Let’s simply go right to the meat of the matter before moving on to the specifics.Former President Trump has said several times that he does not see a purpose to take part in the Republican Party’s presidential primary debates given his current clear advantage over other GOP contenders in Republican-only surveys.
On the other hand, there is a compelling case that Republican voters should get to watch all of the potential contenders face off in the debates to evaluate how they individually perform, giving voters the chance to choose wisely in the future primary.
The honest truth is this:
The previous president is “highly not likely to participate,” according to at least one Trump aide, which comes as no surprise considering Trump’s earlier announcements. Trump went on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo and clearly said he wouldn’t take part in any of the GOP National Committee’s presidential debates, as my colleague Bob Hoge wrote in mid-July.
Trump stated plainly:
“Usually, the question is fairly simple. Numerous other people, like Ronald Reagan, also refrained from doing it. You don’t do that when you have a significant lead. And in certain situations, we have leads of 50 to 60 points, while some of these folks are at zero.”
It should be remembered that, unlike prior presidents competing in open races, Ronald Reagan and “a great deal of other people” were incumbents pursuing second terms. Then, as is his habit, Trump launched a classic Trumpian attack on rival Ron DeSantis:
“Ron DeSanctis, or DeSanctimonious, as I refer to him, is down to… He is currently in his teens, while I am 50, 60, and 65. I even saw one today at 70. Therefore, you ask, “Why would you be doing a debate when you are ahead of people by 50 to 60 points?”
Why would you let someone who is at level zero, one, two, or three to keep asking you questions?
Trump’s query has at least two parts, as follows:
“As I mentioned previously, presidential debates are not staged for individual candidates but rather for voters. Second, it looks to me—and I’m by no means the Lone Ranger—that presidential contenders who are confident of the fact that they have the greatest opportunities and policies to advance their respective parties ought to be more than ready to prove it in a face-off against all other potentially viable candidates. For this reason, the RNC has laid out minimum qualification standards.”
Author: Steven Sinclaire
