Miami-Dade County will be a hotbed of Republican politics on Wednesday, with the third Republican debate of the 2024 presidential election season and a rally hosted by a former President. Donald Trump which occur within one hour of each other on opposite sides of the region.
The debate will be held near downtown Miami. Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination, has not appeared in any of the Republican debates so far and will not be on the debate stage again. This time, he decided to host the meeting in Hialeah.
Here’s an overview of how and where to get tickets, what to know about the events and what to avoid on the roads.
What’s going on?
The Republican debate will be held Wednesday from 8pm to 10pm in the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, 1300 Biscayne Blvd. An estimated 1,700 guests will attend, according to Miami police.
Across town, Trump will take the stage at his rally at 7 pm in Hialeah at Ted Hendricks Stadium in Henry Milander Park, 4700 Palm Ave. For this event, parking and lines open at 8 a.m., and venue doors open at 2 p.m. and guest speakers will present remarks starting at 5 p.m
Traffic
Be aware of road closures throughout the day and increased traffic during the debate.
In Miami: According to the Miami Police Department, multiple closures around the Arsht Center will begin from 1 p.m. Wednesday to 1 a.m. Thursday, and will include the exit from the westbound lanes of the MacArthur Causeway to Biscayne Boulevard and the performing arts center. Additionally, Biscayne Boulevard will be closed to traffic from Northeast 11th Street to Northeast 15th Street, and North Bayshore Drive will be closed between Northeast 13th Street and Northeast 15th Street.
Drivers will join the celebrations.
A free speaking area will be located on the east side of North Bayshore Drive and Northeast 14th Street. And over the weekend, the city closed one westbound lane on Northeast 13th Street between North Bayshore Drive and Biscayne Boulevard to help with the event. That lane will remain closed until Wednesday.
The Hialeah and Miami-Dade police departments said they will release information about possible road closures on Monday.
Who is in the conversation?
The Republican National Committee, which is in charge of the debate, has yet to officially announce the candidates. But the candidates who said they will attend the debate include Gov. Florida Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Sen. Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.
Can I go?
For tickets to the Trump rally in Hialeah, you can register here.
In an interview, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee said tickets are distributed directly to campaigns and debate partners. Tickets are not made available to the general public.
How can I watch the debate?
The debate will air on NBC and will be streamed on NBCNews.com and Peacock. It will also broadcast in translation on NoticiasTelemundo.com, owned by Noticias Telemundo XFacebook and YouTube accounts and the Noticias Telemundo mobile app, and air live with Spanish translation on cable channel Universo.
The debate will also be available on Sky News services and will be available with audio via TuneIn. The debate will also air on Telemundo at 12 a.m. ET and will be available on demand from Peacock.
The RNC has also appointed as debate partners the Salem Radio Network and the Republican Jewish Coalition, as well as RNC broadcast partner Rumble to broadcast the debate live.
NBC will also have a special debate at 7 pm on NBC News NOW and post-debate analysis from 10 pm to 11 pm on NBC and NBC News NOW.
How can I watch a Trump rally?
A spokesperson for the Trump team said the rally will be broadcast on its Public Truth page, the campaign’s social networks such as @TeamTrump on XFacebook, Rumble, and outlets like the Right Side Broadcasting Network and Newsmax.
