Milwaukee Republican presidential debate: Final lineup announced
MILWAUKEE - The deadline for Republican candidates to qualify for the first presidential primary debate has passed. The Republican National Committee has revealed who exactly will be on the Milwaukee stage:
- Doug Burgum
- Chris Christie
- Ron DeSantis
- Nikki Haley
- Asa Hutchinson
- Mike Pence
- Vivek Ramaswamy
- Tim Scott
The deadline was 48 hours before the Wednesday debate, which FOX News will host at the Milwaukee Buck's Fiserv Forum. Republican candidates had to reach certain polling and fundraising numbers. They also had to sign a pledge to support the eventual nominee.
"Once this debate happens this week. It's off to the races," said Nikki Haley, former South Carolina governor and former American ambassador to the United Nations.
"I'm looking to introduce myself to the country," said entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. "Six months ago, many people in this country did not even know who I was."
"I think I'm going to be the only one on that stage that grew up, you know, working on a farm," said Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota and former technology executive.
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Aaron Kall
There is a lot at stake for the candidates in this first debate.
"The inaugural debates are always most important, generally because they’re most viewed, and people are really eager for the debates and participation at this time," said Aaron Kall, the University of Michigan's Lee H. Hess Director of Debate, who edited the book "Debating the Donald."
"Just the audience of debates like this, millions or tens of millions. Nothing else the candidates do, the retail politicking and the smaller venues compares to that, so they have a very unique opportunity to make a good first impression," added Kall. "The first debate is really important because if it doesn’t go well, the thresholds for qualifying for future ones only increase."
Candidates could gain momentum here in Milwaukee to help them secure higher poll numbers and more donors needed to make it to future debates. They could also fizzle out.
"We’ve seen some campaigns end because the candidates could do very well on a debate stage: Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, and so debates are important. The audience is so large," Kall said.
Donald Trump
Former president Donald Trump, who is leading primary polls by 40 points, said he won't be there. He wrote on Truth Social: "The public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had. I will, therefore, NOT be doing the debates."
Other candidates were critical.
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"Everybody should debate. Everybody has a responsibility to earn people's votes. Nobody is entitled to anything in this world," said Ron Desantis, Florida governor.
Chris Christie
"He's a coward," former Trump aide and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said. "There's no other conclusion than to come to that. He's both afraid of me, and he's afraid of defending his record."
Trump also skipped a 2016 primary debate, but the show still went on.
"How big a shadow will Trump cast even though he’s not there, looking back at the Des Moines debate in 2016, when he also chose not to participate, gives us the best idea. And out of that 2-hour debate that night, also hosted by Fox News, where Bret Baier was a moderator, he didn’t play a very big part. They talked about it at the beginning, there was somewhere between 2 and 4 questions about him, but for the most part, it allowed the candidates to talk about themselves, compare and contract amongst each other and have a more substantive debate. There weren’t the insults, and kind of the political muck," said Kall.
With or without the former president on the debate stage in Milwaukee, protesters say they're planning for a massive crowd outside the event.
Milwaukee police plan to close down roads around Fiserv Forum sometime Wednesday. FOX6 has learned they are as follows:
-Juneau between 6th and Martin Luther King
-Highland from MLK to Vel Phillips
-Highland from 6th to 8th
-Vel Phillips from Highland to State
-Vel Phillips from McKinley to Juneau
-5th from McKinley to Juneau
-6th between State and McKinley
-Winnebago from 6th to the roundabout