Would Trump attend a GOP presidential debate in Miami or hold his own split-screen event?

Reports that the third Republican presidential debate will be held in Donald Trump's South Florida backyard raises the question of whether the former president would attend the gathering, or perhaps hold his own split-screen event at Mar-a-Lago.

When news broke that the Republican National Committee (RNC) would schedule the face-off between its presidential candidates in Miami in less than two months, party officials and the Trump campaign denied reports that they were negotiating details for a debate in Florida in hopes that Trump would finally participate.

If the RNC schedules the debate for Nov. 8, it would be a day before the Florida Republican Party hosts a gathering with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the former president's private club on Palm Beach.

Trump, who polls show is the leading 2024 GOP presidential candidate by far, did not attend the first debate held in Milwaukee last month. He will not be on the stage for Wednesday's debate in Simi Valley, California.

What's clear, too, is that one erstwhile GOP candidate with ties to Miami also won't appear. That would be Mayor Francis Suarez, who suspended his brief campaign for the Republican nomination after failing to qualify for the first debate.

The last presidential debate held in Miami took place in June 2019, when nearly two-dozen Democratic presidential candidates appeared on stage in two successive nights.

GOP presidential debate: Encounter at Reagan library contrasts how 'Gipper,' Trump have spoken to Americans

That debate was memorable for an exchange in which then-California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris torpedoed leading candidate Joe Biden for his past position on school bussing. The blow sent Biden into a pre-primary tumble in the polls, until the former vice president made a comeback in the 2020 South Carolina primary to win the nomination.

By then, however, Harris had exited the race for the nomination. That summer, Biden picked her to be his running mate.

At the time of that Miami debate, Florida, though home to Trump, was still viewed as a purple, election swing state.

That's no more as Trump carried the state handily in 2020, Gov. Ron DeSantis and the statewide GOP slate won re-election by routs last November, and the GOP holds a commanding 568,000-plus advantage over Democrats in state voter registrations.

More: Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks, insurers while building real estate empire

The Florida presidential primary is scheduled for March 19 of next year. That's two months before Trump is scheduled to go on trial in Fort Pierce in the classified documents felony case.

Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Will Trump appear at a Republican Miami debate or host competing event?