Earlier today the rumors were swirling…
Two Republican candidates reportedly called Donald Trump and said they wanted to attend his veterans fundraiser tonight at Drake University.
Wow, two candidates called last night and said they want to go to my event tonight at Drake University.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 28, 2016
Now we know that former Senator Rick Santorum and former Governor Mike Huckabee will join Donald J. Trump at his wounded veterans fundraiser tonight at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Breitbart
After the #GOPDebate I'll join @realDonaldTrump in Des Moines to support our vets who've been abandoned by @BarackObama. Hope you join us!
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) January 28, 2016
The Republican Party will be holding the FOX News GOP debate across town.
Donald Trump will widen a rupture between his supporters and the Republican Party establishment on Thursday when he boycotts a presidential debate in a snub to Fox News only days before the 2016 election season starts in earnest.
The billionaire front-runner for the Republican nomination will host his own event in Iowa during the Fox News debate, likely damaging prime time TV ratings of the most powerful media force in Republican politics.
Trump withdrew from the encounter in a spat with network anchor Megyn Kelly who he accuses of treating him unfairly.
“The ‘debate’ tonight will be a total disaster,” Trump quipped in a Twitter post on Thursday morning. “Low ratings with advertisers and advertising rates dropping like a rock. I hate to see this.”
It is a risky move which could lose him votes at Monday’s Iowa caucuses, the first nominating contest in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
But Trump’s support in the polls, much of it from blue-collar males, has not wavered for months despite him insulting Mexican immigrants, threatening to deny Muslims entry to the United States and fighting with Republican establishment figures like Senator John McCain.
And Trump won backing on Thursday when two Republican candidates, Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee, agreed to attend his alternative event, a fundraiser for veterans at Iowa’s Drake University, during the Fox News debate.