There are a handful of politicians who want to challenge Trump to become the Republican presidential candidate. In the night’s debate, the first before next year’s election, participants include Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Mike Pence, Trump’s former vice president.
But Trump himself has chosen not to appear in tonight’s debate. Instead, he is interviewed by former Fox News profiler Tucker Carlson. The interview will be broadcast on X at the same time as the debate is broadcast on Fox News.
– Clearly, this is a way to steal the spotlight from Trump’s opponents as they have their first big moments in their campaigns. You can also think that it is a way to punish or steal viewers from Fox News, says TV4’s foreign reporter Tomas Kvarnkullen.
USA expert Andreas Utterström believes that Trump’s absence benefits the other debaters.
– Now that Trump is not there and taking all the oxygen, the others get a chance to shine.
“Ask God for a miracle”
According to the opinion figures, Trump has a substantial advantage over his competitors. He leads by over 40 percentage points over DeSantis in second place.
The debate will be particularly important for DeSantis, who is at just over 14 percent in opinion polls.
– He is trying to be Trump light. He was very bullish in recent months. But it has gone from boom to disappointment, so he is probably the one debating tonight who has the biggest pressure on him. He has to show that he is not too short in the coat for this, says Utterström.
Utterström also strikes an extra blow for another challenger, Chris Christie.
– Christie knows he can’t win, but he has nothing to lose. That’s why he’s dangerous. He is out on a kamikaze mission to destroy Trump.
But even if DeSantis would make a truly thunderous effort during the debate, Utterström sees neither him nor anyone else as a serious challenger to Trump.
– All the competitors realize that Trump will be the Republican presidential candidate with a 99 percent probability. To change that, they can either pull out a voodoo doll and wish Trump bad luck and wish the voters will reevaluate Trump now that he has four pending trials, or fold their hands and pray to God for a miracle.
Want to be able to charge more
What, then, is there to be gained by running in a debate or candidacy that you have no chance of winning? Utterström has his theories.
– Some are trying to become the second best option if the voters were to abandon Trump, or if something were to happen to his health. Despite this, he is 77 years old. Others like Tim Scott and Nikky Haley I think see this as a job interview to be Trump’s vice presidential candidate.
He continues.
– Then there are others who are completely irrelevant and who I think mostly do this to become more famous, get paid more for their lectures and maybe get a gig as an expert commentator on Fox News.