1 year ago
HIALEAH, Fla. — Donald Trump spent the third presidential primary debate 10 miles away, musing about how dull the night he was ditching surely was.
“They’re not watchable,” Trump said of the Republican forum taking place in Miami as he spoke. “You know, the last debate was the lowest-rated debate in the history of politics, so therefore do you think we did the right thing by not participating?” Trump said to cheers in the crowd.
It was the third time he has chosen to skip a Republican National Committee-sanctioned debate in favor of doing an event of his own, a decision that has done little to dent his massive polling lead. At one point, he pushed back against the notion that he was afraid of debating his rivals, who took early shots at Trump and his policies while onstage Wednesday night.
“Somebody said — one of the dumber ones — ‘Oh, he doesn’t have the courage to stand up,” Trump said. “Well listen, I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now and it’s on television. That’s a hell of a lot harder to do than a debate.” By night’s end, Trump had little reason to second-guess his decision. The early attacks he faced from his Republican rivals weren’t repeated. Instead, they turned to battering each other. Shortly after the rally ended, Trump’s top aide, Chris LaCivita, told reporters Trump would not be participating in the fourth debate next month in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Trump’s absence from the debates have given them a second-billing feel. And at times Wednesday night, Trump himself seemed to have his eye on a larger contest as well. He played his hits of yore to the crowd and repeatedly knocked President Joe Biden, who is 80, not for being “too old” but “too incompetent.” A recently released New York Times/Siena College poll showed that 62 percent of likely voters said Biden lacked the mental acuity to serve as president.
The former president, who is 78 himself, has made a point of not attacking Biden’s age but rather his mental and physical capabilities. As an example, Trump pointed out his billionaire friend, former Marvel chair Ike Perlmutter, for being “sharp” at the age of 80.
“What does MAGA stand for, Joe? Tell me. ‘I don’t know, I don’t know.’ We’ll ask him that during a debate: What does MAGA stand for? ‘I don’t know,” Trump said, as if to imitate a confused Biden.
Trump’s rally was designed to counter-program the debate taking place about 30 minutes away. He spoke under a large screen and was flanked by a scoreboard which read “2024” and 45-47, a reference to being the 45th president — and, if he wins, the 47th. Bleachers were packed with supporters wearing red MAGA hats. A massive American flag hung nearby. Outside, supporters set up life-sized Trump cardboard-cuts and sold “Florida for Trump” hats. He was introduced by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former White House press secretary, who announced that she was endorsing him.
The setting was deliberate. Not only was he setting up shop close to the debate site, Trump was also looking to embarrass his home-state rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. He mocked the governor for his lagging poll numbers, assailed him for past comments he made expressing an openness to cutting entitlement benefits — a major issue in the senior-heavy state — and boasted that he got more votes than DeSantis in their respective elections.
The rally took place in Hialeah, a heavily Hispanic, blue-collar city outside Miami. Recent polling has shown Trump making gains with Hispanic voters since 2020. In last year’s election, DeSantis became the first Republican in decades to win Miami-Dade County, which includes Hialeah. And while Trump did not acknowledge DeSantis’ win in the area, he did credit the Hispanic vote for contributing to Florida becoming a reliably red state.
Looming over the night were Tuesday’s elections, which saw GOP losses in Kentucky and Virginia as well as a major victory for abortion rights in Ohio. Those results have reignited a long-standing argument within the Republican Party over both Trump’s influence on it and the issues it is emphasizing, especially abortion.
Earlier in the day, Trump blamed the loss of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron — whose gubernatorial bid he endorsed — on Cameron’s relationship with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), while taking credit for the reelection of Gov. Tate Reeves in the Mississippi.
Trump also railed on stage against his ongoing legal issues. Trump spent Monday on the stand in a New York courtroom defending himself and his family’s real estate business in a civil fraud trial. His daughter Ivanka Trump appeared in court today.
Standing behind Trump at the rally were supporters wearing T-shirts with Trump’s scowling mugshot printed across the front.
“Every time I’m indicted, I consider it a great badge of honor, because I’m being indicted for you,” Trump said to cheers.
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