Former President Donald Trump has not decided whether he will appear at the first GOP presidential candidate debate, stating that he does not need to when he has a large polling lead.
"When you have a big lead, you don’t do it," Trump said, citing his average polling of 50 to 60% in most polls in a Sunday interview on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo.
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"You’re leading by 50 and 60 points, you say, why would you be doing a debate?" Trump continued. "Why would you let somebody that’s at 0 or 1 or 2 or 3 be popping you with questions?"
A RealClearPolitics analysis of recent polls shows Trump leading in all of them, with an RCP average of 53%. He holds a 32.4% lead against Gov. Ron DeSantis, who polls at 20.6%.
All other GOP candidates — such as former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — poll at single digits in most polls and have yet to break into double digits.
Trump brushed off concerns when asked if he was worried that skipping the debate would allow DeSantis or another candidate to cut into his lead.
"Or somebody else has a good night and cuts into his lead, because that’s what’s happening. He’s going down, and a couple of them are going up," the former president said of DeSantis.
DeSantis's campaign has come under recent scrutiny, which several officials saying his presidential bid started strong but has since stalled. Steve Cortes, a top DeSantis PAC official, said DeSantis is "way behind" in national polling.
The Florida governor has acknowledged the 2024 election would be an uphill battle but that he was not expecting results right off the bat, saying, "You've got to earn it."
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Trump also spoke to President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee, deciding, as of now, not to plan primary debates. The lack of debates for a primary challenger against a sitting president is not unusual — Trump drew few 2020 GOP challengers and did not debate them.
"I understand why he doesn't want to do it. I truly understand," Trump said. "Look, when you’re running for office, and you have, in his case, a 30- or 40-point lead, why would he do it? People are going to say, 'Well, he can’t do it.' I actually think he can’t do it. I don’t think he’s capable of doing it. But why would he do it, especially because of that? Why would he do it?"