Considering how divided the Republican party has been in recent years, it’s safe to assume that tonight’s GOP debate will be a barnburner of intraparty conflict. Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Reince Priebus wants to avoid such a spectacle, but that’s a tall order.
The catalyst here is Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who’s already gone on the attack against several of his GOP opponents. “If I have to bring up deficiencies, I’ll bring up deficiencies,” said Trump. Despite the GOP’s division on immigration and other issues, Priebus said the focus will be on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
That’s a cheap tactic to keep the GOP candidates from killing each other. With Trump being such a loose cannon, it’s likely the RNC will lose control of the debate. Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, one of tonight’s moderators, says she aims to keep the candidates in line by focusing on the debate rules. Bret Baier, another moderator, said Trump is “going to be treated like everybody else.” But, is Trump going to play along?
The Republicans have their hands full with such a large and vicious pool of Republican candidates. Supervising 10 screaming children isn’t an easy gig. This is why it’s best to take off from work tomorrow, and play the Official GOP Debate Drinking Game tonight.
