A top political analyst warned over the weekend that former President Donald Trump is taking a risk if he doesn’t show up to the first Republican Party primary debate this week as he would not be able to respond to attacks against him while his top opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, would be “center stage” at the event.
The remarks from Rick Klein, the political director for ABC News, come as the former president faces unprecedented challenges after being indicted in four separate criminal investigations this year.
ABC News “This Week” host Jonathan Karl asked Klein if Trump would be taking a risk by not showing up to the debate.
“Oh, 100 percent,” Klein responded. “And the other candidates are — he’s going to take a lot of incoming and not have any effective response. This comes in the wake of the Georgia indictments last week. He’s not really been able to talk publicly on that. He’s even canceled the plans for the press conference he was going to have. So, he’s going to be out there– without an ability to push back in real time.”
“Now, he’s going to do some counter-programming. He’s going to basically test the proposition that he doesn’t have to engage with the other candidates,” Klein continued. “But for the other candidates, if you think that this is a race to become the non-Trump candidate, this is the perfect opportunity to do that with Ron DeSantis now at center stage. They’re going to have a chance to kind of strut their stuff without having to worry about the direct rebuttal where he always dominates. He’ll come up a lot. But there is a risk in him not actually being there.”
WATCH:
“There is a risk in him not actually being there.”
If former Pres. Trump skips the first GOP primary debate, @RickKlein says the other candidates can “strut their stuff without having to worry about the direct rebuttal where he always dominates.” https://t.co/5FDqgcz3r4 pic.twitter.com/X1AFRVaQwY
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 20, 2023
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TRANSCRIPT:
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS HOST: Trump, we can understand why he’s not going. He’s got the huge lead. It’s a risk. But is there also a risk in not showing up?
RICK KLEIN, ABC NEWS POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Oh, 100 percent. And the other candidates are — he’s going to take a lot of incoming and not have any effective response. He — this comes in the wake of the – of the – the – the Georgia indictments last week. He’s not really been able to talk publicly on that. He’s even canceled the plans for the press conference he was going to have. So, he’s going to be out there without an ability to – to – to push back in real time.
Now, he’s going to do some counter programming. He’s going to basically test the proposition that he doesn’t have to engage with the other candidates. But for the other candidates, if you think that this is a race to become the non-Trump candidate, this is the perfect opportunity to do that with Ron DeSantis now at center stage. They’re going to have a chance to – to – to kind of strut their stuff without having to worry about the direct rebuttal where he always dominates. He’ll come up a lot. But there is a risk in him not actually being there.
Related: DeSantis Hits Trump For Not Committing To Debate, Pro-DeSantis PAC Taunts Him In Ad