Eight Republican candidates square off Wednesday night in Milwaukee, Wis., for the first Republican debate of the 2024 primary election cycle.
But the candidates are essentially fighting for second place.
Meanwhile, front-runner Donald Trump is hosting counter-programming with a meet and greet with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, airing at the same time the debate kicks off — 9:00 p.m. ET.
Fox is hosting the debate at Fiserv Forum Arena in Milwaukee with moderators Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier.
Participating candidates are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott (RS.C.), former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and North Dakota Governor Doug. Burgum and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
Three other candidates – Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, businessman Perry Johnson and radio host Larry Elder – say they qualified to take the stage, but were not included in the lineup of the RNC published Monday evening.
Follow DailyMail.com’s live updates of the first Republican presidential debate of 2024.
Team Biden rips Trump Carlson ‘softball’ interview that will promote ‘conspiracy theories’
President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign tore up Donald Trump’s ‘softball’ interview with Tucker Carlson before it aired on Wednesday.
“In his softball interview tonight, Donald Trump will once again make it clear that he is pursuing the same extreme and deeply unpopular MAGA agenda that the American people have repeatedly rejected,” the campaign spokesperson said. Biden, Kevin Munoz.
“Instead of explaining his broken promises to Wisconsin…we’ll likely hear him double down on his most out of touch stances, including his support for wild and debunked conspiracy theories.”
The statement came after Carlson tweeted an image of himself and Trump during a “debate night” at the ex-president’s private club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Munoz also said, “This same extreme and unpopular agenda will be on display in Milwaukee later tonight by MAGA’s Republican candidates doing their best impressions of Donald Trump. The American people rejected these extreme ideas in 2018, 2020 and 2022 – and they will do so again in November 2024.”
Tucker Carlson questions Trump: Why aren’t you at the debate tonight?
Tucker Carlson released a landmark video of his upcoming interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday night, meant to serve as counter-programming to the first Republican debate.
The debate will start at 9:00 p.m. ET, but Trump’s pre-recorded interview will begin five minutes earlier, at 8:55 p.m.
The clip shared on the social media site now known as X shows Carlson beginning to wonder why Trump decided to skip the debate with eight other Republican candidates.
The former president has repeatedly said that debating these low-vote candidates is beneath him.
In the video, Trump tells the former Fox News host that their interview via a forum called Tucker on X will likely get “higher marks” than the debate.
Republican hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy, 38, cheekily told DailyMail.com “I’ll think about it” when asked on Tuesday if he plans to rap on the debate stage.
The biotech entrepreneur has risen in the polls — outpacing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in several polls — and likely needs a decisive moment in Wednesday night’s Republican debate to maintain momentum.
And the one talent he’s ever deployed to make a statement has been his rapping skills.
Earlier this month at the Iowa State Fair, Ramaswamy wrapped up a morning event with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds by performing Eminem’s Lose Yourself.
While a student at Harvard, the current presidential candidate had a side hustle as a libertarian-minded rap artist who went by the name “Da Vek.”
Gov. Doug Burgum showed up for a tour of the debate site on Wednesday on crutches after being injured during a basketball game with his campaign team.
The 2024 hopeful’s plans were on hold after he was rushed to the Milwaukee area emergency room on Tuesday.
Burgum, a wealthy former software executive, showed up at the Fiserv Forum arena hours before the crutches debate.
He posted on Twitter, now known as X, an image wearing a boot and crutches at the debate venue with the caption: “I’m in.”
President Biden says he will watch the first Republican debate
Joe Biden, after Pilates and spinning classes on Wednesday, said he would watch the Republican primary debate on Wednesday night — even though front-runner Donald Trump opted to skip the event.
The president joked that he had no expectations of the first official rally of Republicans trying to defeat him in next year’s election.
“I’m going to try to see – to get as many as I can, yeah,” he told reporters earlier on Wednesday.
When asked what his expectations were, Biden smiled broadly and laughed, “I don’t have any.”
Biden speaks to reporters while holding a blueberry smoothie after Pilates and spinning classes Wednesday in Tahoe, Calif. The president said he would watch the GOP debate
Share or comment on this article:
