Fox News To Host First Presidential Debate

It’s official: Fox News will be the host of the first debate for the Republican presidential primary in 2024.

On Wednesday, the Republican National Committee announced that it was awarding the TV rights for the presidential debate to Fox News, who will be partnering with Rumble – a digital video platform – which will livestream the debate.

The first debate is set to be held in August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In addition to Rumble, Fox News will partner with the Young America’s Foundation to host the event.

In making the announcement, Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the RNC, said in a statement:

“I am excited to announce that our first debate in Milwaukee will be in partnership with Fox News, Young America’s Foundation and Rumble.”

Fox News will be the exclusive broadcast partner of the first GOP presidential debate, while Rumble will serve as the main partner for the livestreaming portion of it. The event will be called the “Fox News Republican Party Debate,” as McDaniel confirmed during a recent appearance on the “Fox & Friends” morning show this week.

McDaniel added that the Republican National Committee is very excited to be partnering with Rumble to livestream the event, as “we are getting away from big tech. YouTube is owned by Google.”

Chris Pavolvski, who is the CEO of Rumble, said the mission of his platform revolves around the fact that “protect(ing) free speech is not just a slogan, it runs through the DNA of our company.”

The role of the Young America’s Foundation is to aid with the outreach to young American voters, many of whom get their news information from various social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok.

The decision to go with Fox News as the partner for the first GOP presidential primary debate is not really a surprise. The network is one of the largest – if not the single largest – conservative media network. It’s carried by almost all cable TV providers in the country, both with traditional cable TV companies and even streaming cable services.

Fox has long been lauded for its stances in backing conservative candidates.

Yet, the station and the leading GOP candidate in 2024 – former President Donald Trump – have certainly had their falling out. So, this decision may not be a popular one with the person who’s expected to be the eventual GOP nominee.

Trump is one of only three major GOP contenders who have filed to run for president thus far. The other two are former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley – who served as Trump’s ambassador to the UN for a bit while he was in the White House – along with businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.

Others who are rumored to at least be considering a run include former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, former Vice President Mike Pence and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Mike Pompeo, who served as the Secretary of State under Trump, was considered a potential candidate, but he announced this week that he would not be running for president in 2024.