In a move that sent shockwaves through the political landscape, former President Trump made it clear that he will not be signing a loyalty pledge to the Republican Party. This unexpected declaration raised questions about his potential participation in future GOP debates.
During an interview with Newsmax on Wednesday, Trump dismissed the idea of making such a pledge.
Speaking to Eric Bolling on “The Balance,” the former president questioned the value of such a gesture. “I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” Trump stated emphatically. “Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have?”
Trump’s refusal to sign the pledge is not without reason. He expressed concern over the possibility of endorsing candidates he does not support.
“I wouldn’t have certain people as, you know, somebody that I endorse. So they want you to sign a pledge,” he said, referring to the candidate field.
“I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem right there. There’s a problem.”
The former president also took issue with the low entry bar for the Republican debate. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the current system that allows candidates with minimal polling percentages and national support to participate.
Trump argued this gives unpopular candidates an opportunity to make derogatory remarks about him.
In the same vein, Trump voiced his concerns about debating against candidates like Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie, who are polling at zero percent and one percent respectively.
“You look at the debate, and they want you to debate, but you’re debating — it’s not really fair — somebody like Asa Hutchinson, who’s polling at zero percent, will ask me nasty questions,” Trump said.
“Somebody like Chris Christie is falling at 1%, and he’s going to ask me nasty questions and others, too.”
Trump also pointed out that previous Republican presidents like Reagan and Nixon chose to skip primary debates. “Why would you do that when you’re leading by so much?” Trump asked. “Ronald Reagan didn’t do it. Nixon didn’t do it. Many people didn’t do it.”
Despite these concerns, Trump hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility of participating in the debates.
“I’m going to look at it very seriously. I’d like to do it. I’ve actually gotten very good marks on debating talents. But you want to be, you know, they want a smart president. They want somebody that’s going to be smart. So we have to do the smart thing.”
As the nation watches with bated breath, only time will tell how this bold move by Trump will impact the future of the Republican Party.