Donald Trump is threatening to skip the Republican presidential debates, saying in a social media post that nobody got his approval beforehand and that he won’t appear at a forum held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump is threatening to skip the Republican presidential debates, saying in a social media post that nobody got his approval beforehand and that he won’t appear at a forum held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The Republican National Committee has announced that the first GOP debate for the 2024 presidential race will be held in August in Milwaukee, and the second at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California. The dates for the debates haven’t been announced.
But Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform Tuesday that organizers didn’t get his or his campaign’s approval before announcing the debates, adding, “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?”
The former president also said he objected to debating at the Reagan Library because its foundation chairman is Fred Ryan, publisher of The Washington Post. “NO!” Trump said in his Truth Social post.
The Trump campaign said the social media post speaks for itself. A person familiar with the debate preparations said the RNC spoke to every campaign and candidate about the process.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has signaled there would be criteria for participating, such as a minimum fundraising threshold, and that candidates would be required to sign a pledge agreeing to support the eventual GOP nominee. Trump has so far refused to make that commitment.
Asked in a Feb. 26 interview on CNN whether she could see a scenario where Trump skips the debate if he’s forced to sign something saying he’ll support the nominee, McDaniel said, “I think President Trump would like to be on the debate stage. That’s what he likes to do. And I expect they’ll all be there.”
The RNC also changed its rules to prohibit its presidential nominees from participating in debates sponsored by the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates after Trump complained that moderators in 2020 debates were unfair to him.
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