Trump confirms he will skip Republican presidential debates

Washington – Donald Trump said on Sunday he will

skip this week’s first Republican presidential debate,

arguing that Americans know him well, so there is no need for a public showdown with his rivals for the White House.

In a message on his platform Truth Social, Trump touted what he called a hugely successful record as president and what he described as his popularity among the American people.

“I will therefore not be doing the debates,” he said.

The first debate in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is set for Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In his post, Trump noted the latest in a wave of polls showing him far ahead of the Republican field, this one by CBS News published on Sunday.

It said 62 per cent of those polled will vote for the former president even though he has been indicted four times in 2023, including on charges that he tried to subvert democracy in the United States by scheming to overturn the 2020 election and stay in power despite his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump’s closest contender in the CBS poll is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, at 16 per cent. The rest of those in the field are polling in the single digits.

Trump wrote that Mr DeSantis is “crashing like an ailing bird”.

“The public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had,” said Trump, citing the economy, and issues including energy, border security and the military.

The 77-year-old former president, who is rarely out of the headlines, had been vocal about possibly skipping the debate in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee, wary of sharing the limelight with lower-polling rivals.

The New York Times on Friday reported that Trump had told aides he planned to upstage his rivals by skipping the event, organised by Fox News, and

instead have an online interview with one of Fox’s former hosts, Mr Tucker Carlson.

Even in his absence, Trump will be ripe for broadsides from opponents over the four criminal and three civil trials he faces involving allegations before, during and after his scandal-plagued presidency.

“Obviously, his legal issues are affecting this race,” Fox News host Bret Baier, who will be moderating the debate, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“All these candidates have been asked non-stop about what’s happening in courtrooms around the country. So he’ll be a part of this debate whether he’s there or not.”

Seven other candidates have qualified for the debate, including Mr DeSantis and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former US vice-president Mike Pence, Trump’s United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott.

While Trump dominates the field, polling well above his opponents, some allies worry that a no-show could give his rivals a chance to create a viral moment and gain momentum. AFP