Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, stated on Wednesday that former President Donald Trump would be making a “mistake” by skipping the first GOP primary debate in August.
According to reports, Trump is leaning toward ignoring the first debate and conducting a counter-event instead, and he has also hinted at postponing the second debate. McDaniel has attempted to persuade Trump to join the other candidates on August 23. She told Fox News that it is essential to not only “get in front of those primary voters,” but also to highlight the “failures” of the Biden administration.
McDaniel told Fox News that he believes skipping the debate is a misstep. “I think getting in front of the American people, with the Fox audience that you’re going to bring, people are clamoring for solutions. And this is an opportunity for us to contrast our ideas versus the Democrats. It’s not just about the primary. It’s also about the general election because we are going to need independent voters and others to win the White House.”
“This is where our conversation begins, and why would you walk away from [sic] 20 million-person audience?” McDaniel added.
Trump has not yet made a definitive decision regarding his participation in the debate, despite his commanding lead in the polling. According to FiveThirtyEight, the RealClearPolitics (RCP) average for a 2024 national Republican primary indicates that Trump is ahead by nearly 34 points and is leading in all four early primary states by double digits.
Several of Trump’s opponents for the 2024 presidential election have criticized the former president for contemplating boycotting the debates. Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, argued that Trump is “afraid” of debate, and Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas, claimed that the former president is playing the “victim card.”
“Why wouldn’t we get in want from of them before we go against Joe Biden? Joe Biden has the legacy media on his side. Leaving that opportunity aside and not getting on the debate stage is just more of an opportunity for Joe Biden to continue to get his message out. We have an opportunity to take up all the oxygen in the room and get on that debate stage,” McDaniel said.
Trump did not respond promptly to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.