REPORT: Trump May Attend Final GOP Debate, Ex-Chief Of Staff Believes

Speculation is rife and the implications for the 2024 GOP Primary are enormous as former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney has told reporters he believes that Trump will, despite indications to the contrary, join the final Republican debate. The event is set to take place at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa on December 8th.

Speaking with Sky News Australia, the 2019-2020 White House Chief told the outlet that “There’s been some reports that the Trump campaign team reached out to the organizers to ask a bunch of logistical questions.”

Mulvaney further observed that Trump’s security team has reportedly vetted the location where the debate is set to be held. “Another data point is that the Secret Service did actually sweep the area over the weekend, and Donald Trump is the only Republican candidate who has Secret Service cover,” he revealed.

“It’s creating a little bit of a stir for folks who are at least looking for something to be interested in in this Republican primary,” he observed.

Mulvaney told Sky News:

“The Trump team continues to publicly say that he will not be there. That there’s no reason for him to be there he’s beating all of these people by at least 30 points in head-to-head races sometimes a lot more than that um but it is creating a little bit of a stir for folks who are at least looking for something to be interested in in this Republican primary.” Why would he turn up? It’s a smaller crowd um now uh there’s only going to be if Chris Christie qualifies and he might not there might only be three other people on the stage it would be Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy.

So if Trump were to show it would be a very, very small intimate gathering where he could dominate. It makes very little sense for him to show up when there’s eight or nine people on the stage as there has been previously. Plus there is some concern I think in the Trump camp that Nikki Haley’s getting a little bit too much good press. She’s still trailing uh dramatically in the polls but she’s getting a lot of good press and no one’s really started to attack her yet. It doesn’t look like Ron DeSantis is going to attack her. Chris Christy if he’s there will continue to attack Donald Trump. So Trump might show up to sort of start counter punching against Nikki Haley that’s the argument at least in favor of him showing up.”

As previously reported by Trending Politics, Trump is scheduled to hold a fundraiser at Hallandale Beach, Florida while the debate is taking place in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. As the Republican National Committee has not scheduled any further debates, this could be the last opportunity for Trump to engage with his opponents directly prior to the first in the nation Iowa Caucus on January 15th 2024.