How to watch the second GOP presidential debate
The two-hour debate will start at 6 p.m. on Wednesday
The second Republican presidential debate is approaching, with a smaller onstage lineup than the first, which took place last month.
Here’s everything you need to know about watching:
LOCKING IN
The two-hour debate will begin on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. It will be moderated by Stuart Varney of Fox Business Network, Dana Perino of Fox News Channel, and Ilia Calderón of Univision.
The event will be broadcast on Fox News Channel and Fox Business, as well as on the network’s website and other digital and streaming platforms. Univision also broadcasts a Spanish-language feed.
As with the previous debate, the Republican National Committee has partnered with Rumble, a video-sharing platform popular among conservatives, to livestream this one instead of the network’s YouTube channel. RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel stated earlier this year that the decision was aimed at “getting away from Big Tech.”
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?
The second Republican debate will take place at Ronald Reagan’s presidential library in Simi Valley.
Many Republican candidates have visited the library recently for its “A Time for Choosing” speaking series, named after Reagan’s pivotal 1964 speech on behalf of GOP presidential candidate Barry Goldwater.
On the campaign trail, some candidates make references to the 40th president, who has loomed large over Republican politics for decades.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has framed himself as a potential Reagan-like figure, aiming to unseat President Joe Biden, whom he sees as a weak and unpopular Democratic incumbent. Former Vice President Mike Pence frequently mentions how he “joined the Reagan revolution and never looked back,” and took his oath of office with his hand on the Reagan family Bible.
During the first debate, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy referred to himself as “the only candidate in this race, young or old, black or white, to bring all of those voters along to deliver a Reagan 1980 Revolution.”
WHO WILL ATTEND?
The RNC has confirmed that seven candidates will debate in Simi Valley. The party established a number of criteria for candidates to meet in order to qualify, including polling and donor numbers benchmarks, as well as signing a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee.
DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are among those who qualified for the debate.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who took part in the debate last month, did not make the cut.
Trump will skip his second debate in a row, deciding that given his commanding early lead in polls, there is little point in joining his lower-polling rivals on stage. He will instead meet with current and former union workers in Michigan, where thousands of autoworkers are on strike as part of a labor dispute involving Detroit’s Big Three and the United Auto Workers union.
In place of last month’s debate, Trump took part in a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, which aired on social media just as eight of his opponents took the stage in Wisconsin.
