One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has provided an update on the 45th president’s participation in the upcoming 2024 Republican primary debates.
Jason Miller told The Hill on Tuesday, “At the moment, President Trump has indicated that he’s unlikely to participate, at least in the first two debates. It really wouldn’t make much sense for him to go and debate right now with a bunch of folks who are down at three, four, and five percent.”
One of Donald Trump’s senior advisors has provided an update on the 45th president’s participation in the upcoming 2024 Republican primary debates.
Jason Miller told The Hill on Tuesday, “At the moment, President Trump has indicated that he’s unlikely to participate, at least in the first two debates. It really wouldn’t make much sense for him to go and debate right now with a bunch of folks who are down at three, four, and five percent.”
“So ultimately, President Trump will make a decision as we get closer,” he concluded. “He has not said anything definitive, one way or the other. I’m not expecting him to participate, though.”
Trump’s closest adversary for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, but most polls indicate he trails by a significant margin. All other Republican candidates poll in the single digits.
In spite of this, DeSantis stated last week that he will attend the debates regardless of who else attends.
“I’ll be there regardless. I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision and our leadership to a wide audience,” DeSantis said Thursday on “Fox News Tonight.”
The first Republican debate will occur on August 23. It will be hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Fox News.
Fox News reported:
Trump, who’s the commanding front-runner in the latest GOP presidential primary polls as he makes his third straight White House run, has indicated both publicly and privately that he may skip the debate, due in part to his large lead over the rest of the field of Republican 2024 contenders.
But Trump campaign officials say the former president has yet to make any final decision on his participation in the debate. Trump’s aides have also been looking into options for an alternative event should the former president skip the debate.
Republican National Committee is responsible for coordinating all of the debates. According to RNC rules, candidates must meet stringent donation and polling requirements in order to be eligible for the stage.
Officials from the Trump and DeSantis campaigns, as well as those of former South Carolina governor and ambassador Nikki Haley, South Carolina senator Tim Scott, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, have stated that they have met the requirements.
Other Republican candidates were dissatisfied with Trump’s announcement that he would avoid at least the first debate, including former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who criticized the former president last month over the matter.
The host of Fox & Friends, Brian Kilmeade, invited Christie to engage in an interview. Christie was broadcast in from a New Hampshire diner where she viewed Trump’s most recent interview with Bret Baier. Trump told Baier in the interview that he did not feel the need to participate in the Republican primary debates because he was so far ahead of the other candidates in the polls.
Trump said, “Christie is, I guess, 1% or less. Many of them, Nikki Haley’s is a 2%. So why would I allow people at one and 2% and 0% to be hitting me with questions on? You know, I don’t think it’s fair.”
Kilmeade invited Christie to comment.
“Oh, it’s not fair, Brian. It’s not fair.” Christie mocked the outgoing president, calling him “poor Donald Trump,” perhaps fully aware that the man was watching Fox & Friends at the time.
Christie then taunted Trump as “the guy who wants to be president of the United States, the guy who says that he’s the toughest person to lead this country, doesn’t want to get up in front of Republican primary voters and defend his record and make a case for the future of America.”