On Wednesday, President Trump’s campaign declared the former president was the winner of the third Republican presidential debate, even though he didn’t attend the event.
Trump’s campaign also dismissed his challengers who were on stage as “cheap knockoffs.”
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) November 9, 2023
“Voters want a return to the Country we had just three short years ago, before Biden and the radical left began to destroy it, and voters believe President Trump is the only one who can make this a reality,” LaCivita said. “Simply put, voters want to Make America Great Again.”
From the AP:
Trump’s Wednesday night event was part of a practice he has pursued through the GOP debates: He has cited his commanding lead in the polls in skipping the stage but has also drawn attention to himself with distinctive, simultaneous events.
At the rally, Trump referenced the debate happening across town, claiming no one was watching it. Later, he compared his rally to the debate: “I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now and it’s on television. That’s a lot harder to do than a debate.” The stadium where he was speaking has a capacity of roughly 5,200 people.
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“I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now…that’s a hell of a lot harder to do than a debate.” — President Trump in Hialeah, Florida
Watch Trump's rally LIVE ➡️ https://t.co/BlshsrWxFr pic.twitter.com/d9xADGXxxb
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) November 9, 2023
Wednesday’s rally was also an opportunity to showcase support among Latino voters in the Miami suburb of Hialeah, a community with a strong Cuban-American population where Trump remains popular enough that a City Council candidate used his image on campaign signs.
Trump was introduced by Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, his former White House press secretary, who endorsed him at an event earlier this week. She praised him as her former boss, a friend and a mentor.
One day Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be the first female POTUS! pic.twitter.com/pKXJUwxC6E
— Feisty☀️Floridian (@The_Real_Feisty) November 9, 2023
Trump’s campaign is using his event to demonstrate his strength heading into 2024 and to hammer the message that the five candidates debating in Miami are irrelevant.
Unlike a debate crowd with loyalties split among candidates, Trump is expected to draw a boisterous audience that uniformly supports him.
“It’s not a polite crowd. It’s vociferous and festive,” said Dario Moreno, a political science professor at Florida International University. “He’s going to outshine those guys at the debate.
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