Donald Trump Threatens to Skip Republican Presidential Debates: 'Why Subject Yourself to Being Libeled & Abused?'
April 26 2023, Published 11:45 a.m. ET
It looks like Donald Trump may skip the Republican presidential debates, which will be held later this year.
The politician, 76, took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to explain why he wants to sit this one out. “I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” he wrote on Tuesday, April 25. “When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?”
Trump added that he doesn't want the event to be held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, Calif., because the chairman, Fred Ryan, is the publisher of The Washington Post.
This is hardly the first time the businessman has made a big stink about the debates. In early 2016, he also threatened to boycott the primary debate because he thought Megyn Kelly wouldn't treat him fairly.
In March 2016, he also said he would potentially sit out of the CNN interview, as he was not a fan of the network.
Meanwhile, Trump, who announced in November 2022 he would be running for president again, seems to be asking people to join his campaign, including his former senior advisor Kellyanne Conway.
According to an insider, the reality star is "quietly speaking to" his pal.
"He credits her with helping him win the last time," an insider dished.
“He always appreciated so much and understood the value she brought to 2016. Without her, it wouldn’t have happened," another source dished of Trump's victorious campaign almost seven years ago.
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- 'You Owe It to the People!': Governor Ron DeSantis Slams Donald Trump for Skipping Republican Debate
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Trump is also going after Conway so she doesn't jump ship and join Ron DeSantis' potential campaign.
"She was a formidable opponent [with Ted Cruz], and [Trump] might want to lock her up and make sure she doesn’t go to DeSantis," the source explained.
“Kellyanne has an excellent relationship with President Trump and his team . . . but she would be crazy to commit to a single opportunity right now. She is busier than ever with a lengthy roster of political, corporate and media clients, not to mention offers from 2024 players and a big Fox News contract," they added.