Staff Reports
In the world of politics, there’s always room for more debate – especially when it involves former President Donald Trump. Trump recently suggested that he might throw his hat in the ring and participate in future Republican presidential primary debates. This comes after he skipped out on the first debate and instead opted for a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
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The second debate is set to take place on September 27 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California and will be broadcasted on Fox Business and Univision. When asked about the possibility of joining future debates during an interview on Todd Starnes’s radio show, Trump responded with a characteristic mix of confidence and nonchalance. He said, “I might. I mean, you know, it’s possible.”
It’s no surprise that Trump is considering jumping back into the debate arena. After all, he has a commanding lead in FiveThirtyEight’s GOP presidential primary poll average, with a whopping 50.3% support nationally. His closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, falls far behind at a distant 14.8%. Trump believes that his success in past debates was a key factor in his victory, stating, “I liked debating. I guess I won because of the debates. 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.”
When asked about the effectiveness of his pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson, Trump didn’t hold back. He called it a “tremendous success” and even suggested that it might be better than a debate. And the numbers seem to back him up – the Trump–Tucker interview garnered nearly 200 million views, while the first debate only drew in about 13 million viewers. But despite the overwhelming success of his alternative interview methods, 61% of Republicans still approved of Trump’s decision not to participate in the first debate, according to a recent Economist-YouGov poll.
As for potential running mates, Trump is keeping his options open. When asked if he saw anyone at the debate who could be a good fit, he remained tight-lipped. Talk show host Glenn Beck threw out the name of Arizona Republican candidate Kari Lake, but Trump chose not to respond. However, earlier in the week, Trump did express admiration for biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, calling him “great” and praising his statements about being the best president in a generation.
In true Trump fashion, the former president didn’t hold back when discussing his thoughts on the first debate and the candidates involved. In a video released on his Truth Social account, Trump referred to some of the candidates as “second-tier” and “pretenders to the throne,” specifically calling out former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
While Trump considers his potential return to the debate stage, he also has to navigate ongoing legal battles. He currently faces two federal cases and two state court cases, including a recent indictment in Fulton County, Georgia regarding his efforts to dispute the state’s 2020 election results. Despite the legal challenges, Trump remains a force to be reckoned with in the Republican primary field, and his potential participation in future debates could shake up the race even further.
