NBC News will host the third Republican primary debate in Miami on Nov. 8. The candidates expected to appear are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

While it’s no shock that these four are still in the race, there’s one candidate who won’t be on the stage, who absolutely should be: former President Donald Trump.

Trump had decided to miss both of the prior debates for the 2024 presidential election. Instead, Trump has rallied around the country and has been interviewed by multiple media figures such as Tucker Carlson and The Nelk Boys. 

Thanks to his consistency with public appearances, Trump still has a large fan base going into the primaries. However, it won’t be enough to win him an entire election, and maybe not even the Republican nomination. While Trump’s lead in the polls is noticeable, His support may only last so long if he doesn’t start to change some minds.

Despite his current legal difficulties and debate absences, Trump still manages to have his foot in the door. Still, if the former president repeats his debate mistake for a third time, he’ll fail to have enough support to back him to the White House and he’ll have no one to blame but himself.

While many people around the country passionately love and support Trump and his policies, just as many passionately hate him. Although Trump has always faced adversity in the political realm, he’s completely run out of momentum while running into big problems. Trump has little to no love or support from the mainstream media, four criminal indictments, and big political figureheads on the left coming out to further demonize him. 

Trump has certainly made more since his descent down the escalator in 2015 when he officially announced his campaign. Without many allies, one might think that the former president, a man whose entire campaign relies on being a “confrontational tough guy,” would show his strength by showing up to the primary debates and defending his platform. 

Trump won in 2016 by running on the persona of a strong individual who was not bought and owned. Therefore, his strongest weapon was his voice, especially in political discourse against critical opponents. 

This time, Trump has declined to attend debates due to his significant lead in the polls. Regardless of his standing, Trump is not entitled to the nomination and he’s certainly not entitled to the presidency. He rightfully earned his place in the White House in 2016, but then four years later, he lost. He needs to earn back the presidency, and attending the debate will help him.

This is not anything difficult to comprehend and the fact that Trump himself can’t realize this is almost insulting to the U.S.

Both DeSantis and Ramaswamy are great candidates and could very well make amazing presidents. Still, it would be a shame if Trump were to win the nomination after no time debating, as it would ignore the work that his fellow competitors have put in, including debating.

Even if he wins the nomination, history repeating itself would be a waste of an election when we have other viable candidates who have more than a fair shot of defeating President Joe Biden.

DeSantis is very popular after his work in Florida and the governor has some momentum that could ultimately deny Biden a second term. Trump taking this victory with little effort would be insulting to DeSantis and the rest of the Republican candidates.

Overall, Trump has so much baggage and he isn’t afraid to let it grow. While this tactic benefits Trump’s standing with his already established fan base, he consistently concerns voters still on the fence in 2024, changing none of his viewpoints, including last year’s election results. If Trump doesn’t show up to the third debate where he can openly explain why he should be re-elected in a way that can reach new voters, then he may not be re-elected at all.