NYT: Trump will skip debate, do interview with Tucker Carlson instead

[Doomer]

He’s a coward.

Biden refused to debate RFK Jr too. He’s a coward too.

RFK isn't a real candidate.

The difference between RFK Jr and Biden polling-wise is less than the difference between Trump and every non-DeSantis candidate

Is every GOP candidate besides Trump and DeSantis not real?

The Democratic Party isn't scheduling debates. That's what the difference is.

Yes, because Joe has no influence whatsoever?

He can ask the DNC to schedule debates to give them a little shove

Every incumbent president has joke primary challengers. RFK and Marianne Williamson are not serious candidates; they are both fringe candidates and nothing more. What would be the point of debating them?

On the other hand, the Republican field has many "serious" candidates presenting multiple options for the electorate and they have no incumbent president. If it was just Perry Johnson then sure I would be fine with Trump skipping.

If they were actually serious, you wouldn't need quotes on that.  As is, I only see DeSandwich and Vivek as remotely serious.

This is no different from 2016 if Bernie stayed out, leaving only Momma [D-MD], 'Nam Guy [D-VA], and Mr. Metric [WTFC-RI/WY]...in which case, Hillary would've been right to skip.

DeSantis
Scott
Haley
Christie
Pence
Ramaswamy

These are all serious candidates and Trump should debate them instead of cowering away to a safe space.

[Mr. Smith]

He’s a coward.

Biden refused to debate RFK Jr too. He’s a coward too.

RFK isn't a real candidate.

The difference between RFK Jr and Biden polling-wise is less than the difference between Trump and every non-DeSantis candidate

Is every GOP candidate besides Trump and DeSantis not real?

The Democratic Party isn't scheduling debates. That's what the difference is.

Yes, because Joe has no influence whatsoever?

He can ask the DNC to schedule debates to give them a little shove

Every incumbent president has joke primary challengers. RFK and Marianne Williamson are not serious candidates; they are both fringe candidates and nothing more. What would be the point of debating them?

On the other hand, the Republican field has many "serious" candidates presenting multiple options for the electorate and they have no incumbent president. If it was just Perry Johnson then sure I would be fine with Trump skipping.

If they were actually serious, you wouldn't need quotes on that.  As is, I only see DeSandwich and Vivek as remotely serious.

This is no different from 2016 if Bernie stayed out, leaving only Momma [D-MD], 'Nam Guy [D-VA], and Mr. Metric [WTFC-RI/WY]...in which case, Hillary would've been right to skip.

DeSantis
Scott
Haley
Christie
Pence
Ramaswamy

These are all serious candidates and Trump should debate them instead of cowering away to a safe space.

Nah, 2/3 of this list are either tokens or revenge/retaliation candidacies. This leaves two that seem to have put in some kind of work or at least managed to convey some kind of vision, and even they don't really have much pull atm.

[emailking]

He’s a coward.

Biden refused to debate RFK Jr too. He’s a coward too.

RFK isn't a real candidate.

The difference between RFK Jr and Biden polling-wise is less than the difference between Trump and every non-DeSantis candidate

Is every GOP candidate besides Trump and DeSantis not real?

The Democratic Party isn't scheduling debates. That's what the difference is.

So I guess we now know who the real cowards are.

Lol well not Biden.

[emailking]

He’s a coward.

Biden refused to debate RFK Jr too. He’s a coward too.

RFK isn't a real candidate.

The difference between RFK Jr and Biden polling-wise is less than the difference between Trump and every non-DeSantis candidate

Is every GOP candidate besides Trump and DeSantis not real?

The Democratic Party isn't scheduling debates. That's what the difference is.

Yes, because Joe has no influence whatsoever?

He can ask the DNC to schedule debates to give them a little shove

That's not refusing to debate them.

[Andrew Cuomo is a No Go]

He’s a coward.

Biden refused to debate RFK Jr too. He’s a coward too.

RFK isn't a real candidate.

The difference between RFK Jr and Biden polling-wise is less than the difference between Trump and every non-DeSantis candidate

Is every GOP candidate besides Trump and DeSantis not real?

The Democratic Party isn't scheduling debates. That's what the difference is.

