On August 20, ex-president of U.S., Trump, confirmed that he would not participate in the first round of presidential debates, citing his significant lead in national polls as the main reason.
"The public knows who I am and the successful presidency I had, with energy independence, strong borders, armed forces that were the largest in HISTORY, the biggest tax and regulation cuts in HISTORY, no inflation, the strongest economy in history, and much more, therefore, I WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING IN THE DEBATES!"- wrote Trump.
According to The Hill, Trump's statement, which put an end to months of speculation about whether he would participate, came just days after it was revealed that the former president planned to appear in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead of participating in the debates in Milwaukee.
A key indicator that Trump had no intention of attending the first debates was his decision last week not to sign the loyalty pledge required by the Republican National Committee from any qualified candidate to promise support for a potential Republican nominee. At that time, he stated that he would announce this week whether he would attend the debates, adding that he had made up his mind.
"I wouldn't sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge where there are people I wouldn't have? I wouldn't have certain people that I would support," Trump told Newsmax.
Just recently, Trump received a resounding "no" response when he asked attendees at a rally in Erie, Pennsylvania, at the end of last month whether he should attend the debates. He again mentioned his substantial lead in public opinion polls and that most of his competitors for the Republican nomination currently have low single-digit numbers.
Several other Republican candidates had previously urged Trump to participate in the debates, including his closest opponent, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Last month, he stated that Trump needed to "step up and do it."
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