Donald Trump Is Officially Skipping the Debate, and the RNC Has Egg on Its FaceBy Bonchie
August 18, 2023
As expected, Donald Trump is not going to show up for the first GOP primary debate on August, 23rd. That announcement came via a new report from Maggie Haberman, the far-left reporter from The New York Times who has long had an inside line directly to the former president.
As to what Trump will do instead, he'll reportedly sit down for an interview with Tucker Carlson in an attempt to overshadow and upstage the candidates who do show up to face the primary voters.
Former President Donald J. Trump plans to upstage the first Republican primary debate on Wednesday by sitting for an online interview with the former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, according to multiple people briefed on the matter.
In the past 24 hours, Mr. Trump has told people close to him that he has made up his mind and will skip the debate in Milwaukee, according to two of the people briefed on the matter.
Frankly, if a candidate for the presidency is not an incumbent, I think they owe it to voters and their party to show up and debate. There is no perfect Republican politician. Anyone running has things they should be made to answer for and explain, including how they might do things differently in the future. There is also no downside to that kind of debate happening. At worst, it sharpens a candidate for the general election by allowing them to hone their message outside of the friendly confines of supportive conservative circles.
With all that said, Trump is going to do what Trump wants to do. I understand that, and because he enjoys a large national polling lead, he obviously feels it's not worth the risk to show up. Still, that does not mean the RNC should be overly accommodating to candidates who thumb their nose at the process.
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Source:
https://redstate.com/bonchie/2023/08/18/donald-trump-is-officially-skipping-the-debate-and-the-rnc-has-egg-on-its-face-n2162779