On Tuesday (April 25), former President Donald Trump raised the possibility of skipping the two Republican White House primaries announced so far, suggesting that he will not submit to such scrutiny because of his overwhelming lead in the polls.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump acknowledged that he had seen “everyone talking about the Republican debates,” but highlighted that neither he nor the Trump campaign had endorsed the debates before they were announced.
Trump questioned why he would subject himself to libel and abuse from “TRUMP and MAGA hating anchors” when he was leading with “seemingly insurmountable numbers.”
Trump also took issue with plans to hold the second GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California.
Trump highlighted that Fred Ryan, publisher of The Washington Post, is chairman of the Reagan Library’s board of trustees.
The first GOP primary debate would be held in Milwaukee in August, while the second date has yet to be announced.
Trump has threatened to skip debates for some time, dating back to the 2016 Republican nomination primaries.
He threatened to skip the primary debate in early 2016 because he felt he wasn’t treated fairly by then-Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.
At an earlier debate, Kelly pressed Trump about his disparaging remarks about women.
Then, in March 2016, Trump threatened to skip a CNN town hall interview, pointing to his perception that the network had mistreated him.
In 2019, Trump suggested he might skip the 2020 Presidential debates if Fox News hosted them because he objected to the network’s coverage. And then, ahead of the 2020 debates between Trump and Biden, Trump repeatedly raised the possibility of boycotting debates with the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates.
