The Republican presidential field, whittled all the way down to four by Ben Carson’s characteristically vague semi-departure from the race, will be debating on Fox News once again on Thursday night. And this time, Donald Trump’s not running scared from Megyn Kelly. But what can we expect?
At the last Republican debate, both Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz aggressively went after Trump, a tone that Rubio then took out on the campaign trail and raised to absurd levels, before reining it in a little. Will Rubio and Cruz repeat their Trump attacks, or, coming out of a Super Tuesday in which Cruz won three states to Rubio’s one, will they go after each other? Rubio blames John Kasich for Rubio’s second-place finish in Ohio, so will he train his smirky 12-year-old attacks on the Ohio governor?
Then there’s the moderating. One of the big questions is obviously how Trump will handle being asked questions or challenged by Megyn Kelly, who he skipped a pre-Iowa debate to avoid. Kelly says she plans to ask him the same questions she would have asked him in that debate. Meanwhile, her co-moderator Chris Wallace has some lofty goals. He wants to elevate the tone of this debate over the crosstalk-heavy last debate, in which:
"I didn't see anyone acting presidential, that’s my point, less of a comment on them and more a comment on their behavior and tenor of the debate. I thought it was an embarrassment to the party," Wallace said in an interview on Tuesday. "I’m not sure is talking about people’s hands or hair or tans is going to get any of them elected president."
Can he accomplish that, though?
“All we’re responsible for is asking the questions. How they answer them is up to them and frankly, if they want to act like darned fools — go ahead,” Wallace said. "It’s really in the end the moderators all we can do is ask questions. They get to give whatever answers they want."
Although it should be possible to keep the candidates a little closer to their allotted time and break up three-way yelling arguments, neither of which were areas at which CNN’s Wolf Blitzer excelled. In any case, it’s a fair bet that whichever way the attacks run—Rubio and Cruz to Trump, Rubio to Kasich, Cruz to Rubio, Trump to Kelly—it’ll be an entertaining event. Though likely also a depressing one if you give any though to what it says about our nation’s politics.
The debate airs on Fox News, Fox News Radio, and FoxNews.com at 9 PM ET Thursday night.