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| Republican debate night begins; no one knows if Trump is in or out | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The “undercard” debate for low-polling Republican presidential candidates has begun in Des Moines, as the rest of the GOP field waits to find out if front-runner Donald Trump will follow through on his promise to boycott the main event. | |
| The undercard, which began at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Fox News Channel, includes four candidates with little chance of winning the Iowa caucuses on Monday: former tech executive Carly Fiorina, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, former senator Rick Santorum (Penn.), and former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore. All of them have been overshadowed by Trump, the bombastic billionaire who rose to the top of the GOP field with promises to erect a giant wall on the border with Mexico and to bar Muslim foreigners from entering the country. | |
| But they may never be as overshadowed as they are tonight. That’s because, just as their early-evening debate begins, Trump will be holding a press availability elsewhere in Iowa – and perhaps giving new details about whether he will attend the main debate, which is set to begin at 9 p.m. | |
| Trump had said he would not attend the event, because of a feud with Fox moderator Megyn Kelly, who Trump says mistreated him with unfair questions in a past debate. | |
| Trump has scheduled his own, separate event in Des Moines on Thursday, a rally for veterans (Huckabee and Santorum have also said they will attend the Trump event, after the undercard is over). But the timing of Trump’s event could still leave him time to make an appearance, and still be able to make the debate – or make a spectacle that would overshadow it. | |
| *** | |
| The top Republican candidates — minus one, perhaps — will face off Thursday night in Des Moines for the final time before the Iowa caucuses, in a crucial presidential debate that front-runner Donald Trump has promised to boycott. | The top Republican candidates — minus one, perhaps — will face off Thursday night in Des Moines for the final time before the Iowa caucuses, in a crucial presidential debate that front-runner Donald Trump has promised to boycott. |
| The main debate will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Fox News Channel. But Trump, who seems to be leading in Iowa and everywhere else, said he won’t be there. The candidate demanded that Fox replace moderator Megyn Kelly, because he thinks she asked unfair questions in a past debate and because she has angered him with commentary since then. | The main debate will begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Fox News Channel. But Trump, who seems to be leading in Iowa and everywhere else, said he won’t be there. The candidate demanded that Fox replace moderator Megyn Kelly, because he thinks she asked unfair questions in a past debate and because she has angered him with commentary since then. |
| So far, Fox hasn’t blinked. Trump hasn’t either. | So far, Fox hasn’t blinked. Trump hasn’t either. |
| As of Thursday morning, Kelly was still set to moderate the debate. And Trump had scheduled his own “special event for veterans” rally, to be held elsewhere in Des Moines on the same evening. Trump will be joined by a pair of long-shot candidates, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, after they participate in the 7 p.m. “undercard” GOP debate. | As of Thursday morning, Kelly was still set to moderate the debate. And Trump had scheduled his own “special event for veterans” rally, to be held elsewhere in Des Moines on the same evening. Trump will be joined by a pair of long-shot candidates, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum, after they participate in the 7 p.m. “undercard” GOP debate. |
| “Fox is playing games,” Trump said in a news conference Wednesday. “They can’t toy with me like they toy with everybody else. Let them have the debate. Let’s see how they do with the ratings.” | “Fox is playing games,” Trump said in a news conference Wednesday. “They can’t toy with me like they toy with everybody else. Let them have the debate. Let’s see how they do with the ratings.” |
| [Trump says he’ll refuse to show up for the Fox debate] | [Trump says he’ll refuse to show up for the Fox debate] |
| If Trump doesn’t show up, that could provide an opening for the other candidates who have struggled to get a word in edgewise, in a race dominated by the reality-TV-trained showman. | If Trump doesn’t show up, that could provide an opening for the other candidates who have struggled to get a word in edgewise, in a race dominated by the reality-TV-trained showman. |
| In particular, it could allow Trump’s top rival in Iowa, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to repeat his argument that Trump is not a committed conservative. | In particular, it could allow Trump’s top rival in Iowa, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, to repeat his argument that Trump is not a committed conservative. |
| Or it could allow Trump to dominate the debate without even having to show up. If networks show his rally before, or even during, the formal debate, Trump could steal the moment again. | Or it could allow Trump to dominate the debate without even having to show up. If networks show his rally before, or even during, the formal debate, Trump could steal the moment again. |
| The other candidates in the main-event debate will be retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who had once challenged Trump for the lead in Iowa but then faded; Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; former Florida governor Jeb Bush; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. | The other candidates in the main-event debate will be retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who had once challenged Trump for the lead in Iowa but then faded; Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; former Florida governor Jeb Bush; New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. |
| Many of them, having little chance in Iowa, may be aiming already at the (theoretically) more-moderate, establishment-friendly voters in New Hampshire, although Trump is way ahead of them there, too. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 9. | Many of them, having little chance in Iowa, may be aiming already at the (theoretically) more-moderate, establishment-friendly voters in New Hampshire, although Trump is way ahead of them there, too. The New Hampshire primary is Feb. 9. |
| [Cruz super PAC donors try to pressure Trump into one-on-one debate] | [Cruz super PAC donors try to pressure Trump into one-on-one debate] |
| There will also be another “undercard” debate, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Fox News Channel. | There will also be another “undercard” debate, beginning at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Fox News Channel. |
| Its four participants will include three who have tasted success in a GOP primary but lost it. They are former tech executive Carly Fiorina, who was briefly a star in this race, and two former winners of the Iowa caucuses: Huckabee, who won in 2008, and Santorum, who won in 2012. | Its four participants will include three who have tasted success in a GOP primary but lost it. They are former tech executive Carly Fiorina, who was briefly a star in this race, and two former winners of the Iowa caucuses: Huckabee, who won in 2008, and Santorum, who won in 2012. |
| And there will be one candidate who is just thrilled to be back onstage: former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore. He appeared in the first undercard debate, but then fell so low in the polls that he didn’t qualify for the next five. | And there will be one candidate who is just thrilled to be back onstage: former Virginia governor Jim Gilmore. He appeared in the first undercard debate, but then fell so low in the polls that he didn’t qualify for the next five. |
| But he still kept at it. A few days ago on Twitter, Gilmore compared himself to, yes, a toe. | But he still kept at it. A few days ago on Twitter, Gilmore compared himself to, yes, a toe. |
| “#America is looking for that “big toe” to lead us right now. Time for a common guy to lead,” he wrote. | “#America is looking for that “big toe” to lead us right now. Time for a common guy to lead,” he wrote. |
| Now, Gilmore is back on the stage. Gilmore scored 1 percent in a recent Fox News poll of Republicans nationally, which qualified him for the undercard debate. | Now, Gilmore is back on the stage. Gilmore scored 1 percent in a recent Fox News poll of Republicans nationally, which qualified him for the undercard debate. |
| The news seems to have surprised even Gilmore: He told MSNBC this week that he had to book a last-minute flight to make it to Des Moines in time. | The news seems to have surprised even Gilmore: He told MSNBC this week that he had to book a last-minute flight to make it to Des Moines in time. |