Former President Donald Trump is considering skipping at least some of the 2024 Republican primary debates, the New York Times reported, citing five people who have discussed the matter with Trump.
Last month, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel announced the first two debates of the GOP presidential primary season. First will be a Fox News-hosted debate in August in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, followed by a second debate in Southern California at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
However, Trump is considering skipping at least one or both of those debates, primarily due to his polling advantage, the hosting institutions, and the timeline of the debates.
“I’m up by too many points,” one associate who spoke with Trump recalled him saying.
“In his mind there’s not enough candidates who are polling close enough to him. And that if he does a debate this early with candidates who are polling in the single digits, there’s no upside for him,” another person familiar with Trump’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times.
Regarding the second debate being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, the New York Times reported:
Mr. Trump has told advisers that the second debate is a nonstarter for him because it will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. The chairman of the library’s board of trustees, Frederick J. Ryan Jr., also serves as the publisher and chief executive officer of The Washington Post, a fact that Mr. Trump regularly brings up.
Trump also has issues with Fox News hosting the first debate.
As the New York Times detailed:
“Why would I have Bret Baier” question me, Mr. Trump told an associate, explaining a reason to skip the Fox News debate. Mr. Trump was furious with Mr. Baier, a Fox host, over his coverage of the 2020 election, in which Mr. Baier refuted many of the election-fraud claims made by the Trump team.
Trump reportedly mentioned his previous spats with former Fox News host Megyn Kelly as part of his reason for not agreeing to a debate hosted by the network.
These remarks echo Trump’s public comments about the GOP’s presidential primary debate schedule.
Trump recently posted on Truth Social:
I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them. When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the “questions,” why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Also, the Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!
The Times’ report also comes one day after Trump announced he would sit down with CNN next week for a town hall event in New Hampshire.
Still, the New York Times recognized that Trump’s campaign has not yet reached a final decision.
The Times reported:
One adviser stressed that the situation was fluid, particularly given how early it remains in the 2024 race and with Mr. DeSantis not yet even a declared candidate. Mr. Trump may find it hard to stay away from a stage where others are criticizing him, and some senior Republicans expect that he will ultimately join the debates. He has long credited the debates in the 2016 campaign, both in the primary and the general election, for his victories.
Trump’s campaign did not respond to Breitbart News’s request for comment.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jdixonhamilton@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter.