ago that he wouldn’t be attending the upcoming third debate in Miami. His campaign has already called on the Republican National Committee to cancel the remaining primary debates on the schedule, and then focus on rallying Republican support behind Trump in anticipation of him being the party’s nominee.
Since officially announcing his candidacy not long after the midterm elections in November 2022, Trump has enjoyed a sizable and unwavering lead atop polls of GOP presidential candidates.
Second place is typically occupied by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in most polls, though former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley has been making waves recently.
Just last Friday, Emerson College released a new poll that showed Trump garnering 59% of support among likely Republican primary voters. Both Haley and DeSantis were tied in second place – but only at 8% support.
With only two weeks until the third debate is held, only three Republican candidates have qualified to take the stage – DeSantis, Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy. To qualify for the third debate, candidates have to meet various polling thresholds, and they also have to receive donations from 70,000 different individuals.
The huge lead in polls is why Trump and his campaign believe the party should turn the focus on him for the upcoming General Election, since it seems that Trump is the presumptive GOP nominee.
A poll released recently by Bloomberg/Morning Consult shows that Trump is ahead of President Joe Biden in seven different battleground states. That would obviously be key to Trump defeating Biden this time around, though much can change between now and the actual Election Day in November of 2024.
