Donald Trump will skip the first Republican primary debate.
Donald Trump will skip the opening Republican primary debate
The former president confirmed on his Truth Social platform that he will not be going to the event on Wednesday (23.08.23) and may skip the debates altogether thanks to his "legendary" polling numbers in the battle to be the party's candidate for next year's election.
Trump wrote: "New CBS poll, just out, has me leading the field by 'legendary' numbers... I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES."
The controversial politician has privately and publicly weighed up whether he should attend the debate and the overwhelming response was for him to skip the event.
Trump confirmed to his allies that he will be snubbing the debate and his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson could be released at the same time to keep him in the spotlight.
The billionaire - who has been criminally charged four times in recent months - is said to have considered entering the debate at the last minute to grab the headlines from the event and overshadow the other candidates but has now soured on that option.
Trump is also keen to humiliate Fox News - who are hosting the debate - as he has been unhappy with their coverage of him in recent months.
The former president is believed to be annoyed by the positivity towards his rival Ron DeSantis and has privately lashed out at Fox chief Rupert Murdoch.
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