TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Next week’s Republican primary debate means different things to Florida’s three Republican presidential candidates. One wants to ignore it. Another wants to embrace it. And the third isn’t sure if he’s qualified for it.
Donald Trump
The former president now seems more committed than ever to skipping Wednesday’s GOP primary debate in Milwaukee. The New York Times reported Friday that Trump was planning to ditch to sit down with Tucker Carlson. The frontrunner aimed to siphon off viewers from the other GOP rivals.
It comes as Trump refuses to sign a required debate loyalty pledge. The candidate also spent the week swinging at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, claiming victory at the Iowa State Fair this weekend.
“Ron DeSanctamonious drew almost no crowd at the Iowa State Fair on Saturday," Trump said in an online post. "Neither did any other candidate with the expectation of your favorite president— me.”
Ron DeSantis
To be fair about the Iowa fair, Florida's governor did have a sizable crowd last weekend. In the days since he’s started focusing on debate prep in hopes of changing his campaign’s recent sagging poll numbers.
"We feel ready," Carly Atchison, DeSantis campaign spokeswoman, said. "Ron DeSantis will debate anyone anywhere, anytime. But this is a particularly unique opportunity to talk to millions of Americans who might not have been tuned in to the presidential race."
We’re also getting a look at the possible DeSantis debate strategy. A consulting group connected to the governor's super PAC posted this game plan memo online this week. It includes bullets like “defend" Trump… and “hammer" Vivek Ramaswamy who’s starting to gain steam.
Francis Suarez
Earlier Friday, Miami's mayor announced online he had met the RNC’s qualifications to make it to Milwaukee. He touted the achievement in an online post:
“I’m very excited to let you all know that we have qualified for the first GOP debate," Suarez said. “I’m so excited to deliver my message of prosperity to the entire nation— to introduce myself to the entire nation"
A short time later, the Miami Herald reported debate officials refuted the mayor's claim. The Associated Press reported the RNC had told the candidate only that he may qualify— not that he had. The dispute is now likely to carry into the weekend ahead of the Monday deadline.
Requests for comment from Suarez's campaign weren't immediately returned.
FOX News will host Wednesday's debate at 9 p.m. Eastern time. It's scheduled to run for two hours.