Republican presidential candidates vying to be the leading alternative to front-runner Donald Trump opened the first Republican presidential primary debate Wednesday night with broadsides criticizing President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy and what they consider to be excessive government spending. The ex-president isn’t on stage. But he is expected to loom large nonetheless. In his absence, the debate will serve as a crucial test for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has struggled to gain traction since entering the race and is fighting to maintain his distant second-place status. More than half a dozen lower-polling candidates have been plotting how best to break through.
On Thursday, Trump is set to travel to Georgia to be booked again on criminal charges.
The Republican National Committee had set polling and donor thresholds and required participants to sign a loyalty pledge in order to qualify.His decision to boycott was nonetheless a blow to the network, which had wooed him privately and publicly to appear. Instead, Trump pre-recorded an interview with ex-Fox host Tucker Carlson that was posted to the platform formerly known as Twitter right before the debate kicked off as counter-programming.
Even in Trump's absence, his presence was expected to be felt at the debate. MacCallum had made clear she would press his rivals to respond to Trump's indictments, telling Vanity Fair that, “It will absolutely be incumbent upon them to address” them. In his absence, DeSantis' campaign had prepared for the Florida governor to be the debate's top target as the front-runner on stage.
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