The second 2024 Republican Party primary debate is scheduled for Wednesday, September 27, even as U.S presidential aspirants prepare for the showdown.

Runaway frontrunner Donald Trump has, however, refused to take part in the debate once again, a move that will likely irritate his rivals.

But this does not come as a surprise because in August 2023, the 77-year-old former president announced that he will be snubbing the debates.

Trump, at the time, cited his commanding polling lead as the reason for skipping the debates.

But what will Trump be doing?

Instead of the debate, controversial Trump is planning to address former and current autoworker union members in Michigan, a state regarded as the heart of the US car industry.

This move, some political commentators say, is strategic considering Michigan is also a key battleground for the election campaign.

“You know, they’re wasting a lot of time with these ridiculous debates that nobody’s watching,” Trump told supporters at a campaign event in South Carolina on Monday, September 25. “Their last debate was the lowest-rated debate in history.”

Biden makes history

Trump’s visit will come a day after President Joe Biden made history as the first sitting US President to join workers in a picket line.

Biden said that the autoworkers deserve salary increments and other concessions they are seeking.

The workers are, however, worried that the two high-profile visits (by Biden and Trump) might politicise their strike.

Gerard Filitti, a senior counsel at the Lawfare Project, told AFP that Trump’s “standoffish strategy towards the debate is intended to send the message that he is the inevitable choice to be the Republican presidential flag-bearer in 2024.”

“He has nothing to gain by debating, and everything to lose if confronted with questions about his past conduct, the multiple criminal indictments he is facing regarding the 2020 election, and even his lack of clarity or consistency on some issues like abortion,” Filitti told AFP.

Who will be attending the debate?

In the debate, Trump’s main rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, will face off against political newcomer Vivek Ramaswamy, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Trump’s vice president Mike Pence, and former New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

Others will be South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum.