Strategic Absences and Political Speculation

Last night, Republicans held their first debate of the 2024 presidential cycle without the party’s dominant candidate onstage: Donald J. Trump.

Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The Times, walks us through the debate and discusses how it might influence the rest of the race.

Guest: Maggie Haberman, a senior political correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading: 

• Seven takeaways from the first Republican debate.
• Trump skipped the event in favor of a gentle online interview with Tucker Carlson.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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