Yes, because Joe has no influence whatsoever?

He can ask the DNC to schedule debates to give them a little shove

Every incumbent president has joke primary challengers. RFK and Marianne Williamson are not serious candidates; they are both fringe candidates and nothing more. What would be the point of debating them?

Except RFK JR is getting near 20% in the polls. That takes him out of the joke primary challengers ala John Wolfe Jr or Bill Weld

In the last month RFK jr. has polled at: 9%, 13%, 17%, 13%, 15%, 16%, 13%, 20%, 13%, 12%. His average according to 538 is 12.9%. That is not “nearly 20%,” no matter how much you want to will a competitive primary into existence. He has as many polls in the single digits as he does above 17.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Maybe he isn't such a "mastermind" at manipulating the media for attention after all, huh? He probably is correct in knowing that he has nothing to gain from the debates, but does he gain anything from doing this interview instead?

I bet that his lawyers proposing him being booked at that same time was rejected solely due to Trump not wanting that negative attention.

So now he is going to partake in a worthless softball interview with a now irrelevant media personality. There is no way that disrupts the GOP debate's audience viewership, even with the pathetic slew of attendants in it.

[Alben Barkley]

He's right to do this, though just looking at the previous clips shows how lenient the moderators are with Trump compared to the others. They just let him talk on and on, and he would probably have used this privilege to respond to every zinger thrown at him.

I saw what Trump was then and I was right. Just because he had some zingers and insulted people, that made it fun? Dude’s an authoritarian…that’s not fun.

What's fun was how he punctured the hubris of the most entitled and conniving political dynasty in modern US politics, and incidentally the murderers of thousands of innocent civilians in Iraq.

Not as good as throwing them in jail for their crimes against humanity, but close.

Thinking Trump, who is a far worse person than W. Bush (who saved millions of lives with PEPFAR and is not actually a morally bad human being), was some kind of vessel for righteous justice avenging the Iraqis (and I don't honestly believe most people who go on about dead innocent Iraqis actually care about them so much as they care about feeling self-righteous, especially considering most grossly exaggerate the actual death tolls and oversimplify the war) by childishly humiliating Jeb! on the debate stage is one of the worst and most cringe takes I've ever seen. Let alone among takes that are seemingly, somehow, unironically held by more than 3 people on the planet.

[Alben Barkley]

I will say there is a nonzero chance the interview will get more attention than the debates and all the takes saying this will backfire on Trump will age poorly. Even if in technical terms, the debates get more raw viewing numbers, I wouldn't be surprised if memes sprout up on the right making Trump look dynamic and like he's already won the nomination and contrasting that to these pathetic losers swinging their sticks at each other. Thinking long-term, I can see this as a good move for Trump.

[Epaminondas]

W. Bush (who saved millions of lives with PEPFAR and is not actually a morally bad human being)

I take it you're too young to remember geopolitics before the Afghan and Iraqi invasions.

One day you'll realize that history will judge mass-murderer Bush a lot harsher than goofball Donald Trump, who on the whole has done little damage to the world beyond shattering Democrats' smugness.
But every trip to the airport or border crossing reveals W Bush's repulsive legacy, let alone the fact that parts of the Middle East are now off limits to Westerners.

However "cringe" that might seem to you from your bedroom.

[Doomer]

It’s not even going to be a live interview with Tucker…it’ll be a taped interview lol

[Wrong about 2024 Ghost]

It’s not even going to be a live interview with Tucker…it’ll be a taped interview lol

A "surprise" arrival at the debate would be a great move for him... if he can avoid getting humiliated by Christie on the stage.

[The Mikado]

It’s not even going to be a live interview with Tucker…it’ll be a taped interview lol

A "surprise" arrival at the debate would be a great move for him... if he can avoid getting humiliated by Christie on the stage.

Now that joke candidates like Perry Johnson and Asa Hutchinson are on the stage it's gonna seem more and more like a clown show that demeans the serious candidates for being on stage with them. DeSantis and Ramaswamy and Scott getting on stage with Perry Johnson are saying their campaign is on that level.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

It’s not even going to be a live interview with Tucker…it’ll be a taped interview lol

A "surprise" arrival at the debate would be a great move for him... if he can avoid getting humiliated by Christie on the stage.

