Donald Trump will be front and center during the first Republican presidential debate since his declaration that Muslims should not be allowed to enter the U.S. CNN announced the line-up for the debate on Sunday.
The podiums will be arranged with Trump in the center, flanked by four candidates on both sides. Ohio Gov. John Kasich will have the far left podium, with Carly Fiorina, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Dr. Ben Carson filling out the left side. On Trump’s right will be Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
CNN’s early debate will feature just four candidates: former New York Gov. George Pataki, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.
CNN notes that Paul almost missed the main debate, but a Fox News poll on Sunday showed him doing better in Iowa. Paul polled at 5 percent, just ahead of Christie and Fiorina, who received 2 percent support each.
The debate takes place on Tuesday in Las Vegas, with the early debate at 6 p.m. and the later one at 8:30 p.m. There are still two more debates before the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1.
This will be the first debate since Trump’s most recent controversial comments, which came last week. He called for a “total and complete shutdown” of allowing Muslims into the U.S., a move that has been widely criticized by his fellow Republican presidential candidates.