Indictments and bad press swirl all around him but this is an unmistakable fact: Donald Trump’s polling better than ever.

Here too, is another unmistakable fact: The GOP candidates are letting him coast even though many in the party at large no longer support him. The candidates need to stop doing this during tonight’s debate.

There’s always been one no-show during all of the GOP debates and there will be another Wednesday night: Donald Trump. Few of the candidates have mentioned him, save for a stray smear here and there, and in some ways that makes sense. He’s not there, why bother? Why give him the energy? Unfortunately, this strategy is paying off. Trump continues to poll well despite not uttering a word in debate form for years now.

Instead of taking down the only person polling higher than them, the remaining GOP candidates — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — pummel each other with swipes and smears.

While DeSantis first looked like he might be the Republicans’ top Trump alternative , now it appears only Haley has the chops, the stones, and the experience needed to beat Joe Biden and even try beating Trump. Taking shots at each other is a waste of time, they need to go to the mattresses and strike at Trump, the leader.

Nikki Haley doesn’t stand nearly as alone on that stage as she might look. Billionaire Democrats and Republican insiders are backing her now with their funds and big names. Since the last debate, billionaire LinkedIn co-founder and Democratic donor Reid Hoffman gave $250,000 to support Haley via the pro-Haley super PAC Stand For America Fund Inc.

Forbes reports that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hasn’t officially endorsed Haley yet but has “urged business leaders and ‘liberal Democrats’ last week to support Haley as ‘a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump.’”

That’s not all: Big time Republicans now back Haley too over Trump. Americans for Prosperity Action, the Charles Koch-backed super PAC endorsed Haley. Citadel hedge fund founder Ken Griffin and Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone are reportedly also billionaires considering throwing their weight behind Haley. On CNBC recently, Langone said Haley was the only GOP candidate who could best Trump.

Billionaire dollars are helpful, but money isn’t the reason, or the only reason, that Trump won in 2016.

In arguably one of the best films of the early 2000’s, “Gladiator,” slave dealer Proximo tells Maximus, the general-turned-slave, that in order to win his freedom, he must “win the crowd.” Maximus, played by the then-handsome and brooding Russell Crowe, does just that and eventually he wins his freedom — though he doesn’t live long enough to experience it.

This, too, is what Haley, DeSantis, and the rest of the GOP, from conservative media, billionaires, leaders, and voters who oppose Trump in neighborhoods across America, must do now. They must win over the MAGA base who cannot tear themselves away from the toxicity of the Trump Show. They must win Trump adherents over with his persistent election denials, numerable indictments, and the promise that the Republican Party as a whole doesn’t need Trump to beat Biden in 2024. He’s just not strong enough of a candidate. Surely Democrats must realize by now that neither Biden’s America nor Trump’s America is what we want for ourselves and our kids.

Democrats don’t want Trump as president, but as time goes on, it’s clear many Republicans don’t, either. They can still stop him. The race isn’t decided. But they need to win the crowd.

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