You really think Big Fat Fatty is going to humiliate Trump? Trump might humiliate himself. Trump will likely humiliate Big Fat Fatty. But Big Fat Fatty is not going to humiliate Trump. That is for certain.

But yeah, I agree that a surprise last minute arrival would be a good move. Would take his opponents off guard and would ensure that all the attention is on him.

It’s not even going to be a live interview with Tucker…it’ll be a taped interview lol

That's what I've been saying! Everyone who watches Tucker on Twitter will just wait a day to watch it later once the debate is done. Might as well do both.

[GeorgiaModerate]

The GOP should take a page from some of those talent shows and do weekly or biweekly debates followed by viewers calling in to choose who gets eliminated from the next episode.

[emailking]

Trump confirms definitively he's not going. And also says he won't do the other debates either.

New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by “legendary” numbers. TRUMP 62%, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!), Ramaswamy 7%, Pence 5%, Scott 3%, Haley 2%, Sloppy Chris Christie 2%, “Aida” Hutchinson 1%. The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!

[Wrong about 2024 Ghost]

This is a strange cycle for the GOP. It's neither a classic open race, nor is there exactly an incumbent.

If it were an open race, Trump's numbers would be good, but his nomination still far from guaranteed. (Just ask President Hillary Clinton (44).) If it were an incumbent being challenged in the primaries, facing multiple serious and credible candidates like this would not look good. (LBJ in 1968 is the closest comparison, I think.)  And the media's obsessive focus on the DOA campaign of DeSantis, along with Trump's many crimes finally catching up with him, have drawn most of the oxygen. 

It's not great for the other credible candidates that they've gotten so little exposure, yet, but neither is it fatal to their campaigns - there are still months before the first primary. They can absolutely sabotage each other to Trump's advantage, and the media's obsession with giving Trump a platform will help him. But this race is far from over, and I still see Trump's chances at the nomination as even, at best. Maybe that will change after this week, but it seems to me that Trump is confusing having a head start with winning the race. And personally, I hope the difference ends up destroying him.

[Shaula🏳️‍⚧️]

The GOP should take a page from some of those talent shows and do weekly or biweekly debates followed by viewers calling in to choose who gets eliminated from the next episode.

This is a great idea

[The Mikado]

If it were an open race, Trump's numbers would be good, but his nomination still far from guaranteed. (Just ask President Hillary Clinton (44).)

Trump's numbers are WAY better than Hillary Clinton's were. Obama was consistently hanging out around 25 while HRC was hanging out in the 45-50 range.

ABC/WAPO Sept 4-7 2007:

Clinton 41
Obama 27
Edwards 14

It's true Obama's big surge was around Thanksgiving of 2007, but he was surging from a very respectable base of 25%ish that he maintained basically throughout.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If it were an open race, Trump's numbers would be good, but his nomination still far from guaranteed. (Just ask President Hillary Clinton (44).)

Trump's numbers are WAY better than Hillary Clinton's were. Obama was consistently hanging out around 25 while HRC was hanging out in the 45-50 range.

ABC/WAPO Sept 4-7 2007:

Clinton 41
Obama 27
Edwards 14

It's true Obama's big surge was around Thanksgiving of 2007, but he was surging from a very respectable base of 25%ish that he maintained basically throughout.

Obama's numbers were flat until the Iowa caucus. Hillary was the candidate who was surging until then.

[Wrong about 2024 Ghost]

If it were an open race, Trump's numbers would be good, but his nomination still far from guaranteed. (Just ask President Hillary Clinton (44).)

Trump's numbers are WAY better than Hillary Clinton's were. Obama was consistently hanging out around 25 while HRC was hanging out in the 45-50 range.

ABC/WAPO Sept 4-7 2007:

Clinton 41
Obama 27
Edwards 14

It's true Obama's big surge was around Thanksgiving of 2007, but he was surging from a very respectable base of 25%ish that he maintained basically throughout.

Trump certainly has more opponents, and that may help him if they sabotage each other.

But his numbers are not actually better than Hillary's - the Des Moines Register poll that just came out has Trump at 42%.