Donald Trump will skip first Republican presidential primary debate

Former President Donald Trump confirmed on Sunday that he would not join the Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee on Wednesday — and hinted he might sit out the others as well.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!”

It remains unclear whether the ex-president plans to skip every debate across the election cycle.

The Republican National Committee has demanded that each candidate sign a loyalty pledge to support the eventual nominee in order to enter the debates.

Trump has refused to sign the pledge.

Trump has teased plans to skip the debates for weeks, with reports from the weekend suggesting he had made the decision to sit down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead of participating in Wednesday’s debate in Milwaukee.

That interview has already been taped, according to The New York Times, and it will air online at the same time as the debate.

The 45th president currently leading the Republican pack by 41 percentage points, according to recent polls compiled by RealClearPolitics, placing him at 55.5%.

His closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, follows at 14.5%.

For months Trump has voiced the opinion that his commanding lead over the Republican field meant there was little for him to gain by participating in a debate.

The stance has been the target of opponents, including an advertisement from a DeSantis-supporting super PAC that said “We can’t afford a nominee who is too weak to debate.”

“Why would I allow people at 1 or 2% and 0% to be hitting me with questions all night?” he said in June during a Fox News host and debate moderator Bret Baier.

“No one is entitled to this nomination, including Donald Trump. You have to show up and earn it,” a spokesperson for DeSantis’ campaign posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.

Trump has dismissed such stances outright.

“It’s not a question of guts. It’s a question of intelligence,” he said in an interview with Eric Bolling of Newsmax.