The first Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential campaign will be held on Wednesday, August 23, from 9:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time. The debate, taking place in Milwaukee, is sanctioned by the Republican National Committee and moderated by Fox News. Here are some ways you can view it.
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Fox News Channel will broadcast the event with live coverage Starts at 8 p.m. Eastern – one hour before the actual debate – and until after midnight.
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Fox Business Network will air the same coverage concurrently.
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The duel will be streamed at foxnews.com.
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The online streaming platform Rumble will also broadcast the debate as an official RNC partner.
Which candidates will be on stage?
By the official qualifying deadline on Monday evening, eight candidates had made it onto the stage. These are: Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, former Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina, former Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, former Vice President Mike Pence, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina.
When will they start answering questions?
Immediately, per debate guidelines. There are no opening speeches.
What about Trump?
Donald J. Trump, the clear front-runner for the nomination, plans to skip the debate. Instead, he taped an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. They plan to post the interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, and run it alongside the debate, according to a person familiar with the planning.
Mr Trump's decision to record and release an interview with Mr Carlson while his rivals share a stage was a slap in the face to both the RNC, whose leadership made every effort to persuade him to take part in the debate, as well as for Fox News. which moderated the debate and sacked Mr Carlson earlier this year.
Who is moderating the debate?
The debate will be moderated by two Fox News presenters, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Mr. Baier previously moderated Republican debates in 2015 and 2016, and in 2020 he and Ms. MacCallum chaired a citizens' event with Mr. Trump.
What topics are candidates likely to focus on?
The candidates will no doubt be questioned about Mr Trump and the four criminal charges against him. Other topics of discussion could include inflation, immigration and border security, foreign policy issues such as the situation in Ukraine and China, and abortion. Here you can find out how the candidates feel about these and other topics.
Let us know what you think the moderators will ask here.
Maggie Haberman contributed to the reporting.
