Trump to hold Florida rally on night of third GOP primary debate

Former President Trump will hold a rally in Florida on the night of the third Republican presidential primary debate next month, his campaign announced Friday.

While some of Trump’s big-name rivals are debating in Miami on Nov. 8, the former president will hold a rally with supporters in Hialeah, located roughly 15 miles away.

The rally will mark the third consecutive time Trump has sought to counterprogram the GOP’s 2024 primary debates. Trump sat for an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson that aired during the first debate in August, and he spoke to workers in Michigan during the second debate in September.

He had previously indicated he would skip the third GOP primary debate, and his campaign has called for the Republican National Committee (RNC) to cancel all remaining debates and instead rally behind him in anticipation of the general election.

Trump is leading comfortably in state and national polls of the GOP primary field, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley jockeying for second.

An Emerson College poll released Friday showed Trump polling at 59 percent, with DeSantis and Haley tied for second place at 8 percent.

So far, only Haley, DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have qualified for the third debate, which will be hosted by NBC News. Candidates must meet certain polling thresholds and have received donations from 70,000 individuals to qualify.

A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released this week also showed Trump leading President Biden among voters in seven battleground states, despite Trump having been indicted in Washington, D.C., Georgia, New York and Florida on scores of criminal charges this year.