Trump says he will skip GOP presidential primary debates

NEW YORK – Former President Donald Trump showed Sunday that he will be skipping Wednesday’s first Republican presidential primary debate — and others as smartly.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump wrote on his social media web page. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” His spokesman didn’t straight away explain whether or not he plans to boycott each primary debate or simply those who have these days been scheduled.

The former president and early GOP frontrunner had said for months that he noticed little upside in becoming a member of his GOP competitors on level after they gather for the first time in Milwaukee Wednesday, given his commanding lead within the race. And he had made transparent to these he had spoken to in fresh days that his opinion had now not modified.

“Why would I allow people at 1 or 2% and 0% to be hitting me with questions all night?” he mentioned in an interview in June with Fox News host Bret Baier, who will be serving as a moderator. Trump has additionally again and again criticized Fox, the host of the Aug. 23 primetime tournament, insisting this is a “hostile network” that he believes will now not deal with him somewhat.

Trump were discussing quite a few debate counterprogramming choices, together with sitting for an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has been webhosting a demonstrate at the web page previously referred to as Twitter. Carlson used to be noticed at Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey, golfing membership forward of the announcement, consistent with an individual conversant in the seek advice from who spoke on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to talk about it. The New York Times reported Saturday the interview set to air Wednesday has already been taped.

“We cannot confirm or deny — stay tuned,” mentioned Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.

The thought were one among a number of possible choices Trump had floated in conversations in fresh weeks. They incorporated in all probability appearing up in Milwaukee on the ultimate minute or attending however sitting within the target audience and providing reside observation on his Truth Social web page. He had additionally mentioned probably calling into other networks to attract audience from the talk, or protecting a rally as a substitute.

The determination marks any other bankruptcy in Trump’s ongoing feud with Fox, which used to be as soon as a staunch defender, however is now looked as if it would be extra favorable to his main rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fox executives and hosts had lobbied Trump to wait, each privately and at the community’s airwaves. But Trump, consistent with an individual just about him, used to be unswayed, believing executives should not have been wooing him in the event that they weren’t taken with their rankings.

An individual acquainted had mentioned previous Sunday that Trump and his group had now not notified the Republican National Committee of his plans.

Meanwhile, Trump’s competitors were goading him to look and preparing in the hopes that he might, involved {that a} no-show would possibly lead them to look like second-tier applicants and deny them the chance to land a knockout blow in opposition to the race’s Goliath that might exchange the trajectory of the race.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, one of the vital few applicants keen to at once tackle Trump, has been accusing the previous president of missing “the heart to turn up” and calling him “a coward” if he doesn’t.

A super PAC supporting DeSantis also released an ad in which the narrator says: “We can’t afford a nominee who is too weak to debate.”

Trump has pushed back on the attacks, telling Newsmax’s Eric Bolling that he saw little benefit in participating when he’s already leading by a wide margin.

“It’s not a question of guts. It’s a question of intelligence,” he said.

Trump has additionally said that he will now not signal a pledge to enhance the eventual Republican nominee if he loses the nomination — a demand set by way of the Republican National Committee for showing on level.

“Why would I sign it?” he said. “I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem.”

Nonetheless, his advisers insisted for weeks that he had yet to make a final decision, even as they acknowledged it was “pretty clear” from his public and private statements that he was unlikely to appear.

It’s not the first time Trump has chosen to skip a major GOP debate.

During his 2016 campaign, Trump decided to forgo the final GOP primary face-off before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event — a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans.

While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — a loss some former aides have blamed, at least in part, on his decision to skip the debate.

In 2020, Trump pulled out of the second one normal election debate in opposition to now-President Joe Biden after the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan crew that has hosted normal election debates for greater than 3 a long time, sought to make it digital after Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Trump refused, pronouncing he would most effective debate on level.

Trump is not the only candidate who will likely be missing Wednesday’s event. Several lesser-known rivals appear unlikely to reach the threshold set by the RNC to participate. To qualify, candidates must have received contributions from at least 40,000 individual donors, with at least 200 unique donors in 20 or more states. They also must poll at at least 1% in three designated national polls, or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21.

Candidates who have met the qualifications include DeSantis, Christie, former vice president Mike Pence, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.

Beyond the fundraising and polling requirements, the RNC has said candidates must also sign the pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee as well as agreeing not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debate for the remainder of the election cycle. The RNC is boycotting events organized by the Commission for Presidential Debates, alleging bias.

“I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination of President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden,” reads the pledge, according to a copy posted by DeSantis to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Candidates also must pledge not to run as an independent, write-in candidate or third-party nominee.

While several candidates, including Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson have taken issue with the requirement, former Texas Rep. Will Hurd so far is the only one who has said definitively that he will not sign the pledge because he refuses to support Trump if he becomes the eventual nominee. Christie has said he will sign whatever is needed to get him on the stage.

In addition to voicing opposition to the loyalty pledge, Trump has suggested he is opposed to boycotting general election debates hosted by the Commission on Presidential Debates. “You have, really, an obligation to do that,” he mentioned in a radio interview this spring.