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On the Eve of First RNC Debate, Here's What Primary Voters Think of Trump Not Participating

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  August 22, 2023 7:00 PM

Former and potentially future President Donald Trump ruffled some feathers by indicating he's not going to participate in the RNC debates, the first which is taking place this Wednesday in Milwaukee and is hosted by Fox News. As Leah covered earlier on Tuesday, Fox News is not allowing Trump surrogates into the debate spin room, unless they are "guests of media organizations." The rule applies to "any non participating candidate/campaign." Reaction isn't only coming from Fox News, but from Republican primary voters as well.

On Monday, Morning Consult released findings indicating that "Most GOP Primary Voters Say Trump Should Debate — in Milwaukee and Elsewhere."

Both overall potentially GOP primary voters and Trump supporters say that Trump should participate in the debates. In fact, Trump supporters are actually more likely to say that he should debate.

When asked whether Trump should participate in the first debate, 68 percent of potential GOP primary voters said he should, while 25 percent said he should not. Among Trump supporters, 79 percent said he should, and 18 percent said he should not. 

Among respondents who were told about Trump's plans to not participate, 58 percent of potential GOP primary voters and 63 percent of Trump supporters still said he should show up.

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The survey also looked to respondents' views on Trump participating in any of the debates, and it's clear they want him to participate. Very few want him to skip them completely. A plurality of all potential GOP primary voters, at 48 percent, think he should participate in "all of the debates." Twenty-seven percent say he should participate in "some debates," while just 17 percent say "no debates."

Trump supporters are more likely to want him to participate, with 58 percent saying they think he should participate in all of them, while 29 percent say some debates, and just 7 percent say he should participate in no debates.

The survey was conducted August 18-21, with 799 potential Republican primary voters and a margin of error of plus or minus 5 to 7 percentage points. 

It was revealed last Friday, the first day that the survey was conducted, that Trump was not going to be participating in the first debate. In a Sunday post to TruthSocial, he himself indicated he wasn't going to be participating in the debates, citing poll numbers showing him as the frontrunner in the race, specifically a CBS News poll released that day where he enjoys 62 percent support. 

Those speaking in support for the Trump and the DeSantis campaigns got into it during a Monday appearance on Newsmax, in which Carly Atchinson, the national spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign, spoke to how they "have a great opportunity" at the debate on Wednesday night, something they "were looking forward to."

As Trump presidential campaign surrogate Jessie Jane Duff denounced claims that Trump was "desperate" and herself claimed that "never in the history of politics has anybody with such a significant lead, such as Donald Trump, turned around and lost the primary," Atchinson wanted to know why Trump wouldn't debate then.

Duff took great umbrage to the interruption and what she said was "mudslinging," as she continued to speak to how DeSantis is "declining in the polls steadily" and how "he has not climbed one inch." Addressing Atchinson's question, Duff spoke to the points Trump himself has raised, which is that "he doesn't need to show up on Wednesday, he has the proven record," also charging that "you all are going to sit there and try to prove you can match his record, because you cannot exceed it."

According to the RNC, candidates who have qualified include North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov./Ambassador Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina. Larry Elder and Miami Mayor Francis Suarez claimed they had qualified, but that turned out to not be the case.

As Spencer covered earlier on Tuesday, DeSantis and Ramaswamy will have the center podiums.