The third Republican debate tonight: How to watch

As Mr Trump’s legal battles grow more complex, many are wondering whether he will win the nomination and campaign for the election as a convicted criminal.

We want to know if you think the time is up for Trump. With the accusations surrounding the former president is it time he threw in the towel and sought a desk job away from the limelight and politics?

Or do you believe there’s still merit in bringing Mr Trump back to the White House?

Here’s how to have your say:

“You know it’s funny, these hits from the media. Some of them are so funny they are just laughable,” Ms DeSantis said to a crowd at the Florida Republican Party’s “Freedom Summit” in Kissimmee.

She recalled when her friend called to tell her the media was “hitting” her. Ms DeSantis told the crowd, “They’re ‘hitting’ me? Like what did I do? I’m just standing up for parents’ rights and the innocence of our children, those sorts of things, but they’re hitting me?”

That’s when her friend let her in on the press’s nickname for Florida’s First Lady: “Walmart Melania.”

Kelly Rissman has the story.

A group of preeminent conservative lawyers who opposed former president Donald Trump’s efforts to manipulate the legal system are launching a new, long-term project aimed at fostering respect for the US constitution and the rule of law in the legal profession.

The group, which initially began operating in 2018 under the name Checks and Balances, includes preeminent conservative legal figures such as J Michael Luttig, the former Fourth Circuit judge who was shortlisted as a Supreme Court pick during the George W Bush administration, and George Conway, who was former president Donald Trump’s pick to run the Justice Department civil division before he became a prominent critic of the ex-president.

Unlike other groups formed by anti-Trump conservatives during Mr Trump’s presidency, the Checks and Balances group has been a bit of a shoestring operation, until now operating with a small budget raised from its’ members.

But a source familiar with the group’s plans told The Independent that a decision was made by the group’s board to seek outside funding for the purposes of a major relaunch and rebranding operation as the “Society for the Rule of Law,” which has now acquired the proper licenses to operate as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an affiliated 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organisation that can undertake some political work. The society’s roll-out will include a “Rule of Law summit” taking place on Wednesday evening in Washington.

The third Republican primary debate will be moderated by two of the biggest names on NBC News and a conservative radio host with a past in the Reagan administration.

The next showdown is set to take place on 8 November at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

Here’s what you need to know about the ringmasters to this latest political circus:

The 2024 Republican candidates for president have an abortion problem.

At every campaign stop, town hall, debate and interview the elephant in the room manages to creep its way into the dialogue – how should a potential president approach the legality of abortion at the federal level, if at all?

For decades, the ideal GOP candidate would state their pro-life stance and disagree with the landmark Supreme Court case Roe v Wade to earn a gold star and potential endorsements.

But since the fall of Roe last year, the issue of abortion has become increasingly complicated and voters have made it clear they’re looking for a candidate who can take a nuanced approach to the subject.

Across the board, polling shows that most Americans believe abortion should be legal in most or all cases in the first trimester, regardless of party lines. Simultaneously, the same majority of voters also believe abortions should be illegal in the third trimester.

Yet, when candidates are confronted with the issue, many display an obvious struggle to remain loyal to the Republican party’s long-held belief while extending a compromising hand to the rest of the country.

All but one of the Republican candidates appeared to have learned from former President Donald Trump’s deepening legal woes as they appeared for the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee.

Former Vice President and 2024 candidate Mike Pence stood firmly behind his decision to certify President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory despite mounting pressure from Mr Trump and his supporters, which included violent threats to his life.

Mr Pence was praised by the candidates next to him on the debate stage, apart from entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who came out swinging with conspiracy theories making the rounds on rightwing social media on a variety of topics.

As President Joe Biden likes to remind anyone who’ll listen, “This is not your grandfather’s Republican Party”.

John McCain, the late Arizona Senator and 2008 GOP presidential candidate, sounded the alarm about Russia for years, making him one of President Vladimir Putin’s “greatest antagonists,” the Arizona Republic noted in February 2022, days after the Russian invasion began.

During the last year of his presidency in 2008, George W Bush said he “strongly supported” eventual Nato membership for Ukraine and Georgia. Last year, in a viral gaffe, he mistakenly said Iraq when he meant to call the war in Ukraine “unjustified and brutal”.

His younger brother, Jeb Bush, a former Florida Governor, went to Europe in 2015 shortly before announcing his presidential campaign.

In a speech in Berlin about a year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea and support of separatists in eastern Ukraine, he said: “Russia must respect the sovereignty of all of its neighbours. And who can doubt that Russia will do what it pleases if aggression goes unanswered?”

Mr Bush was quickly bullied out of the 2016 primary by the man who would come to embody the modern Republican Party – reality TV star and real estate mogul Donald Trump.

Support for Ukraine is dividing the GOP field, with several saying the US should continue to support the war effort, while a number of others are following Mr Trump’s lead towards isolationism.

The issue of abortion rights in the United States is staring the 2024 GOP presidential candidates in their eyes as they prepare to kick their campaigns into high gear.

Since the Supreme Court overturned the landmark case Roe v Wade (1973) last summer, abortion has become a top concern for many voters.

Though the anti-abortion stance has long been associated with the Republican Party, approximately 61 per cent of adults in the US believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to Pew Research Center – that statistic includes Republican and Democratic voters.

As Americans look toward their next Republican presidential nominee, no doubt many will be considering where the candidate stands on abortion when determining who they support.

Here is what each GOP presidential candidate has said on the issue.