In a statement to The Post on Friday, Ramaswamy suggested, “This January GOP debate should be held on X, not on cable TV, moderated by Tucker [Carlson], who might just ask questions that primary voters actually care about.” The 38-year-old biotech entrepreneur further argued that this approach could help the party reach younger voters and new audiences.
The initial Republican primary debate, hosted by Fox News Channel in Milwaukee on August 23, averaged 12.8 million viewers. The subsequent debate, hosted by the Fox Business Network in Simi Valley, California on September 27, attracted 9.5 million viewers. The third debate, hosted by NBC News in Miami on November 8, saw an average viewership of 7.51 million.
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The RNC has yet to respond to The Post's inquiry regarding Ramaswamy's proposal. The presidential candidate had previously voiced similar criticisms during his opening remarks at the Miami debate, suggesting that figures like Carlson, Joe Rogan, and Elon Musk could help attract "ten times the viewership."
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The Ramaswamy campaign has also previously urged the RNC to modify its debate guidelines to include a single moderator capable of enforcing debate rules and to increase the unique donor threshold from 70,000 to 100,000 to eliminate lower-performing candidates.
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November 25, 2023
Ramaswamy has also publicly clashed with RNC chair Ronna McDaniel, calling for her resignation following a series of disappointing Republican election results.
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The fourth debate is scheduled for December 6 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The event will be hosted and broadcast by NewsNation and moderated by former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas, and The Washington Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson. In an unusual move, the debate will also be broadcast live on the CW Network, but only in the Eastern and Central time zones.
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The upcoming debate will feature fewer candidates than the Miami event, due to stricter qualification criteria and the withdrawal of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) from the race on November 12.
Potential qualifiers for the Alabama debate include Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and former UN ambassador Nikki Haley. Former President Donald Trump is not expected to attend.
While future debate dates and locations have not yet been announced, the Republicans are anticipated to hold at least one more debate before the Iowa caucus on January 15 and the New Hampshire primary on January 23.
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