Former President Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not participate in the second Republican presidential debate, according to a report from the Daily Caller.
Trump instead plans to travel to Detroit, where the event will be held, and meet with United Auto Workers members.
Where will Trump be during next weeks GOP presidential debate? https://t.co/xsEjeNb5qy
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 19, 2023
"The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced a strike on Thursday against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, Detroit’s biggest automakers, with many employees not showing up to work on Friday," the Daily Caller reported.
"Trump will travel to Detroit to speak to current and former UAW members the night of the second GOP presidential debate, The New York Times first reported Monday," it added.
Trump to skip second GOP debate, will rally with striking autoworkers in Detroit https://t.co/NuBF2Qdi39 pic.twitter.com/zFOonCqcuF
— New York Post (@nypost) September 19, 2023
"The move signals that Trump, who holds a nearly 44 point lead over his closest GOP primary opponent, is already looking past the GOP primaries and focusing his attention on defeating President Biden in 2024, in part, by courting union members in one the states he lost to the 80-year-old incumbent in 2020," the New York Post reported.
"Next week’s rally won’t just be for autoworkers. The Trump campaign is planning on packing the room with more than 500 tradesmen, including plumbers, pipe-fitters and electricians," it added.
Donald Trump to Counter-Program Second GOP Debate by Appearing with Striking Auto Workers in Detroit. @realDonaldTrump @NEWSMAX @FoxNews https://t.co/PRATojg2BC
— John Holywell (@holywell_john) September 19, 2023
Trump, who regularly takes a majority of support in independent national GOP primary polls, is keeping with the strategy his campaign employed in the first debate when he skipped the event and instead joined Tucker Carlson for a one-on-one 45-minute interview," Breitbart News reported.
"After battling the counter-programming, which was released at the start of the first GOP debate on August 23 and instantly went viral, debate storylines quickly fell to the wayside when Trump surrendered in Fulton County, Georgia, on his fourth indictment a day later," it continued.
Trump has yet to announce his plans for the third GOP debate. It is scheduled for Miami, near the president's Florida home in Mar-a-Lago.
The hometown crowd could be a strong reason to pull the former president onto the stage but could also become another excuse for Trump to host his own alternative event.
Trump's unique publicity efforts have worked well so far with many Americans more eager to hear what he will say in Detroit than what his fellow GOP candidates will discuss during the upcoming debate.
