Trump is skipping the GOP debate, but it’s still all about him

The eight Republicans contenders on tonight’s debate stage in Milwaukee all oppose Donald Trump (which is why they are running against the twice nominated, twice impeached and once defeated candidate) but most of them are not opposed to him. “Trump’s just dandy, but I can carry out his program better than he,” chatter they.

While Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson have been laudably vocal in denouncing the indicted Trump (which makes sense as both were U.S. attorneys once, although fall of Rudy Giuliani shows that lawmen can be corrupted) and Mike Pence, in his earnest way, is finally critical about the man would have had his loyal veep hanged by a rabid mob, the bulk of the field are wannabe mini Trumps.

Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Tim Scott, Ron DeSantis and Doug Burgum don’t want to talk about Trump, which ignores the biggest issue in this primary: Is Trump (or Trumpism without the man) the future of the party? The same blindness to the plague of Trump’s lawlessness applies to some of the others who didn’t make tonight’s show; the RNC’s iffy criteria has a couple of them, Perry Johnson and Francis Suarez, complaining about unfairness.

Tonight’s debate, televised by Fox News, is being held in a publicly owned building, the Milwaukee Bucks arena, called the Fiserv Forum, at 1111 Vel R. Phillips Ave., in downtown Milwaukee, with a stuffed deer inside, also which will host the party’s convention next July to crown a nominee. For Trump, tomorrow’s spin room will be at another publicly owned building, the Fulton County Jail at 901 Rice St. NW in Atlanta. Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat doesn’t have any taxidermied carcasses, but live prisoners, as Trump and 18 fellow rogues file through this week to get arrested.

Wisconsin also happens to be one of the seven states where the “criminal enterprise,” as called by the Atlanta district attorney, Fani Willis, tried to use fake electors to steal Joe Biden’s victory. Let’s see if that comes up in the debate and how the candidates handle it. Was cheating Cheeseheads from their votes fine by DeSantis and the rest?

Eight years ago, Fox also hosted the first GOP debate, where Trump’s stage manner and charisma and humor put him in the lead and he’s been there ever since, the No. 1 of the once great Republican Party. Abe and Teddy and Ike and Ronald are in a far better place, commiserating with each over the fall and fate of their party, which stood for principles above all. Trump has turned it into a personality cult.

Like the petulant brat that he’s been for all of his 77 years, Trump isn’t just skipping the Milwaukee face-off, he’s going to do his best to distract the public’s attention by presenting at the same time, 9 tonight, an interview by Tucker Carlson, who was so horribly bad that Fox had to fire him. If Trump can’t be the center of attention, no one else can.

He doesn’t have to fret. He is the center of attention — tonight onstage — and tomorrow before the sheriff and the judge. And that’s the problem, as the party must reject him and break free, otherwise it will be ruination for the Republicans.