On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially signed the 2024 GOP ‘loyalty pledge,’ confirming that he will support the party’s eventual nominee if he does not win the primary.
From the BEAT BIDEN PLEDGE:
I, Ron DeSantis, affirm that I agree to appear in only Primary and General Election debates that have been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, pursuant to Rule 10(a)(11) of The Rules of the Republican Party. I acknowledge and accept that if I fail to sign this pledge or if I participate in any debate that has not been sanctioned by the Republican National Committee, I will not be eligible to participate in any further Republican National Committee sanctioned debates.
Additionally, I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden.
I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.
Why is the @RNCResearch @GOPChairwoman using Chinese communist three red banner symbolism in their GOP candidate pledge?
The three red banners is a symbol used by Chinese communists. Joe Biden and Ron DeSantis have both used three red banner symbolism in their campaign logos. I… https://t.co/ulVUFhaHsR
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) August 9, 2023
The move comes in response to The Republican National Committee’s (RNC) call earlier this year, urging all GOP primary candidates to commit to supporting the eventual nominee.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel made it clear that this pledge is a prerequisite for participation in the GOP’s first primary debate in Milwaukee.
“If you’re going to be on the Republican National Committee debate stage asking voters to support you, you should say, ‘I’m going to support the voters and who they choose as the nominee’,” McDaniel told CNN host Dana Bash.
“Anyone getting on the Republican national committee debate stage should be able to say, ‘I will support the will of the voters and the eventual nominee of our party,’” she added.
The first 2024 Republican presidential debate will be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 2023.
It remains unclear which other Republican candidates have signed the loyalty pledge.
The pledge is only required to participate in the GOP primary debate.
Trump has previously hinted at not appearing at the Fox News-hosted debate scheduled for August.
“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social.
Trump added that he didn’t see the logic in sharing a debate stage given his significant lead in polls and the perceived bias of network anchors against him and the MAGA movement. He questioned the necessity of subjecting himself to potential misrepresentation and criticism in debates.
“When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have the hostile Networks with angry TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?” Trump wrote.
“I’m leading by 40 points. A lot of people say, ‘Why would you do a debate when you have people at two and three and fifteen and fourteen [percent]?’” Trump told John Catsimatidis, host of the “Cats & Cosby Show” on WABC 770.
“People don’t debate when they have these massive leads. They say, ‘Why would we debate?’ I would have a hostile group of anchors — a hostile network — asking questions. Why would I do that?” the former president said, per New York Post.
“Also, the Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!” Trump added on his Truth Social post.
Insiders suggest that Trump is considering hosting his own competing event with Tucker Carlson in response to the GOP Primary debate with Fox News.
