Trump Considering GOP Debate Participation

Trump is undecided about participating in the GOP debate, questions why he would let rivals “take shots” at him when he leads in the polls.

In an interview that aired on Tuesday evening, Trump told Fox News’s Bret Baier, “I like to debate.” Before going off on a tangent to explain why he refers to former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson as “Ada,” Trump said, “I don’t mind it at all. But when you’re 40 points up… why would I let ‘Ada’ Hutchinson—” He stated that he is “weak” and “ineffective” in his explanation.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Lisa Blunt Rochester Launches Her Bid For The Senate In 2024

“Why would I let these people take shots at me?” in response to participating in a debate with other contesters. Trump said of Hutchinson and Chris Christie, who he said has “nothing going” for himself and is a “slob.”

According to a RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump has 51.9 percent support, putting him ahead of the pack. Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, comes in second with 21.1%, followed by former Vice President Mike Pence with 5.8%, Nikki Haley with 3.8%, Senator Tim Scott with 3.6%, Christie with 2.3%, and Vivek Ramaswamy with 2.3%. Hutchinson, Larry Elder, and Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, are all polling at less than 1%.

However, he stated that he hasn’t made a “definitive decision” about whether to participate in the primary debates. He also questioned why he would take part in a debate hosted by a “hostile” network like Fox, which is hosting the first debate in August.

In response, Baier stated that the network gives Trump a “fair shake.” Trump responded that his conversation with Baier was not a “puff piece,” but rather a “tough interview.”

However, Trump stated that he and Vice President Biden “have to definitely debate.”

Throughout the interview, he made fun of the other Republican candidates.

“Nikki Haley is at 2 percent, while Christie is at 1 percent or less. She hasn’t caught on because everyone knows she’s greatly overrated.” He stated. He claimed that he only chose Haley to be the United States ambassador to the United Nations because he wanted South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Henry McMaster to succeed Haley as governor of South Carolina.

Throughout the interview, Trump also slammed DeSantis, whom he claimed he has dubbed “DeSanctimonious” due to his “very disloyalty.”

“I helped him 100 percent he was dead politically and for him to then say ‘I’m going to run against the guy who got me into office’” was disloyal, Trump said.

Trump stated he is targeting DeSantis because he is currently ranked second in the polls. However, he also predicted that DeSantis “could be dropping like a rock” to third or fourth in the near future; at this point, he would cease focusing on him because “I like fighting number two.”

Additionally, he criticized DeSantis for his leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic, asserting that other governors handled the pandemic more effectively and kept their states open and that DeSantis only has “better PR than other governors.”

He said that DeSantis “loved” Dr. Anthony Fauci and that he had chosen to listen to Fauci at the time by saying, “You’re not actually allowed to fire him — but I wouldn’t usually let that get in my way.”

However, DeSantis delayed issuing a stay-at-home order until April 1, 2020, later than many other states. On the other hand, California was the first state to issue a stay-at-home order on March 19. Only Wyoming, Arkansas, Nebraska, and a few other states with more rural populations have never issued such an order.

By the 20th of April, DeSantis had appointed a “Re-Open Florida Task Force” to develop a strategy to re-open the state quickly. By the end of September, DeSantis had lifted all restrictions on restaurants and businesses, and the stay-at-home order stopped at the beginning of May.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Team Biden Claims The Hunter Story Is Ending, But 2024 Rivals Disagree

In the meantime, Trump was questioning Brian Kemp’s decision on April 22 to re-open some Georgia facilities.

During the Covid-19 outbreak, the former president offered a defense of his leadership and suggested that the disease originated in China due to the “incompetence” of the Chinese government.