Fox Business And Univision To Telecast Second GOP Debate; Donald Trump Continues To Tease Whether He Will Show To First Event

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Fox Business and Univision have been tapped to telecast the second Republican presidential debate, taking place Sept. 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, but the lingering question is whether front-runner Donald Trump will even show for the first event.

The first match up between the GOP contenders is set to take place on August 23 in Milwaukee and will air on Fox News. Trump has teased the prospect of holding some kind of alternative event, or commenting on his rivals from the sidelines, but he hasn’t 100% ruled out participating, his advisers have said.

More from Deadline

Whether he participates may be the difference between a blockbuster event if he does, and an unusual and probably less watched debate if he does not. On the night that Trump was indicted for a third timne, Fox News’s Suzanne Scott and Jay Wallace dined with Trump at his Bedminster resort, according to The New York Times, to make the case for his participation. Trump has previously said that if he did attend, he likely would be the target of rivals. Chris Christie, who has been the harshest among the field in attacking him, is likely to qualify for the debate stage.

The Reagan Library event in September also will be live streamed on Rumble. In a statement, Wallace, who is Fox News Media president and executive editor, said that the event will “provide all Americans with an unparalleled opportunity to assess the candidates and their stances on critical issues ahead of the primary season.” The moderators have yet to be announced.

There also are big doubts that Trump will attend the debate at the Reagan Library which in recent years has featured his GOP rivals like Ron DeSantis, Mike Pence and Christie in speaking engagement but not the most recent former president. The Reagan foundation also is chaired by Fred Ryan, who Trump has attacked in part because Ryan has been CEO of The Washington Post.

Trump told a crowd of supporters this week, “It doesn’t make sense to do it if you are leading by so much, but they like it for entertainment value because they are selfish.”

Trump did participate in the Reagan Library debate in 2015, when he was still emerging as a disrupter in the presidential field. That event was telecast on CNN.

Meanwhile, campaigns on Tuesday were given more details on the format for the first debate. Martha MacCallum and Bret Baier will moderate the two-hour event. Candidates can expect some questions to involve audio or video, including pre-taped queries from students from the Young America’s Foundation, the conservative youth organization that is a partner in the event. There will be no opening statements, and candidates will have one minute for answers and 30 second for followups. Fox News is anticipating two commercial breaks an hour, running three to four minutes each.

The Republican National Committee qualifications for the first debate are that candidates have to have at least 1% in specified national and state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21. They also have to have a minimum of 40,000 donors, and 200 in 20 or more states. According to the AP, eight candidates have qualified so far, but the RNC won’t release the official list until just before the event.



 
 

 

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.