Former President Donald Trump didn맥스카지노�t participate in Wednesday night맥스카지노�s GOP debate, but that didn맥스카지노�t stop him from being a figure in the conversation.Nearly an hour into the GOP debate, Fox News Channel showed a live image of Atlanta맥스카지노�s Fulton County jail, where the former president is set to surrender on charges on Thursday, drawing boos from the audience. 맥스카지노�We are going to take a brief moment to talk about the elephant, not in the room,맥스카지노� co-moderator Bret Baier said, acknowledging that Trump 맥스카지노� who holds a commanding lead 맥스카지노� was not present at the debate and indicating that the discussion would touch on matters related to Trump.Trump skipped the event for an interview with Tucker Carlson instead. He told Carlson: 맥스카지노�Do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it맥스카지노�s going to be and get harassed by people that shouldn맥스카지노�t even be running for president? Should I be doing that at a network that isn맥스카지노�t particularly friendly to me?맥스카지노�A seemingly unavoidable topic, the candidates were asked if they would support Trump as the Republican nominee if he is convicted in a court of law. Currently, there are four criminal indictments that charge Trump with hoarding classified documents, conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, and making hush money payments to an adult film star and other women.The candidates were asked by the moderators to raise their hands if they would support Trump as the GOP nominee if he is convicted on criminal charges. The candidates on stage were required to sign a pledge vowing to support the eventual nominee before joining Wednesday's debate.Six of the eight candidates 맥스카지노� Florida Gov. Rob DeSantis, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum 맥스카지노� all appeared to raise their hands.Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie seemed to half-raise his hand and seemed to indicate that he wasn't necessarily raising his hand."Here맥스카지노�s the bottom line. Someone맥스카지노�s got to stop normalizing this conduct," Christie said of Trump and his current legal situation. "Whether or not you believe the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of the president of the United States.맥스카지노�Christie맥스카지노�s remarks were met with boos from the crowd, as well as some cheers and whistling.맥스카지노�Booing is allowed but it doesn맥스카지노�t change the truth,맥스카지노� Christie said, which was met with more boos.Ramaswamy and Christie then had a back and forth, with Ramaswamy defending the former president and saying Christie is running an 맥스카지노�entire campaign맥스카지노� based 맥스카지노�on vengeance and grievance against one man (Trump).맥스카지노�맥스카지노�We cannot set a precedent where the party in power uses police force to indict its political opponents. It is wrong. We have got to end the weaponization of justice in this country,맥스카지노� Ramaswamy said. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson confirmed that he did not raise his hand. 맥스카지노�I did not raise my hand because there맥스카지노�s an important issue we, as a party, have to face,맥스카지노� Hutchinson said. 맥스카지노�Over a year ago, I said that Donald Trump was morally disqualified from being president again as a result of what happened on Jan. 6. More people are understanding the importance of that, including conservative legal scholars.맥스카지노� The Republican presidential candidates at Wednesday맥스카지노�s debate largely said they agreed with former Vice President Pence맥스카지노�s actions on Jan. 6, 2021.Pence eschewed then-President Donald Trump's demands to stop the certification of Joe Biden's election, a decision that led some in a mob of Trump supporters to chant for his hanging that day.On Thursday, Trump is set to travel to Georgia to be booked again on criminal charges. Yet Trump's standing in the primary has only increased as the charges have mounted, leaving the GOP on track 맥스카지노� barring a stunning realignment 맥스카지노� to nominate a candidate who would enter the race against Biden, a Democrat, in a potentially weak positionPolling this month from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 64% of Americans are unlikely to support Trump if he is the GOP nominee, including 53% who say they would definitely not support him and 11% who say they would probably not support him in November 2024.The Associated Press contributed to this report.