The second Republican presidential debate will occur at 9:00 p.m. ET Wednesday in Simi Valley, California, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but the real action in the GOP field is happening thousands of miles away in the upper rust belt in Michigan where GOP frontrunner former President Donald Trump will host an event with striking auto workers one day after incumbent Democrat President Joe Biden walked the picket line there.
Nonetheless, the second GOP debate comes after the first one–which Fox News hosted with moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum in Milwaukee back in August–ended badly for the host network and saw basically no major changes in the trajectory of the primary.
Baier and MaCallum were roundly ripped for not asking serious enough questions about serious enough issues, and after the first debate the only thing that really changed in the race was an intensification of existing trends: the collapse of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the continued interest by some others in people like former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, more attention on businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and a general effort by basically everyone else to try to get some kind of traction or attention.
As the primary has become a “snoozer,” per one report, Fox has even slashed advertising rates for this event.
So Wednesday’s debate offers Fox a shot at redemption, somewhat, as its partner network Fox Business will host this event and it will be moderated by Stuart Varney and Dana Perino. Univision’s Ilia Calderon, a biased and vehemently anti-Trump leftist, will join them as a co-moderator.
This debate also has fewer candidates than the first one, as former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson failed to meet Republican National Committee (RNC) standards to qualify to appear on stage. Those on stage will include Haley, DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
And while Fox is fighting for redemption after the embarrassment that was Baier and MacCallum’s first debate, so too are the candidates not named Trump as they seek to do something–anything–to change the trajectory of things. More and more in American GOP politics are beginning to accept as inevitable Trump’s return as the eventual GOP nominee, and unless something breaks through for someone else soon it seems like those coming to terms with that might be right.
That’s why Trump’s efforts to counter-program these debates while not giving them the credence worthy of his participation–he successfully did so last time in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and aims to do so again on Wednesday–are also just as, if not more, interesting a story than what seem like the last whimpers of the donor class’s thus far failed efforts to stop him.
As these dueling stories play out Wednesday evening, follow along here on Breitbart News for live updates and coverage of Trump’s visit to Michigan and the debate in California.
President @realDonaldTrump is en route to Michigan! pic.twitter.com/pwE5dApiqN
— Margo Martin (@margommartin) September 27, 2023
Supporters of former president and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump walk past flags on the way to a rally in Clinton, Michigan, on September 27, 2023. (MATTHEW HATCHER/AFP via Getty Images)
