
(DCWatchdog.com) – Former President Donald Trump has made it clear he might refuse to participate in TV debates among 2024 Republican presidential candidates because of “hostile” questions and potential “abuse.”
The first GOP presidential debate is expected to take place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in August. It was announced in February by Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
The second debate will be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum in Simi Valley, California. Still, no firm date for it has been set, according to a report by the Ventura County Star cited by Newsmax.
“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them. 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?” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
“[T]he Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!” added the 45th president of the United States.
Besides Trump, the other official 2024 Republican nomination candidates so far are former US Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and conservative California radio talk show host Larry Elder.
Other Republicans expected to enter the race are Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and US Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.
Scott has formed an exploratory committee, while Pence and DeSantis have not made any formal steps yet – though reports have forecast that the latter would likely announce his candidacy in May.
The first 2024 GOP debate will be jointly sponsored by Fox News and Young America’s Foundation and streamed exclusively on Rumble.
In February, McDaniel said the RNB would probably require all participants to agree to support the eventual nominee.
Former President Trump has previously criticized the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which hosted presidential debates in 2008, 2011, and 2015, for also hosting his critics, former House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.
According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump presently leads DeSantis by 29 points, at 51.3% to 23.5%, in a potential rivalry for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
No other candidate polls above 5%, with former Vice President Mike Pence polling at 4.5%.
Trump might skip the debateshttps://t.co/HTuESoPAEv
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 25, 2023