Former President Donald Trump confirmed Sunday, August 20, that he will be skipping Wednesday's first Republican presidential primary debate – and others as well. "The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had," Trump wrote on his Truth Social page. "I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!" His spokesman did not immediately clarify whether he plans to boycott every primary debate or just those that have currently been scheduled.
The former president and early GOP frontrunner had said for months that he saw little upside in joining his GOP rivals on stage when they gather for the first time in Milwaukee Wednesday, given his commanding lead in the race. And he had made clear to those he had spoken to in recent days that his opinion had not changed. "Why would I allow people at 1 or 2% and 0% to be hitting me with questions all night?" he said in an interview in June with Fox News host Bret Baier, who will be serving as a moderator. Trump has also repeatedly criticized Fox, the host of the August 23 primetime event, insisting it is a "hostile network" that he believes will not treat him fairly.
Trump had been discussing a number of debate counterprogramming options, including sitting for an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who has been hosting a show on the website formerly known as Twitter. Carlson was spotted at Trump's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club ahead of the announcement, according to a person familiar with the visit who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it. The New York Times reported Saturday the interview set to air Wednesday has already been taped.
The decision marks another chapter in Trump's ongoing feud with Fox, which was once a staunch defender but is now perceived to be more favorable to his leading rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Fox executives and hosts had lobbied Trump to attend, both privately and on the network's airwaves. But Trump, according to a person close to him, was unswayed, believing executives would not have been wooing him if they weren’t concerned about their ratings.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, one of the few candidates willing to directly take on Trump, has been accusing the former president of lacking "the guts to show up" and calling him "a coward" if he doesn't. A super PAC supporting DeSantis also released an ad in which the narrator says: "We can’t afford a nominee who is too weak to debate."
Trump has also said that he will not sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee if he loses the nomination – a requirement set by the Republican National Committee for appearing on stage. "Why would I sign it?" he said. "I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem."
It's not the first time Trump has chosen to skip a major GOP debate. During his 2016 campaign, Trump decided to forgo the final GOP primary face-off before the Iowa caucuses and instead held his own campaign event – a flashy telethon-style gathering in Iowa that was billed as a fundraiser for veterans. While the event earned him headlines and drew attention away from his rivals, Trump went on to lose the Iowa caucuses to Senator Ted Cruz of Texas – a loss some former aides have blamed, at least in part, on his decision to skip the debate.
In 2020, Trump pulled out of the second general election debate against now-President Joe Biden after the Commission on Presidential Debates, a nonpartisan group that has hosted general election debates for more than three decades, sought to make it virtual after Trump tested positive for Covid-19. Trump refused, saying he would only debate on stage.