Fox News Encouraging Trump to Attend GOP Debate

President Donald Trump (L) speaks with anchor Bill Hemmer during a Fox News virtual town hall meeting from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on March 24, 2020. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Fox News hosts appear to be trying their best to sell the first presidential GOP debate to frontrunner Donald Trump, who has suggested he'll skip the event given his significant polling advantage and less-than amicable relationship with the network of late.

“Thinking of the big debate coming up, and I’m not saying this to sell the debate, it’s a great debate and would be great if the president and all the candidates could make it, but if you’re Donald Trump and this is all everyone is talking about and you own all the oxygen in the room, wouldn’t you want to be in that room?” Fox News host Neil Cavuto said during his 4 p.m. show, “Your World” on Thursday.

Earlier, another Fox News host, Piers Morgan, challenged Mr. Trump telling him to “show us what you’re made of.”

“Donald Trump is many things,” Mr. Morgan said last week during a discussion with Kellyanne Conway. “But in all the time I’ve known him, I’ve never known him to duck a challenge or be a coward. So, if you’re watching, Donald, come on.”

(L-R) Donald Trump, who was then a Republican presidential candidate, gestures as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz looks on during the Republican Presidential Debate, hosted by CNN, at The Venetian Las Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Dec. 15, 2015. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

The GOP presidential debate is expected to be held at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. local time, on Aug. 23. It is covered by Fox News and will be aired on television and livestreamed on the outlet’s website with hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum moderating the event.

Mr. Trump is the main crowd puller, given his large audience turnout at rallies across the country, and his absence would be a significant ratings dampener for the network. He has not yet given a clear indication about his decision.

“I haven’t totally made a decision. I like the debates. I might be here because of the debates. I might have won against Hillary [Clinton] with the debates, and I might have gotten the nomination because of the debates,” Mr. Trump said in a Breitbart interview published Aug. 2.

“But when you’re leading by 50 and 60 points against these people, and you have people at zero, and 1 and 2—and then they’re going to be asking me hostile questions, and they probably won’t have much of an audience if I’m not in the debates according to what I read.”

Mr. Trump continued. “If I’m not in the debates, then they’re not going to have a very big audience. It seems almost like it would be foolish to do them.”

Meeting the Criteria

Currently, only seven candidates have met the Republican National Committee’s polling criteria to appear on the debate stage.

A candidate must receive at least 1 percent in three reputable national polls, or 1 percent in two national polls and 1 percent in two polls from the early primary or caucus states—South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa.

The candidate must also have a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states. Finally, all participants need to sign a pledge to support the eventual nominee.

At the moment, Mr. Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie, governor of North Dakota James Burgum, Senator of South Carolina Tim Scott, and former governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley have qualified for the debate.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and former congressman Will Hurd have not met donor requirements, and are not qualified. Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Hurd, and Mr. Suarez also do not meet polling requirements.

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during the Faith and Freedom Road to Majority conference at Hilton in Washington on June 23, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Mr. Pence justified his shortfall by saying that other candidates had a head start, adding that he will meet the requisite criteria soon.

“We’re making incredible progress toward that goal. We’re not there yet,” Pence told CNN in a recent interview. “We will make it. I will see you at that debate stage.”

Based on numbers from the latest Manhattan Institute primary poll, Mr. Trump is by far the frontrunner in all three early primary states—New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Iowa—among the 2024 GOP hopefuls.

Mr. Trump leads with 42 percent of the vote, 25 points ahead of Mr. DeSantis, who has 17 percent support in Iowa. In third position is Mr. Scott with 10 percent, followed by Mr. Ramaswamy with 6 percent.

In South Carolina, Mr. Trump has a lead of 22 points with 43 percent of the vote, followed by Mr. DeSantis with 21 percent, Mr. Scott with 11 percent, and Ms. Haley with 8 percent.

Finally, in New Hampshire, Mr. Trump leads with 34 percent support, followed by Mr. DeSantis with 13 percent, Mr. Christie with 11 percent, Mr. Ramaswamy with 8 percent, and then Ms. Haley and Mr. Scott, each with 7 percent.

Earlier Mr. Trump had suggested the rest of GOP candidates fight it out on the debate stage without him for a chance at becoming his 2024 running mate.

“Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President!” Mr. Trump said July 31.

Should Trump Attend?

Political strategist Adam Weiss, in a Daily Caller commentary, said that Mr. Trump has no advantages, “whichever way you look at it,” if he shows up to the debate as it only stands to benefit the media outlets organizing the event.

Since most mainstream media have largely portrayed the former president in a negative light, “why should he give them all ratings boosts when all these networks will do is endeavor to make him look bad?” he said.

“Even if he did well, the media ecosystem would find a way to cherry-pick and callously spin his performance.”

The upcoming debate will be aired on Fox News, which has recently fallen out of favor with Mr. Trump, who has characterized network owner Rupert Murdoch as a “globalist” and called Fox News a “RINO” network.

Meanwhile, the second debate, scheduled on Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute, is led by Fred Ryan, the publisher of The Washington Post, which Mr. Trump has often complained of bias against him.

Mr. Weiss said that the other contenders should be “grateful for the opportunity to get their views across to a broader audience without Trump beside them,” as the former president continues to dominate the headlines.

Despite a barrage of legal setbacks, there’s a possibility that Mr. Trump will be holding a competing event at the same time as the debates. In such a scenario, a large enough shift in attention away from the GOP debate could settle any lingering doubts on who most Republicans will be supporting for the 2024 race.