The fourth GOP presidential primary debate is scheduled for December 6th in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

NewsNation will host the debate, which will feature three moderators.

The moderators include NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas, The Washington Free Beacon’s Eliana Johnson, and former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.

“It will be the margarita of debates – spicy, fun and somewhat intoxicating. Looking forward to it,” Kelly said in a statement, according to Axios.

Is Donald Trump thinking about joining this debate?

According to TMZ, the Secret Service was spotted scoping out the venue.

Trump is the only GOP presidential candidate with Secret Service protection.

TMZ reports:

Donald Trump may be thinking about going head-to-head with the other Republicans who are challenging him for the presidential nomination because we’ve learned the Secret Service has already scoped out the venue.

The next debate is scheduled for December 6 at the Moody Music Building Concert Hall at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. The debate will be carried live on NewsNation. The network announced last Thursday it will host the debate, and sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ … that same day Secret Service agents came to the venue and walked the premises … inside and out.

The only candidate who has Secret Service protection is Donald Trump, who, as a former President, will be shadowed for life by the agency.

Trump has passed on the previous debates this year and there has been no obvious evidence he’ll change course, given he’s light-years ahead of the other candidates in the polls. But the Secret Service walk-through suggests he’s thinking about showing up.

What’s especially interesting … one of the 3 moderators of the debate is Megyn Kelly, who famously sparred with Trump during a Republican debate back in 2015. The ratings went through the roof for that debate, and Trump is obsessed with ratings, so who knows?

“This would be SPECTACULAR! Mr. President, you would be more than welcome and we would love to have you. Let’s give the people what they want – debate #4 on 12/6 airing on News Nation (& co-sponsored by the ⁦
@MegynKellyShow & ⁦@FreeBeacon!),” Megyn Kelly said Friday.

The fourth GOP primary debate will have the smallest number of participating candidates.

If Trump decides to skip the Tuscaloosa showdown, it may include only three participants.

NBC News reports:

According to an NBC News analysis, three non-Trump candidates so far have appeared to meet the Republican National Committee’s higher donor requirement (80,000) and polling threshold (at least 6% in two national polls — or 6% in one national poll and two different early-state polls).

Those three are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

On Monday, NBC’s Emma Barnett reported that former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign said it’s met the 80,000-donor requirement. But it’s unclear if Christie has cleared the polling threshold.

(The Christie campaign has pointed to getting at least 6% in two different national polls, but those surveys don’t appear to abide by the RNC’s polling qualifications, though the RNC has the final word.)

The debates have certainly winnowed the GOP presidential field: Former Vice President Mike Pence ended his campaign before last week’s third debate (when he hadn’t met that debate’s requirements), and Sen. Tim Scott suspended his bid on Sunday (after barely qualifying for the third debate).

So will it be three debate participants on Dec. 6 in Alabama? Or will it be more than that?

 

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