Chris LaCivita, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, attested to the decision in front of reporters following the second round of GOP primary debates last Sept. 27. "[Trump] said he's not going to attend the debates, plural, and that's his position – until it's not," he said. According to LaCivita, the presidential debates had become more like a contest for "who's going to be the designated survivor."
Trump had previously skipped the first two debates, instead appearing in other avenues. He did not show up at the Aug. 23 debate, instead sitting down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson for an interview. The former chief executive was also a no-show at the second debate held in California on Sept. 27, instead addressing auto workers on strike in Michigan.
Some of the participants denounced Trump's decision to skip the Sept. 27 debate in favor of joining the auto workers. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis blasted the former president for being "missing in action." Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, dubbed Trump as "Donald Duck" due to the latter "ducking" to avoid the debate. (Related: Trump accuses DeSantis of spreading "Missing Melania" flyers at Iowa college football game.)
But according to LaCivita, Trump's decision to skip the debate would do little to sway Americans' votes. The third GOP presidential debate is set to take place in Miami on Nov. 8. But this matters little to Trump, as he has been consistently leading hugely in national surveys against the rest of the GOP presidential candidates.
"I don't know of one candidate that was on that stage tonight that pushed a thematic or a message that should convince GOP primary voters why they should abandon Trump," the adviser said on Sept. 28.
Trump: No VP material among participants of second GOP primary debate
Several of Trump's rivals showed up during the second primary, including DeSantis and Christie. Aside from the two, five others qualified for the second round of the debate – entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott.
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson failed to meet the qualifications for the second round. Trump himself qualified, but opted not to go for the second time.
During his Sept. 27 speech before striking auto workers in Michigan's Clinton township, Trump disparaged his rivals as merely "running for a job" in his administration the moment he returns to the White House. The former president also commented that none of his rivals are "vice president" material.
"We're competing with the job candidates," Trump quipped. "They are all running for a job,"
"They want to be – [and] they'll do anything – [to be] secretary of something. They even say VP [vice president]? I don't know, does anybody see any VP in the group? I don't think so."
The former president ultimately told the striking auto workers that the presidential debate in California doesn't have a crowd like the one in Michigan. He noted that thousands were outside the plant hoping to get inside.
Head over to Trump.news for more stories about the former president's journey back to the White House in 2024.
Watch this Reuters report about Trump skipping the Sept. 27 GOP primary debate in California.
This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com.
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GOP presidential primary debate: No one came out to challenge Trump's dominance.
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