Former President Trump is the favorite to win the Republican nomination. That’s why no one was expecting this.
And Donald Trump made a shocking campaign announcement that changes the entire race.
Take a look at the polls…it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Trump is leading by a country mile.
The average poll ranking for the candidacy has Donald Trump at 49.4% and Ron DeSantis at 21.2%.
Further down the ladder is Mike Pence with 7.3% and outside Vivek Ramaswamy at 4.6% according to FiveThirtyEight polling.
Needless to say, it’s Trump’s race to lose at this point in the campaign. But cracks are starting to form.
Just three months ago, Trump was hovering around 54%, so a sizable chunk have been swayed elsewhere.
Despite this, the Trump campaign is forging ahead with the idea that Donald Trump is not only the leading candidate, but the rightful candidate.
And that’s why they just made a shocking announcement.
According to one of his senior advisers, former President Donald Trump is “unlikely” to participate in the Republican Party’s primary debates.
Senior Trump advisor Jason Miller said on “The Hill” on NewsNation on Tuesday, “At the moment, President Trump has indicated that he’s unlikely to participate, at least in the first two debates.”
“It really wouldn’t make much sense for him to go and debate right now with a bunch of folks who are down at three, four, and five percent,” Miller continued.
“So ultimately, President Trump will make a decision as we get closer,” he concluded. “He has not said anything definitive, one way or the other. I’m not expecting him to participate, though.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is Trump’s top primary competitor, with the rest of the candidates polling in the low single digits.
Last week, DeSantis told Fox News that he will attend the debate regardless of if Trump attends.
“I’ll be there, regardless,” DeSantis asserted.
“I hope everybody who is eligible comes. I think it is an important part of the process, and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision, and our leadership to a wide audience.”
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu made fun of Trump this week after it was suggested that he would try to avoid participating in the debates because he might not do well.
Sununu made the comments during an interview with Fox News host Sandra Smith, who wondered what the debates would be like without Trump.
“Former President Trump, the tough guy?” Sununu said, laughing.
“The guy that says he’s gonna fight for America, but he’s not willing to stand up, he’s gonna wimp out? Wimp out and not get on that debate stage?”
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu (R) on Trump potentially avoiding debates: “Former President Trump, the tough guy? The guy that says he’s gonna fight for America, but he’s not willing to stand up, he’s gonna wimp out? Wimp out and not get on that debate stage?” pic.twitter.com/LHUcmtMjOc
— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 11, 2023
Only time will tell if Trump will brave the storm and bring some show-stopping moments to the primary debates like he did in 2016.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
