Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are in a slap fight over which networks get to hold GOP presidential primary debates, and the result is that the debates might not happen at all.
From the party that brought the nation the 15-ballot vote for the next Speaker of the House comes a Republican Party that can’t agree on where to hold its presidential primary debates.
Gov. Ron DeSantis’ rage against CNN and MSNBC — along with former President Trump’s polling lead and distrust of Fox News — has created a deadlock over who will host the rest of the 2024 GOP presidential debates and uncertainty over whether they’ll happen at all.
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Trump’s campaign believes his opponents need the primary debates more than he does because they’re behind him in polls. And Trump — feeling slighted by Fox News’ coverage of DeSantis, has indicated that he’s wary of the network hosting debates, two sources told Axios.
DeSantis, running second in GOP polling, has been pushing back against the Republican National Committee sanctioning a debate with CNN or NBC News, which are both salivating over the chance to host a 2024 primary debate, sources told Axios.
Because Trump gutted the RNC leadership and replaced them with himself, the result is chaos.
To summarize, Trump doesn’t want to go to debates on Fox, and DeSantis doesn’t want to appear at debates that are anywhere other than Fox. Gov. DeSantis has said that he doesn’t believe that corporate media outlets, again, except Fox, should be hosting debates.
Republicans are this close to holding their debates in Hobby Lobby parking lots and having them live-streamed on Sen. Tim Scott’s phone.
If a political party can’t get itself together enough to agree on holding debates, they have no chance of winning in 2024.
The conventional wisdom is that normally not holding debates is terrible for the country, but it might be good for the nation not to watch Trump and DeSantis trying to out-fascist each other.
Republicans might not be able to get it together enough to hold presidential primary debates.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
