NewsNation Organizers are setting up five lecterns in preparation for next week’s high-stakes Republican presidential debate – fueling speculation that Donald Trump might finally face his rivals in person onstage.
Amid the intensifying clash among Republicans hoping to take on President Biden, organizers are building a set for the live televised smackdown, which comes just weeks before the Iowa Caucuses.
An image obtained by DailyMail.com shows five white lecterns evenly arrayed onstage at the Frank Moody Music Building on the University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa where the candidates will debate. That would include one for the former president, who has skipped the first three televised contests, while mocking participants and calling the prior debates ‘not watchable.’
A representative of NewsNation, which is hosting the debate, also held a phone call with a Trump representative to discuss logistics for attending the event, a source familiar with debate plans told DailyMail.com.
Pipe dream? Set construction at the site of the fourth presidential debate shows plans for five lecterns – enough to accommodate Donald Trump as well as four leading candidates
The Trump representative wanted to know specific information about a drop-dead deadline for giving notice to join. ‘He asked how much time before the debate would the president need to make a final decision,’ said the source.
The answer is determined by the Republican National Committee, which set ground rules for the debate. Participants must provide note 48-hours in advance, giving the Trump camp just days to reach a final decision before the debate, set for Wednesday at 8 pm – assuming Trump is even interested.
Organizers also spoke with the leading rival Republican campaigns set to attend.
The inquiry from Trump world came on a call where organizers spoke to each of the potential participants about key information including the debate rules and format, security for arriving candidates, and green rooms where candidates can steel themselves and gussy up before the cameras roll.
An appearance by Trump would be a shocker due both to his success so far even while skipping the debates, and reports Thursday that he is planning a Miami fundraiser for December 6, the same date as the debate.
It comes a week after a source told DailyMail.com the Secret Service conducted a sweep of the venue, raising questions about whether Trump might attend, since he is the only GOP candidate who gets Secret Service protection.
Former President Donald Trump has amassed a polling lead of nearly 50 percentage points while skipping the debates he used to climb to the top of the pack in 2016
The last debate featured a few attacks on Trump, amid backbiting among his distant rivals
Missing the action? The third debate in Miami featured fireworks between former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. But Ron DeSantis and other contenders have been struggling to gain ground on Trump in polls. Sen. Tim Scott (R) has suspended his campaign
The fourth GOP debate is set for December 6 at the Frank Moody Music Building at the University of Alabama
But a source familiar with the Trump campaign’s planning appeared to reject the idea at the time, stating unequivocally: ‘President Trump will not be attending the next debate.’
The event will be moderated by NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas along with Megyn Kelly of SiriusXM and Eliana Johnson of the Washington Free Beacon.
Having Trump onstage being questioned by Kelly would be a throwback to the blockbuster Fox News debate where he Trump sparred with the moderator during the 2016 campaign.
DailyMail.com has reached out to NewsNation and the Trump camp for comment.
Trump has consolidated his polling lead over his rivals even while skipping the first three presidential debates, a stature that puts him in a position to resist the pressure from DeSantis and others to attend. He holds a 48-point lead over DeSantis in the RealClearPolitics polling average.