With a month to go before the first Republican presidential debate, the stage in Milwaukee remains remarkably unsettled, with the front-runner, former President Donald Trump, waffling on his attendance and the rest of the participants far from certain.
Vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021
The debate in Milwaukee — the first of three scheduled so far — has been billed by the party and the candidates as an inflection point in a race that has remained in stasis, even with its front-runner under state and federal indictment, with more charges expected soon.
For his part, Trump has stayed noncommittal. Senior advisers have counseled him against showing up and validating his challengers, but his rivals believe they can prick his ego and shame him to the stage. But with a month to go, the polling and donor thresholds — imperfect as they may be — are already narrowing the field.
Long-shot candidates such as Los Angeles commentator Larry Elder, Mayor Francis X. Suarez of Miami, former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas and business owner Perry Johnson are not likely to make the cut. Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, may still qualify, in part because Burgum, a wealthy former software executive, is offering $20 gift cards to the first 50,000 people who donate at least $1 to his campaign. He is also pumping up his standing in early-state polls with a well-financed ad blitz.
Christie is making something of a mockery of another RNC demand — that every candidate sign a pledge to back the eventual nominee. Christie, who was once a confidant of Trump’s and is now his sworn enemy, has said he will sign the pledge, but he has added that he will take the promise as seriously as Trump takes his promises — that is to say, not seriously at all. In the spring of 2016, Trump reneged on a similar pledge, though it became moot when he secured the nomination.
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