Former President Donald Trump late Wednesday said he would announce next week whether he plans to attend the first GOP presidential primary debate on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.
Mr. Trump said a key problem, however, is that he doesn’t want to sign the Republican National Committee’s loyalty pledge, which says each candidate must support the eventual nominee.
“I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” Mr. Trump told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling. “Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have?”
“I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president,” Mr. Trump said. “So right there, there’s a problem right there. There’s a problem.”
Mr. Trump did not specify which candidates, but he was critical of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis during the interview.
Mr. Trump said his opponents are “not dumb people” but said they don’t stand a chance. In recent months, Mr. Trump has questioned whether he wants to give them airtime, given his front-runner status, and predicted Fox News moderators would be biased against him.
If he decides to debate, Mr. Trump would likely be on stage with Mr. Christie, Mr. DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. Each has met the donor and polling requirements.
“I’d like to do it,” Mr. Trump said. “I’ve actually gotten very good marks on debating talents. But you want to be, you know, they want a smart president. They want somebody that’s going to be smart. So we have to do the smart thing.”
Mr. Trump said past presidents, including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon, didn’t bother with the debates.
“Why would you do that when you’re leading by so much?” Mr. Trump said. “Ronald Reagan didn’t do it. Nixon didn’t do it. Many people didn’t do it.”
Reagan in 1984 and Nixon in 1972 had only token challengers in the Republican primaries.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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