Republicans hoping to see Donald Trump face off against Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy or possibly Ron DeSantis in a GOP primary debate are going to be disappointed by this development: The former president is suggesting he might not participate.
On Tuesday, Trump posted on his Truth Social network to say that while “everybody is talking about the Republican Debates” ahead of the 2024 presidential election, nobody got his approval, “or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them.”
Trump apparently doesn’t see any reason to debate primary opponents when “you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers,” especially when “you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP ... hating anchors asking the ‘questions.’”
He wondered, “Why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?”
But while Trump hinted that those are the reasons he may not participate in the primary debates, Twitter users couldn’t help but speculate that there were other, perhaps more likely, explanations.
The first Republican primary debate of this election season is set for Milwaukee in August. Last week, California was announced as the location for the second debate.
A recent poll by NBC News showed Trump was the leading choice among Republican primary voters, selected by 46% of respondents. He was followed by DeSantis at 31% and former Vice President Mike Pence at 6%, with Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson each getting 3%.