Former President Donald Trump is preparing to skip the third Republican primary debate and will instead hold a rally in South Florida as counter-programming.
Trump’s campaign says he’ll hold a rally at a stadium in Hialeah on the evening of November 8th, roughly half an hour from where his opponents will be holding their own rally at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Trump has stated on multiple occasions that he does not see the point in running because of his overwhelming lead.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have all qualified for the third Republican presidential debate on November 8.
As of Nov. 3, three days before the Republican National Committee (RNC) set a deadline for qualifying for a podium on the debate stage—and 74 days ahead of the Iowa caucuses—North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson, and Texas businessman and pastor Ryan Binkley are on the outside looking in, NTD reported.
Senior advisor to the Trump campaign, Chris LaCivita, has pleaded with the RNC to end the debates and “quit wasting time and money” by directing the party’s attention toward unseating President Joe Biden in November 2024.
Trump has effectively declared that the nomination contest is over and the debates “seem to be a complete waste of time” in posts on Truth Social, citing his commanding lead in polls.
Trump’s presidential campaign took in tens of millions of dollars during the third quarter, even exceeding his high second-quarter performance as he continues to surge ahead of his 2024 Republican rivals.
Trump’s campaign announced that it raised $45.5 million in the third quarter.
The campaign reported having more than $37.5 million in cash on hand, a release stated. In addition, Trump’s campaign said that GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who is in second place behind Trump in most polls, only had $5 million in cash on hand for the ongoing primaries, the Times added.
