Former President Donald Trump mocked his political rivals from all angles Friday night, calling for Republican unity to defeat the "incompetent" President Joe Biden in the 2024 general election.
"The last debate was the lowest rated debate in history," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "The next and probably last one, in Miami, will do even worse.
"Republicans should not debate, they should unite in defeating the worst & most incompetent administration in the history of the United States. Make America great again!"
But before calling for them to come together, Trump began his post with some of his patented digs on his top GOP primary challengers, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.
"Wow! Looks like Ron DeSanctimonious has fallen to 3rd place, and heading down, in his ridiculous run to be president," the post began. "Destroying Social Security and Medicare hasn't exactly helped him! In the important Emerson Poll, he's dropped to 8%, 51 Points behind his favorite President, ME."
Trump then repeated his mocking of Haley, calling her "Birdbrain."
"Birdbrain, who may be even worse, is fighting it out with others for a very distant 2nd place," Trump added.
Trump has skipped debates, refusing to permit his challengers a chance to cut into his commanding lead in the polls.
Instead of participating in the Republican National Committee debate Nov. 8 in Miami, Trump has planned a rally in nearby Hialeah, Florida, a strong Cuban-American community about a half-hour drive from the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, where his rivals will be meeting.
Hialeah is an overwhelmingly Hispanic suburb, with more than 95% of residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino, according to the most recent census numbers. Most are Cuban or Cuban American and speak Spanish at home.
The choice of location reflects Republicans' hopes they will be able to continue to win over an increasing share of the Hispanic vote in the 2024 elections. During 2022's midterms, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, one of Trump's rivals, became the first Republican governor to win Miami-Dade county, which includes Hialeah, in 20 years.
For Trump, a large crowd would also be another show of strength against DeSantis, who was long seen by his campaign as his most serious rival, but who is now struggling to maintain his second-place standing.
NBC will be hosting the November debate, which will require candidates to secure 4% of the vote in multiple polls and 70,000 unique donors to qualify.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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