It's unclear if Burgum will attend the debate tonight after suffering basketball injury
From CNN's Dana Bash and Shania Shelton
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was taken to a Milwaukee emergency room Tuesday after suffering an injury while playing a game of pick-up basketball with his staff, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN.
It's unclear whether the 67-year-old presidential candidate will be able to stand for the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday night, putting his attendance now in question, the source said.
Burgum is one of the eight candidates in the debate lineup. All candidates are scheduled to visit the event site on Wednesday afternoon for a walk-through, and it's unclear whether the North Dakota governor will participate.
The debate will air on Fox News at 9 p.m. ET.
The GOP governor, a wealthy former software executive, has described himself as the least-known contender on Wednesday night's stage. He said Sunday on NBC that he'll have succeeded in the debate "if we get a chance to explain who we are, what we're about and why we're running."
Stating that the public already “knows who I am,” Trump wrote on his social media platform: “I will therefore not be doing the debates!”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump meant he will sit out all currently scheduled debates – there is a second GOP primary debate set for September – or any and all future debates.
A Trump adviser told CNN that the former president could still decide to participate in a later primary debate, despite his post.
Trump has told a number of allies that he does not want to debate at the Reagan Library, the location of the second debate, and complained in private conversations that he has never been invited to speak at the venue, blaming, in part, the chairman of the board of trustees, Fred Ryan. Ryan was the chief executive officer of the Washington Post.
Wednesday’s primary debate is the first of the 2024 cycle. For weeks the former president has privately and publicly floated skipping it, given his lead in the polls. Multiple sources familiar with Trump’s plans previously told CNN he is planning to sit for an interview with former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson instead.
Still, Republican officials had been publicly seeking to convince Trump to join the debate stage as recently as Sunday morning.
Hours before Trump posted, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said she hoped he would debate. “I’m still holding out hope that President Trump will come. I think it’s so important that the American people hear from all the candidates,” McDaniel said on Fox News.
McDaniel and David Bossie, who is in charge of the RNC debate committee, visited Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey, home in recent weeks to encourage him to participate, according to a Trump adviser. The former president was noncommittal on his plans during this meeting.
Fox News president Jay Wallace and the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, had also encouraged Trump to participate in the debate.
32 min ago
These were the 3 requirements GOP candidates needed to meet to qualify for the first debate
From CNN's Eric Bradner
The Republican National Committee logo is shown on the stage as crew members work at the North Charleston Coliseum, in January 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Rainier Ehrhardt/AP/File
The Republican National Committee established three requirements for presidential hopefuls to qualify for the August 23 debate stage.
First, candidates must attract at least 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique donors per state – a mark easy for the best-known figures in the race to hit, but one that lesser-known figures have used gift card offers, concert tickets and more to reach.
Second, candidates must reach at least 1% in three national polls that meet the RNC’s requirements or at least 1% in two national polls and in two polls from separate early voting states.
Finally, candidates must sign the RNC’s “Beat Biden pledge” – a commitment to back the eventual Republican nominee, no matter who wins the primary.
GOP rivals face off tonight: Republican presidential candidates are preparing to take the stage in Milwaukee tonight for the 2024 campaign's first primary debate, which will air at 9 p.m. ET on Fox News.
Candidate lineup: Eight Republicans have qualified for the debate. They had to meet several criteria to qualify, including polling and fundraising requirements, as well as sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was taken to a Milwaukee emergency room Tuesday after suffering an injury while playing a game of pick-up basketball with his staff, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN.
It's unclear whether the 67-year-old presidential candidate will be able to stand for the first GOP primary debate on Wednesday night, putting his attendance now in question, the source said.
Burgum is one of the eight candidates in the debate lineup. All candidates are scheduled to visit the event site on Wednesday afternoon for a walk-through, and it's unclear whether the North Dakota governor will participate.
The debate will air on Fox News at 9 p.m. ET.
The GOP governor, a wealthy former software executive, has described himself as the least-known contender on Wednesday night's stage. He said Sunday on NBC that he'll have succeeded in the debate "if we get a chance to explain who we are, what we're about and why we're running."
Stating that the public already “knows who I am,” Trump wrote on his social media platform: “I will therefore not be doing the debates!”
It was not immediately clear whether Trump meant he will sit out all currently scheduled debates – there is a second GOP primary debate set for September – or any and all future debates.
A Trump adviser told CNN that the former president could still decide to participate in a later primary debate, despite his post.
Trump has told a number of allies that he does not want to debate at the Reagan Library, the location of the second debate, and complained in private conversations that he has never been invited to speak at the venue, blaming, in part, the chairman of the board of trustees, Fred Ryan. Ryan was the chief executive officer of the Washington Post.
Wednesday’s primary debate is the first of the 2024 cycle. For weeks the former president has privately and publicly floated skipping it, given his lead in the polls. Multiple sources familiar with Trump’s plans previously told CNN he is planning to sit for an interview with former Fox News Host Tucker Carlson instead.
Still, Republican officials had been publicly seeking to convince Trump to join the debate stage as recently as Sunday morning.
Hours before Trump posted, RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said she hoped he would debate. “I’m still holding out hope that President Trump will come. I think it’s so important that the American people hear from all the candidates,” McDaniel said on Fox News.
McDaniel and David Bossie, who is in charge of the RNC debate committee, visited Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey, home in recent weeks to encourage him to participate, according to a Trump adviser. The former president was noncommittal on his plans during this meeting.
Fox News president Jay Wallace and the network’s chief executive, Suzanne Scott, had also encouraged Trump to participate in the debate.
The Republican National Committee logo is shown on the stage as crew members work at the North Charleston Coliseum, in January 2016 in North Charleston, South Carolina. Rainier Ehrhardt/AP/File
The Republican National Committee established three requirements for presidential hopefuls to qualify for the August 23 debate stage.
First, candidates must attract at least 40,000 unique donors, with at least 200 unique donors per state – a mark easy for the best-known figures in the race to hit, but one that lesser-known figures have used gift card offers, concert tickets and more to reach.
Second, candidates must reach at least 1% in three national polls that meet the RNC’s requirements or at least 1% in two national polls and in two polls from separate early voting states.
Finally, candidates must sign the RNC’s “Beat Biden pledge” – a commitment to back the eventual Republican nominee, no matter who wins the primary.
