It’s debate week and there are many swirling storylines around the 2024 Republican primary making headlines.
With the first debate set for Wednesday, Aug. 23, in Milwaukee, candidates have a lot on the line when making their case to voters. Here’s a rundown of some of the stories that are likely to play a role this week in shaping the narrative.
DeSantis Disses Voters
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking fire for comments he made over the weekend when he compared Trump supporters to “listless vessels” that sit waiting for their marching orders from Truth Social. The remark is being compared, rightly or wrongly, to a comment Hillary Clinton made when she called Trump voters a “basket of deplorables.”
Here’s the full quote from Florida Politics:
In an interview with the Florida Standard, Ron DeSantis is ripping Donald Trump backers as privileging personality over conservative purity.
“If all we are is listless vessels that are just supposed to follow, you know, whatever happens to come down the pike on Truth Social every morning, that’s not going to be a durable movement,” DeSantis said.
The Governor also rejects claims that he and others who buck the cult of “personality” around the former President are “RINOs.”
While the governor’s remarks are fairly clear, he made the mistake of crossing over from attacking his opponent to attacking his opponent’s voters, a group he sorely needs to win support from if he hopes to win the nomination.
Trump surrogate and South Carolina Congresswoman Nancy Mace dropped an easy lay-up on DeSantis’ comments noting that anyone with floundering poll numbers is not in a position to be insulting key voting blocs:
.@NancyMace reacts to DeSantis' 'listless vessels' insult: "Why Ron DeSantis would do that while his numbers are tanking is really beyond me." pic.twitter.com/v3uLuCZDon
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) August 20, 2023
Some are calling the “listless vessels” comment careering ending, but that seems a bit of a stretch.
Trump Says No Debates
Next, former President Donald Trump now says in addition to skipping the first debate on Wednesday, he intends to skip all upcoming debates and says he’s refusing to participate in any of them citing his large polling lead, Reuters reports:
Former U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said he would skip the upcoming Republican primary debates, citing his large lead in opinion polls as evidence that he was already well-known and liked by voters ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump has for months suggested he would likely pass on Wednesday night’s debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, arguing that it did not make sense to give his Republican rivals a chance to attack him given his sizeable lead in national polls.
On Sunday, a CBS poll showed he was the preferred candidate for 62% of Republican voters, with his closest rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 16%. All other candidates in the primary race had less than 10% support.
“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump said on his social media app, Truth Social. “I will therefore not be doing the debates.”
Trump is putting a line in the sand up front to remove the ongoing “will he/won’t he” drama from upcoming debates. As of now, he won’t be participating in any upcoming primary debates. Beyond the first event, scheduled for Wednesday, the RNC already announced a second debate on Sept. 27 in California.
Trump believes the debates will be a waste of his time and merely present opportunities for his opponents to take cheap shots at him in what he sees as a hostile environment hosted by Fox News. As a result, he’s simply decided not to engage this time around. for better or worse.
With Trump absent from the first debate, is there a chance DeSantis, or someone else, could have a breakout night? Sure, of course, but will anyone be watching what is now being referred to by some as a “kids’ table” debate? They will call Trump names and accuse him of being “too afraid” to stand on stage, but so what? He’s fifty points ahead.
Cassidy Says Step Aside
Senator Bill Cassidy, of Louisiana, called on Trump to withdraw from the presidential race this week citing the ongoing investigations and indictments, according to Axios:
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said Sunday he thinks former President Donald Trump should drop out of the GOP presidential race.
The big picture: Cassidy’s vocal criticism toward Trump comes as the former president remains the GOP frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election.
When asked if he thought Trump should drop out of the race, Cassidy told Kasie Hunt on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday: “I think so, but obviously, that’s up to him.”
“I mean, you’re just asking me my opinion, but he will lose to Joe Biden if you look at the current polls,” Cassidy added.
Cassidy clarified that he would still vote for the GOP nominee, even if Trump were to win the Republican nomination.
What’s ironic is that by clarification, Cassidy said he’d still vote for Trump as the nominee after saying he should drop out of the race. While there may be other Senators who think it, most of them, especially from deep-red states like Louisiana, aren’t going to say it for fear of voter backlash. Cassidy’s statement won’t mean much in the grand scheme but it serves as another illustration of the divide between GOP primary voters giving Trump their unwavering support, and DC establishment Republicans who would prefer to see someone else as the nominee.
The drama will continue this week leading up to the first Republican primary debate.
Tune in at 9 pm ET right here on Wednesday for the debate live stream and Trump’s counter-programming interview with Tucker Carlson.
