Donald Trump thinks there is no need for him to run in Republican primaries because of his poll lead.
The former president said in an interview Wednesday night with John Catsimatidis and Rita Cosby on their show Cats & Cosby that “people don’t debate when they have huge leads.”
It comes on the same day that a new Fox News poll shows Trump with a whopping 32-point lead against second-place finisher Ron DeSantis, who earned 21 percent support against the former president’s 53 percent.
Florida Governor DeSantis has yet to announce a White House bid, but so far consistently ranks higher than any other candidate, with the exception of Trump.
“I’m 40 points ahead,” Trump said when asked if he planned to participate in the debates. “A lot of people say, ‘Why have a debate when you have people who are two and three and fifteen and fourteen?’
“DeSantis is coming way down,” he added when discussing his biggest rival to date. “He’s lost so much support I don’t know if he’s going to run.”
Donald Trump (pictured during a 2016 presidential primary debate with Senator Marco Rubio) said Wednesday that he probably won’t run in the Republican primary this time because he’s so far ahead in the polls
A new Fox News poll Wednesday reveals Trump has an impressive 32-point lead over second-place Florida Governor Ron DeSantis
While DeSantis was originally much closer to Trump — and at times even came before him — the recent indictment of the former president has only solidified his standing among the Republican primary voters.
“People don’t debate when they have these huge leads,” Trump claimed.
The interview came the day after President Joe Biden made his official announcement that he is running for re-election in 2024.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) will not hold primary debates, citing precedent for not doing so when a sitting president is in office. This resulted in strong reactions from Republicans this week during Biden’s announcement.
There were no primary debates with Trump during the 2020 election cycle when he ran for re-election — and while the GOP primary field is filling up, the former president doesn’t think he needs to debate again this time.
Trump also said in Wednesday’s interview that he doesn’t trust “hostile networks” and hosts
“I would question a hostile group of anchors — a hostile network — questions,” Trump said. ‘Why would I do that?’
“I don’t know if I would do the debate,” he concluded.
Trump admitted, however, that there must be a general election debate, making him ready for another showdown with Biden.
You have a Democrat, you have a Republican. You really have an obligation to do that,’ he said.
Ron DeSantis has yet to announce a presidential nominee, but is starting to drop in the polls despite traversing the country and the world in recent months
Trump admitted that a general election debate is necessary. Interview comes the day after President Joe Biden announced his re-election campaign
Other than Trump and DeSantis, no other announced or potential Republican candidate received double-digit support from those polled in the new Fox News poll.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who has yet to announce a run, came in third behind Trump and DeSantis, earning 6 percent — and 2024 hopeful Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina and once Trump’s ambassador to the UN , was fourth with 4 percent.
Longshot candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who made his millions in biotech and investment firms, comes in at 3 percent.
Meanwhile, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, both unannounced but rumored to be running predominantly, are tied for sixth with 2 percent support among the Republican primary voters.
Conservative radio host Larry Elder announced his candidacy this month, but is a longshot candidate with only 1 percent support from the voting bloc so far.
Former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, also an announced candidate, polled less than 1 percent.