Former President Donald Trump has signaled that he may participate in future Republican primary debates after sitting out the first debate, which is a clear sign polling does not support his decision to avoid facing voters.
An Emerson College poll released on Monday showed Trump dropping six points after skipping last week’s debate, although he still holds a commanding early lead — a poll taken before the debate had Trump at 56%, but that number dropped to 50% in a post-debate poll.
Trump was asked Thursday on the Todd Starnes’ radio show, “Do you anticipate at some point jumping into the debates?”
“I might. I mean, you know, it’s possible. I liked debating. I guess I won because of the debates,” the embattled Republican said. “You know, they’ve been very good to me. So I might. But at this moment, I’m leading by so much that it seems to be foolish to do it.”
Instead of debating his 2024 primary rivals onstage, Trump sat down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in an interview that was released the night of the first debate.
“It got good reviews. But more than anything, it got numbers that, the biggest numbers in history,” Trump said of the sit-down with Carlson.
The interview has more than 263 million views, though Twitter views are not comparable to television viewership — 12.8 million viewers tuned in for last week’s primary debate aired on Fox News and Fox Business Network.
Speaking of Fox News, Trump blasted network host John Roberts for his recent interviews with former Attorney General Bill Barr and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is running for president as the Trump slayer.
“RINO John Roberts of FoxNews just put failed political candidate Chris Christie, and terminated A.G., lethargic Bill Barr, on to talk about your favorite President, ME!” Trump wrote. “What does he expect from these two losers, one who I refused to give a job, the other who I fired because he was petrified of the Radical Left and what they would do to him. Anyway, my polls are even higher since the so-called Debate. Republicans should unite against the Fascist Lunatics who are destroying our Country!”
As seen below, Barr dismissed Trump’s claims that the ongoing persecution against him is election interference:
Trump’s former AG Bill Barr utterly destroys Trump’s argument that prosecuting him for his crimes is “Election interference”:
“Just think of a mayor charged with massive embezzlement, and he says, Well, it’s a year and a half to the election; let’s put that on hold, while I’m… pic.twitter.com/d7Z36Mpw4x
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 31, 2023
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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