Media

Dana Perino: GOP candidates privately engaging in ‘Survivor’ tactics

Republican presidential candidates, from left, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., and former Vice President Mike Pence, stand together during a Republican presidential primary debate hosted by FOX Business Network and Univision, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Fox News anchor Dana Perino said although the candidates who joined Wednesday night’s GOP presidential debate declined to name who should drop out of the race when asked, they all know the answer.

Perino, who was one of three moderators of the second Republican primary debate, closed the night by asking each of the candidates to write down who “should be voted off the island,” in a reference to “Survivor,” the popular and long-running reality television show.

“I know they didn’t want to actually write down and say who they would vote off the island, but I promise you that their campaigns … they call us every day and they try and convince us that somebody should be voted off the island,” Perino said Thursday on “America’s Newsroom.”

“I understand and I respect that they didn’t want to do it last night. But surely you know that back there with their supporters and their donors, they’re thinking the same thing.”

One candidate, Chris Christie, did mention someone who should be “voted off the island,” calling out former President Trump, the front-runner who has not participated in primary debates.

“Here, look, this guy has not only divided our party. He’s divided families, all over this country. He’s divided friends, all over this country,” Christie said. “I’ve spoken to people, and I know everyone else has, who have sat, at Thanksgiving dinner, or at a birthday party, and can’t have a conversation anymore.”