With the eyes of the nation fixed securely on Iowa for the Feb. 1 caucuses, Fox News and Google will host the seventh GOP debate from the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
The debate will be split into two parts: the prime-time debate for the candidates who polled in the top five nationally and the top five in Iowa or New Hampshire and an undercard debate for candidates who did not make the cut but have polled nationally above 1 percent. The cutoff time for qualification was 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Although front-runner Donald Trump still holds a lead in national and Iowa polls, his campaign has confirmed an earlier statement that he would “probably not” participate in the debate, presumably due to the selection of Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly as a moderator in light of the tension between the GOP candidate and Fox host.
After the Aug. 6 GOP debate, Trump criticized Kelly on Twitter for being “not very good or professional,” that “you could see blood coming out of her eyes … her wherever” after she asked questions of him regarding some of his past statements calling women “fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals.”
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Fox released a statement on his decision:
“We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president. A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.”
Trump denies claims that he pulled out of the debate because of his feud with Kelly, citing the “childishly written & taunting PR statement by Fox” as his reason for refusing to participate.
He plans to host a veteran’s benefit at Drake University at 8 p.m., the same time as the debate.
ABOUT THE DEBATE
WHAT: Seventh GOP presidential debate
WHEN: 6 p.m. today for the undercard debate, 8 p.m. for prime time
WHERE: Iowa Events Center in Des Moines
WHO: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Rand Paul are eligible for the prime-time debate. Candidates Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Jim Gilmore have been invited to the undercard debate.
HOSTED BY: Fox News, Google/YouTube
HOW TO WATCH: Fox News will televise the debate, and live-stream from their website. Visit FoxNews.com for more information on how to watch online. Additionally, Google will test a new feature to enable campaigns to post real-time content that will appear alongside search results. Google “debate” to use the new feature.
ABOUT THE DEBATE
WHAT: Seventh GOP presidential debate
WHEN: 6 p.m. today for the undercard debate, 8 p.m. for prime time
WHERE: Iowa Events Center in Des Moines
WHO: Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, John Kasich, and Rand Paul are eligible for the prime-time debate. Candidates Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Jim Gilmore have been invited to the undercard debate.
HOSTED BY: Fox News, Google/YouTube
HOW TO WATCH: Fox News will televise the debate, and live-stream from their website. Visit FoxNews.com for more information on how to watch online. Additionally, Google will be testing a new feature to enable campaigns to post real-time content that will appear alongside search results. Google “debate” to use the new feature.
