Speaking just miles from the Republican National Committee presidential primary debate of his top challengers, former President Donald Trump hailed his crowd, responded to his opponents' criticism, and mocked the lowly rated debates.
"They're not watchable," Trump told his Hialeah, Florida, campaign rally Wednesday night, which aired live and in its entirety on Newsmax. "You know, the last debate was the lowest-rated debate in the history of politics.
"So, therefore, do you think we did the right thing by not participating?"
Without mentioning him by name, Trump blasted Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis for suggesting the former president did not have the guts to show up to debate his challengers.
'Somebody said, 'Oh,' — someone, one of the dumber ones — 'he doesn't have the courage to stand up,'" Trump said, referencing a DeSantis campaign attack point. "Well, listen, I'm standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now, and it's on television. That's a hell of a lot harder to do than a debate.
"That's a hell of a lot harder."
Trump has decided against joining the debates, because he said he would rather not give low-polling challengers the airtime against him, particularly in a format of a large pack where no one can truly make their political points stand out.
"You have about, what, seven or eight candidates left?" Trump asked. "I think they're at a debate tonight. Nobody's talking about it."
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