The Republican National Committee (RNC) warned 2024 presidential candidates if they attend a “Thanksgiving Family Forum” in Iowa they will be disqualified from future GOP primary debates, according to Real Clear Politics.
The “Thanksgiving Family Forum,” put on by the Family Leader Foundation, invited all GOP presidential candidates to gather around a table for “a family discussion.” The RNC warned the campaigns in an Oct. 28 letter attending the forum would be a violation of a pledge they signed that prohibits them from participating in the event or anything similar, according to Real Clear Politics. (RELATED: ‘Straight-Up Embarrassing’: GOP Campaign Hits RNC Over Debate Standards, Wants To Shrink The Stage)
“It has come to the attention of the RNC Counsel’s Office that several Republican presidential candidates have been invited to participate in an open-press event in Iowa in November at which they would ‘gather around the table to have a moderated, friendly, and open discussion about the issues,’” the letter reads, according to Real Clear Politics. “In other words, a debate.”
“Please be advised that any Republican presidential candidate who participates in this or other similar events will be deemed to have violated this pledge and will be disqualified from taking part in any future RNC-sanctioned presidential primary debates,” the letter adds, according to Real Clear Politics.
A 2024 presidential campaign confirmed to the Daily Caller they received the letter.
Republican presidential candidates (L-R), former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) and North Dakota governor Doug Burgum participate in the first debate of the GOP primary season hosted by FOX News at the Fiserv Forum on August 23, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
The third GOP presidential debate is set for Wednesday and will be hosted by NBC News. The RNC chose Salem Radio Network and the Republican Jewish Coalition as the debate partners for the evening.
Prominent Conservative media personalities scrutinized the second GOP presidential debate, hosted by Fox Business and Univision, due to the Univision moderator choosing to ask the candidates about racism and discrimination against LGBT people rather than issues prominent to Republican voters.