Former President Donald Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller claimed the first GOP primary debate would bring the end of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R-FL) presidential run.
Eight of the 13 Republican candidates appeared for the debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. Trump was notably absent, opting instead to do an interview with Tucker Carlson that aired at the same time. That interview would go on to receive 87 million views, which, Miller estimated, was tenfold more than the viewers watching the debate on Fox News.
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“I heard someone earlier on the panel say Desanctimonious did OK. That’s not right,” Miller said on Meet the Press Wednesday. “We saw the death of Ron DeSantis’s campaign tonight as Vivek Ramaswamy leap-frogged him into second place. DeSantis, it didn’t do good enough for him to tread water. He had to have a breakout moment, and Ramaswamy completely outshone him. I knew President Trump wasn’t going to be there tonight. I didn’t know Ron DeSantis was going to skip the debate as well.”
This was the first time DeSantis appeared on a national debate stage, while it was a repeat appearance for opponents such as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
“President Trump looks like a genius by skipping the pig pile tonight,” Miller said.
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Other candidates in attendance included former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND), entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC). Meanwhile, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, political commentator Larry Elder, and businessman Perry Johnson did not qualify.
Hurd, in particular, would not commit to signing the loyalty pledge necessary for a debate appearance. Trump also would not commit to sign the pledge, which included an agreement to support the Republican nominee and not run as a third-party candidate.
