As he faces pressure from fellow candidates and party leaders to commit to joining the first Republican primary debate in August, current frontrunner Donald Trump put the question to his audience at an Erie, Pennsylvania rally Saturday night. The response: a chorus of “No’s.”
“Am I going to stand up there by guys with zero, one, two, three percent, maybe four, and have them ask me hostile questions?” Trump asked.
The first debate is scheduled to take place on August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to the rules set out by the Republican National Committee, candidates must demonstrate over 40,000 unique donors with at least 200 donors in 20 unique states, in addition to polling over 1% in three qualifying national polls (or two national and one early nominating state poll) to make the stage. As of last week, seven Republicans, including Trump, had cleared the hurdles.
For the past several months, Trump has repeatedly suggested that he’ll skip the debate, arguing that his gargantuan lead over the competition gives him no reason to show up. FiveThirtyEight’s polling average currently has Trump leading Ron DeSantis by nearly 40 points, with only Desantis and Vivek Ramaswamy notching above five points.
Trump told the crowd he knew they’d want him to join the state “for entertainment’s sake.” “Now, put on your political cap, right,” he said. “We have to save our country. We have to win.”
In recent weeks, Trump has faced growing pressure from his competitors and other party leaders to join the debate stage. DeSantis, whose polling has slid of late, has called on Trump to “show up and make his case and answer questions like the rest of us.” Earlier this month, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel told Fox News that it would be a “mistake” for Trump to miss the debates. Along with longtime Trump advisor David Bossie, McDaniel met with Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey residence last Monday to encourage him to join.
A number of Fox News hosts, including Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade, have also begun making on-air pleas, The Washington Post reported last week. “If I were you, I’d keep that center podium warm,” former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on Monday. Along with Bret Baier, McCallum will co-host the Milwaukee debate. “I think President Trump will keep everyone in suspense,” Conway said.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said Saturday. “I haven’t made a commitment one way or the other.”