Former President Trump posted on Truth Social that he won’t be doing “the debates.”
National media reported Friday afternoon that Trump was planning to skip Wednesday’s GOP debate in Milwaukee and instead be interviewed by former Fox host Tucker Carlson.
Yesterday afternoon, Trump confirmed he wouldn’t participate, citing a new CBS News poll that had him leading by 46 points over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more,” Trump wrote.
In an interview prior to Trump’s announcement, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said she’d given the former president until tonight for a final answer on whether he’ll attend Wednesday’s GOP debate in Milwaukee.
“He has not shared his final decision,” McDaniel said on WISN’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics.com. “I think he’s going to keep us all waiting until Monday night.”
Several outlets, including the New York Times and ABC News, reported Friday afternoon Trump was planning to skip the debate and instead sit for the Carlson interview.
“I’ve read the New York Times story, but I’ve not been given that indication from the campaign,” McDaniel said during the interview late Friday afternoon. “Of course I hope he does the debate.”
All candidates had to meet the RNC requirements to make the debate stage, including 40,000 unique donors, polling benchmarks and signing a pledge to support the eventual GOP nominee.
So far eight candidates had met the criteria including Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott, former Gov. Chris Christie and Gov. Doug Burgum. Over the weekend, Asa Hutchinson, Perry Johnson and Francis Suarez’s campaigns claimed they have qualified as well. Some national media reports questioned whether Suarez had met all of the requirements.
“There are a couple of candidates that are really on the bubble right now, who need either one more poll, and a couple that has to submit their 40,000 small dollar unique donors to us,” McDaniel said. “We’re treating every candidate the same. We are neutral. We are fair, and everyone is abiding by the same rules to make the debate stage.”
