Good evening and welcome to our special coverage of the first Republican presidential primary

debate ahead of the 2024 election.

I'm Rachel Maddo, here at MSNBC with my colleagues Alex Wagner and Nicole Wallace, Joy Reed, Chris

A's, are a Melbourne great to have everybody together at the mothership.

This debate is just now wrapping up after two hours of stuff on stage.

Eight Republican candidates faced off tonight in Milwaukee, which is the same city where

Republicans will hold their national convention next summer.

Wisconsin is also a state that Donald Trump lost in 2020 on his way to losing the White

House.

After Trump lost Wisconsin, you should also remember that that's one of the states where

Republicans forged a slate of fake Trump electors.

So that means that as this debate was happening in Wisconsin tonight and as they look ahead

to their national nominating convention happening in that same city next summer, 10 leading

Wisconsin Republicans who were fake electors tonight are now enjoying the latest day of

their daily anxiety, of not knowing if they too will be charged with felonies, like the

fake electors who are next door in Michigan and also in Georgia, because that's a part

of Trump error Republican politics now.

For President Trump, is the leading candidate in this race by far?

If the polls are to be believed, he declined to take part in tonight's debate.

His plans for the week instead include presenting himself for booking an arrest on felony

rico charges tomorrow in Georgia.

His plans for tonight included appearing in an interview that was apparently recorded

...