In one corner: Donald Trump, the mud-slinging mogul with a complicated hairdo and a flair for the dramatic. In the other: Nine other US Republican presidential hopefuls who wish Trump was not standing among them.
That is the unfolding scenario for the Republicans’ first televised debate in Cleveland on Aug. 6.
Several campaign officials privately said they were counting on Fox News, the host for the debate, to make sure Trump does not dominate the event entirely by answering questions posed to other candidates or interrupting their answers.
Photo: AFP
“All candidates will be treated equally and fairly,” Fox News executive vice president for news Michael Clemente said.
The debate carries an extra air of unpredictability since it is to be the first time the 10 Republican candidates, who are polling the highest in the 16-candidate field, are in the same room together.
Given Trump’s trash-talking ways and eye for the spotlight, his rivals from Jeb Bush to Scott Walker to Ben Carson are strategizing on how best to get their points across and not let the debate degenerate into a carnival-barking sideshow.
With six months to go until Iowa holds the first Republican nominating contest on the road to next year’s November election, several campaigns said they would focus on making a favorable impression on voters, rather than tangling with Trump.
“Treat him like any other candidate,” said Ron Kaufman, who was a senior adviser to 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney and who now supports Bush.
That might prove challenging, given Trump’s headline-grabbing antics in the more than five weeks since he declared his candidacy. The debate could go off the rails if Trump revels in his poll numbers and tries to torment his competitors.
Trump has launched a series of personal attacks on rivals for the Republican nomination. He mocked former Texas governor Rick Perry, saying he wore new glasses so that people would think he was smart; described US Senator Lindsey Graham as an “idiot,” who would not be able to get a job in the private sector; and said former Florida governor Jeb Bush was “terrible.” He even read out Graham’s cell phone number at a campaign rally.
Despite — or because of — his unprecedented actions, Trump remains effectively tied with Bush for the lead with 16 percent of the vote, according to a Reuters/Ipsos tracking poll updated on Thursday.
“Trump or no Trump, we are approaching this sort of like a sporting event: You play your own game,” said Doug Watts, spokesman for candidate Ben Carson, who is currently hovering at about fifth place in many polls.
Another candidate likely to take part, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, will “focus on his record and showing a contrast between him and the other candidates,” Huckabee spokeswoman Alice Stewart said.
Fox News has yet to release the format and ground rules for the two-hour debate. In past years, front-runners held a central position on stage and received a greater share of questions and speaking time.
Fox anchors Chris Wallace, Bret Baier and Megyn Kelly are to moderate the debate. All three showed a willingness to challenge Republican candidates and impose time limits during debates in the 2012 election campaign.
Fox News declined to make any of the three moderators available for an interview. The Republican National Committee had no say over the format, according to one committee member who spoke on condition of anonymity.
One source said it had been suggested to Fox executives that they require a commitment from each candidate not to run as an independent, as Trump has not ruled out an independent bid. The suggestion did not gain traction.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia