Trump Most Likely to Skip First GOP Debate

As the first GOP Presidential debate approaches, it appears that Donald Trump will not be there. Anything could change from now until Wednesday and Trump still could decide to participate, but word is out that Trump has already chosen to air a pre-recorded interview like he did with Tucker Carlson in or around the same time as Wednesday’s Fox News Debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Where and when the interview with Carlson will air is still undisclosed. X (formerly known as Twitter) would probably score the most views for the former President’s sit down with Tucker, but this may conflict with Trump’s own social media platform Truth Social.

There is a second debate scheduled for September 27th at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California hosted by Fox Business. Trump has not committed to that one either as he has publicly stated that why should he participate when he has such a commanding lead in the GOP Primary field and may only hurt himself in a potentially hostile environment. Trump also has blasted Fox News for the network’s treatment of him and criticized Fox for firing Tucker Carlson, their top show host at the time.

According to GOP Presidential Primary Nomination polls released over the last 40 days, Trump has expanded his lead against the rest of the GOP Primary field. The Real Clear Politics 2024 Republican Nomination Poll average of about 10 of the latest polls has Donald Trump in the lead by 39% over Ron DeSantis. Out of the last 22 major polls for the GOP Presidential Primary nomination, Trump has never dipped below a 28-point lead over DeSantis and in most of them he leads by 39 to 45 points. Trump also averages at about a 50-point lead over any other GOP candidate in the GOP primary field. The big question is what will happen as other GOP candidates drop out of the race and how much will this benefit DeSantis or other candidates. But even if you add up all the support for the bottom nine candidates and they throw all of their support to DeSantis, you still don’t make up the difference to beat Trump who has a commanding lead in all of the national polls. Granted the dynamics of the race could change and one should expect a roller coaster ride throughout the 2024 GOP primary season.

Former President Donald Trump File Photo

On the Democratic side, President Biden also has a commanding lead enjoying a 60% lead over the Democratic Presidential Primary field in the latest Emerson polling. Support for RFK, Jr. as the Democratic nominee has stalled with only 9-17% support in most of the polls over the last month. What the Democrats do next year remains to be seen as prospective candidates like Michelle Obama and Gavin Newsome gain steam and sit on the sidelines. As scrutiny intensifies and more information comes to light involving President Biden and his son’s alleged shakedown of foreign leaders for tens of millions of dollars, Joe Biden may not be the Democratic presidential candidate in 2024.

We must wait and see if Trump’s decision to sit out of the first and/or second GOP Presidential Primary debates hurt him or help him. One thing is for certain, Trump always has a way to drive the narrative and keeps thing interesting.