by Sharon Rondeau
(Nov. 8, 2023) — A third Republican presidential primary debate will take place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami Wednesday night with five of the remaining eight candidates qualifying per RNC rules.
Rumble’s live-streaming of the event will commence at 7:30 p.m. EST.
Those reported as qualifying are two-term Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis; former Ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; former New Jersey Gov. and former U.S. Attorney Chris Christie; businessman and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy; and U.S. Senator from South Carolina Tim Scott.
A fourth debate is scheduled for December 6 in Alabama which will reportedly require more stringent benchmarks for candidates to qualify than its three predecessors.
Meanwhile, 45th President and leading Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump will be holding a rally at Milander Park Hialeah, where he is expected to begin speaking at 7:00 p.m. EST.
RSBN will be live-streaming Trump’s event.
Given his firm frontrunner status reported in numerous polls, Trump has chosen not to participate in the debates.
According to the Miami Herald mid-afternoon Wednesday, “Crowds of fans are already in Hialeah for Trump’s rally,” while NBC Miami reported those awaiting the former president as numbering in the “dozens.”
On October 22, Trump claimed on TruthSocial the RNC was contemplating canceling any remaining presidential debates due to low viewership.
A video posted shortly after 4:00 p.m. by a Trump senior adviser, Dan Scavino, shows a line of people, many of whom are sporting “Trump” apparel, stretching for perhaps blocks while a street vendor displays a “Trump 2024” flag.
Trump heralded his appearance with a “thank-you” to the host city and reported Newsmax, Realamericasvoice, One America News and his own Rumble channel will live-stream the event in addition to RSBN.
DeSantis, once considered a formidable challenger to Trump’s candidacy, is reportedly trailing the former president in the state he governs by 39 points. According to Politico via Financial Times Wednesday, a $20 million donor to a PAC supporting DeSantis earlier this year is reconsidering Trump.
Former Republican presidential candidates who have suspended their campaigns are former Vice President Mike Pence, who went from a strong Trump supporter while in office to a sharp critic; former CIA agent and former Congressman Will Hurd; former California gubernatorial candidate and radio host Larry Elder; and businessman Perry Johnson.
Lesser-known Republican presidential candidates include pastor and businessman Ryan Binkley; entrepreneur and North Dakota Gov. Doug Bergum; and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Also, concerning the debate participants, two of them, Vivek Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, are clearly ineligible according to Article 2, Section 1, Paragraph 5 of our U. S. Constitution. But, then, SO WAS “BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA” AND NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT THAT IN PUBLIC, i.e. CONGRESS, THE U. S. SUPREME COURT, THE INTEL AGENCIES ESPECIALLY THE CIA AND FBI, THE NEWS MEDIA EVEN INCLUDING THE ONE OR TWO OF THEM WHO HAVE A MIDDLE-OF-THE-ROAD OR CONSERVATIVE LEANING, AND POSSIBLY VERY SOON YOU, ME, AND ANY OTHER CITIZEN WHO USED TO HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, BUT NOWADAYS IS TOO AFRAID AND SPINELESS TO EXERCISE IT. This is not going to end well. The TRUTH AND OUR ACTIONS IN SUPPORT OF IT will be our only hope.
With all due respect, Sharon, I’m not convinced that Donald Trump is sitting out of the debates because of his big front-runner lead over everyone else. Yes, it’s an interesting strategy (especially when combined with the rallies he is having simultaneously, and I’ve voted every time for him so far and, if he turns out to be the Republican candidate- and has a good running mate- then I’ll vote for him again). However, I just don’t like him taking away the opportunity for the other candidates to interact with him, AND for the voting public to see how he would handle himself these days outside the rally environment. That said, I pledge to NEVER vote for a Democrat even though I am a registered “Independent.” Both parties are, to say the least, very disappointing to me. Maybe Joe, Barack, & company will be able to turn me into a Communist? That, of course, is some sick humor on my part. Sorry.