Donald Trump confirms he won’t participate GOP presidential debate

Donald Trump confirmed Sunday that he will not participate in the first Republican presidential debate this Wednesday in Milwaukee, saying he may skip the follow-ups, too.

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” he wrote on his social media site. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!”

With a commanding lead in the polls, Trump has intimated for months that he does not see the need to face down his rivals. Still, his advisors spent weeks saying he had not yet made a final decision.

Trump has been hinting at the boycott since April, and the most recent reports are that he will instead be interviewed by Tucker Carlson during the same time slot on the former Fox anchor’s own network, a chat that has already been taped.

Candidates who have met the criteria to occupy the stage include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, former vice president Mike Pence, tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and, as of Sunday evening, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Christie has alleged that Trump lacks “the guts to show up” and said that the former president, who has been indicted in multiple states, would be “a coward” if he did not appear. Others have been cajoling him in hopes of a change of heart.

With News Wire Services