Republican rivals face-off – while Donald ducks: Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and the rest of the GOP field take the stage together for the FIRST DEBATE in Milwaukee – without frontrunner Trump

Eight Republican candidates entered the debate on Wednesday evening, with one big name missing from the room: Donald Trump.

They waved to the crowd as they came out and took their seats on stage. Their order was determined by their position in the polls, with the highest-scoring voters taking center stage.

It’s the first major prime-time event for the Republican candidates for president, and they’re all aware that they need to take advantage of this moment to make their mark.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — who are second and third in the polls after Trump — are expected to be the biggest targets of the night.

They are joined onstage by former Vice President Mike Pence, Ambassador Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Senator Tim Scott, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.

Haley, who suffered several attacks on Ramaswamy prior to the debate, is on stage next to him.

Burgum came out with a boot on his left leg after suffering a severe Achilles tendon injury during a basketball game on Tuesday night. During commercial breaks, he rests on a stool.

Trump, meanwhile, had his own counterprogramming. The former president sat down for a pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson. He called his critics “wanted” and claimed that his opponents will try again to “steal” the election, in a preview of the interview Carlson posted online.

Former Fox News host Carlson asked the former president if the US is headed for civil war and if he’s worried that his enemies want to kill him in the first clip of their conversation airing at 9 p.m.

Trump told Carlson he doesn’t think President Joe Biden “will make it” when asked about his health, and also accused Mitch McConnell of trying to rally support to impeach him.

Fox News debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum have said they will make sure Trump appears at the event — in video clips they will show and in the questions they will ask about the former president’s four charges.

In addition, several Republican candidates — such as Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson — have pledged to attack Trump, while others — such as Ron DeSantis — will court his supporters.

Trump has surrogates in the crowd: his oldest son Don Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Kari Lake and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene.

The four mingled with Trump supporters outside the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, where the debate will take place. About two dozen MAGA fans stood outside waving Trump signs and placards calling the debate an audition for Trump’s running mate.

Trump declined to attend the debate, but is expected to dominate it — just as he leads his rivals in the polls by double digits.

Former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and Ambassador Nikki Haley

An armored vehicle and security personnel outside the Fiserv Forum before the start of the Republican presidential debate

donald trump jr. and his partner Kimberly Guilfoyle mingle with the crowd when they arrive at the debate hall

People in a Dr. Antony Fauci suit (L) and a Donald Trump suit (R) stand outside the Fiserv Forum ahead of the Republican presidential debate

Donald Trump had his own counterprogramming in the form of an interview with Tucker Carlson

President Biden spoke to reporters while vacationing in Lake Tahoe after a workout and while drinking a banana-blueberry smoothie, saying he would watch the debate

In fact, he’s so far ahead that even if one of the candidates has a viral moment, it may not be enough to gain ground on the former president, who will be in the news again on Thursday when he arrives in Atlanta for his arraignment charges. the elections in Georgia. interference case.

“I don’t think many people will be talking Thursday morning about what’s happening here during this little league game,” Trump ally Kari Lake told DailyMail.com in an interview Tuesday.

It remains unclear whether any candidate can use the night to gain enough ground to seriously challenge Trump: The former president leads DeSantis in the rankings by 41 points. Polling average from RealClearPolitics and leads Ramaswamy with 49 points.

And those are his two biggest challengers.

It is unclear whether Trump will watch the event.

President Joe Biden said he will tune in.

But he joked that he had no expectations for the evening, the first formal gathering of Republicans who are trying to defeat him in next year’s election.

“I’m going to try and get as much as I can, yeah,” he told reporters Wednesday in Lake Tahoe, where he’s on vacation for a week. Biden carried a banana-blueberry smoothie as he spoke and had just come out of Pelodog, a combination pilates and spin class studio.

When asked what his expectations were, Biden smiled broadly and laughed, “I don’t have those.”