Although former President Donald Trump was barred from participating in the first primary debate last month because he did not sign a pledge required by the Republican National Committee, it did not stop him from campaigning for the 2024 presidency.
“He sat down with Tucker Carlson on the same night of the debate and had almost 300 million views of their interview,” said Michael Thompson, chairman of the Lee County Republican Executive Committee. “The debate that night for all the other candidates was one of the lowest watched in debate history ever.”
Trump opted for the pre-taped interview, which streamed on X, formerly known as Twitter, because the RNC pledge required Trump to support the future Republican nominee in the event someone is elected other than Trump himself, according to Thompson.
Thompson
| Thompson
“These loyalty oaths are just really stupid,” he said. “They have no enforceability. They don't do anything except cause drama.”
The August 23 televised debate in Milwaukee featured eight GOP presidential candidates including Vivek Ramaswamy, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
"President Trump doesn't support the other candidates he has against him in the presidential election," Thompason told the Florida Record. "He's not going to support Chris Christie for president. He's not going to support Asa Hutchinson for president. They attacked him."
The next Republican primary debate is scheduled for September 27 in Simi Valley, California.
A national polling average by 538 shows Trump in the lead with 55.3% of the vote. DeSantis is in second place with 14.2% followed by Ramaswamy with 7%.
As previously reported, DeSantis was in Texas this week unveiling his national energy strategy to lower the price of gas to $2 per gallon in 2025 if elected U.S. president.
“DeSantis has already maxed out all his top donors and we, the majority of Americans, according to the polls, back President Trump,” Thompson said in an interview. “So it's going to be a lot more challenging for him to try and raise money moving forward.”
A loyalty pledge by the Republican Party of Florida would have required Trump's signature to appear on the general election ballot in November 2024 but it was amended last week, according to Thompson who sits on the GOP's state executive board.
"I don't believe the Republican Party of Florida needs to be dictating to the voters of Florida who they can vote for," he added. "It's an election integrity issue. The pledge was put in place basically to try and keep him off the ballot and it makes him appear anti-Republican when he's not."