It would be a "mistake" for Donald Trump to skip the Republican presidential debate, says Republican National Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
"I think it's a mistake to not to do the debates, but that's going to be up to him and his campaign," McDaniel told Fox News on Wednesday.
Trump in May said he may skip out on one or two of the presidential debates, including one set to be moderated by Fox News' Bret Baier.
"Why would I have Bret Baier" question me, Trump asked, according to several aides, The New York Times reported.
Last Sunday, he said he hadn't made up his mind.
"When you have a big lead, you don't do it," he said.
"Ronald Reagan didn't do it and a lot of other people didn't do it. When you have a big lead, you don't do it," Trump said during an interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."
"We have a lead of 50 and 60 points in some cases. … You're leading people by 50 and 60 points, you say why would you be doing a debate? It's actually not fair. Why would you let somebody that's at zero or one or two or three be popping you with questions?"
He also shrugged off the idea that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis would gain polling points on him if he missed the debate.
"Do you see any risk that if you don't show up, Ron DeSantis has a good night and it cuts into your lead?" host Maria Bartiromo asked.
"Or somebody else has a good night and cuts into his lead, because that's what's happening. He's going down and a couple of them are going up," Trump replied.
But he added: "I haven't really made up my mind."
McDaniel on Wednesday said she has tried to convince Trump to join his competitors on stage.
"You want to win the nomination, you got to get in front of those primary voters. But for me, it's another part of it … this is an audience of 20 million people, plus," she said. "Leaving that opportunity aside and not getting on the debate stage is just more of an opportunity for Joe Biden to continue to get his message out."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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