Trump seeks to steal attention from GOP debate

Former President Trump, the front-runner of the Republican presidential race, is skipping the party’s second presidential debate this week, again leaving the rest of the field competing with him despite his absence from the debate stage.

While the GOP candidates on stage will only have a handful of minutes to share their message and stand out, Trump’s meeting with striking autoworkers grants him undivided attention at the center of a pressing, national issue.

Although Trump’s appearance in the Great Lakes State may not pull too many eyeballs from the debate stage in Simi Valley, Calif., the split screen between the two events will likely highlight the complicated Republican race — the leader of the field is skipping the party staple event in a drive to the general election, while the other competitors vie for what many see as a contest for second place.

“The next morning, when we turn on the ‘Today Show,’ or any of the networks and watch the morning programming, these are going to be the two stories. The only way to gauge a win between the two is who gets the first headline,” said Michigan-based GOP strategist Jason Cabel Roe of the two Wednesday events.

Trump is set to deliver prime-time remarks in Detroit, an auto industry hub, amid a major strike from the United Automobile Workers (UAW) — the same day qualified presidential hopefuls take the debate stage.

The contrasting events will give Trump “equal footing with the entire field” in Michigan — but also among other working-class Republicans in other states, Roe said.

Trump skipped the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) first debate in Milwaukee last month after stoking suspense over whether he’d attend. As his GOP competitors went on air, Trump released an interview with commentator Tucker Carlson. He’s also said he plans to forego the third debate, which is slated for Nov. 8 in Miami.

“He’s going to get some attention and draw some eyeballs away from the debate itself. And he’s going to inject himself into the story on the debate without being there, and doing something that has political currency beyond the Republican primary electorate,” Roe said.

At the same time, Trump’s absence from the Simi Valley debate stage could make it easier for some of his competitors to capitalize on their momentum from Milwaukee and make their case to GOP voters outside of comparisons to Trump.

So far, six Republicans — not including Trump — appear to have met the RNC’s requirements to get on the second debate stage: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, conservative entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The former president has repeatedly cited his front-runner status as a reason for skipping the debates. The latest Morning Consult polling of the GOP field shows Trump in the lead with 59 percent, followed by DeSantis with 13 percent, Ramaswamy with 10 percent and Pence and Haley with 5 percent each.

Some polls showed viewers from the first debate ranked DeSantis and Ramaswamy as the winners of the night, while Haley experienced the biggest bump in support from the GOP field before and after the event.

Haley’s campaign has boasted of its “post-debate momentum,” and some strategists think she has a chance of catching up to DeSantis — who has clung to second place behind Trump.

Ramaswamy, who had reached third place in some polls ahead of the first debate, sparred with several of his competitors on stage and scored the second-highest speaking time of the night, according to a CNN tracker. A Morning Consult poll, though, showed his unfavorability tick up afterward.

DeSantis, on the other hand, appeared to stagger in some polling ahead of the debate — and in a New Hampshire poll after the event, he slipped behind Ramaswamy, raising questions about whether another candidate could jump ahead of him.

The second debate could be a key opportunity for some of the candidates to build their momentum — or make up for slipping poll numbers — and surge closer to Trump at the front of the field.

Some strategists think onstage candidates could avoid talking about Trump and that he won’t take up much of the debate’s airtime — while others think he could still be a topic of conversation among the candidates.

At the first debate in Milwaukee, moderators asked the candidates whether they would still support Trump if he becomes the party’s nominee, given the multiple indictments the former president now faces in courts across the country. All but one of the candidates — former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson — indicated they would support Trump.

To meet the RNC’s qualification requirements, the White House hopefuls have signed a pledge to back the eventual nominee. Trump has notably refused to sign the pledge.

“The topic of Donald Trump will be on that debate stage, as it is in nearly every American political discussion, either at mahogany podiums on a debate stage or Formica tables in kitchens across the country,” said GOP strategist Mark Weaver.

Trump’s decision to release an interview during the first debate drew attention as his competitors took the stage for the first time, Weaver said, and his move to plant a flag in Michigan during the second debate puts him at the center of an important political issue in a key state.

“When you look up the term ‘political savvy’ in the political dictionary, you normally do not find Donald Trump listed in that definition, but his counter-programming decisions for the first and second debates are certainly politically savvy,” Weaver said.

Republican strategist Justin Sayfie said he does not expect Trump’s Michigan appearance will steal focus from the debate, which will still attract millions of GOP primary voters and will be more newsworthy than the autoworkers event.

But he argued that candidates need to “say something new” to stand out in the field and get more attention for their campaign.

“Be different. Be authentic. The people who are watching the presidential debates closely, they’ve heard most of the candidates’ views on things, and I think it’s the responsibility of the candidates with an audience as large as the debate audience to maximize that unique platform,” Sayfie said.

He said the debate will feature what is essentially a race to be the “last one standing” as an alternative to Trump.

Ernest McGowen, an associate professor of political science at the University of Richmond, said Trump protects himself from scrutiny by not attending the debate, whereas he could be challenged on statements he has made if he engaged with the other candidates.

“Trump can’t lose by not going to the debate. He can only lose by going to the debate because if he goes … then the whole debate becomes about picking at not only just policy but picking at things that he said in the media,” McGowen said.

Trump has recently faced some criticism within his party over comments he made during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last weekend in which he called the six-week abortion ban that DeSantis signed a “terrible mistake.” He later sought to clarify his stance on the issue following the backlash.

But while the candidates are “squabbling” with each other, Trump will be the only one appearing presidential, said Republican strategist Brady Smith.

By announcing a meeting with the autoworkers first, Smith said, Trump has managed to also outmaneuver President Biden, painting the debate as the diversion from his event instead of the other way around. Biden said Friday he will travel to Michigan on Tuesday to support members of the UAW.

“I think it solidifies the debate as the distraction. He’s focused on real issues and real items that are affecting the economy and hundreds of thousands of workers. It solidifies the debate as the sideshow rather than essential,” Smith said.

The second GOP presidential debate will take place Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Southern California. Hosted by Fox Business with moderators Stuart Varney and Dana Perino, as well as Univision’s Ilia Calderón, it’s set to air at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Updated 11:57 a.m.

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