First Republican Debate: How to Watch and What Time Does It Start

The first Republican primary debate of the 2024 presidential race will be held Wednesday, Aug. 23, from 9 to 11 p.m. Eastern. The debate, taking place in Milwaukee, is sanctioned by the Republican National Committee and hosted by Fox News. Here are some of the ways you can watch it.

• Fox News Channel will broadcast the event, with live coverage starting at 8 p.m. Eastern — an hour before the debate itself — and running past midnight.

• Fox Business Network will broadcast the same coverage simultaneously.

• The face-off will be streamed at foxnews.com.

• The online streaming platform Rumble will also show the debate, as an official R.N.C. partner.

Which candidates will be onstage?

As of the official qualification deadline Monday evening, eight candidates appeared to have made the stage, plus former President Donald J. Trump, though the R.N.C. had not yet released formal confirmation. Since Mr. Trump, who has yet to sign the required pledge to support the nominee, has said he is skipping the debate, only eight will be present: Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, former Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas, former Vice President Mike Pence, the entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

When will they start taking questions?

Immediately, according to the debate guidelines. There are no opening statements.

What about Trump?

Mr. Trump, the clear front-runner for the nomination, plans to skip the debate. He has, instead, recorded an interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. They plan to post the interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to run concurrently with the debate, according to a person with knowledge of the planning.

Mr. Trump’s decision to record an interview with Mr. Carlson to be released while his rivals share a stage was a slap in the face to both the R.N.C., whose leadership tried hard to persuade him to participate in the debate, and to Fox News, which is hosting the debate, and fired Mr. Carlson earlier this year.

Who is moderating the debate?

The debate will be moderated by two Fox News hosts, Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Mr. Baier has previously moderated Republican debates in 2015 and 2016, and he and Ms. MacCallum led a town-hall event with Mr. Trump in 2020.