Trump Plans to Skip G.O.P. Debate for Interview With Tucker Carlson

MicroWave@lemmy.world to politics @lemmy.world – 348 points – Trump Plans to Skip G.O.P. Debate for Interview With Tucker Carlson
nytimes.com

The former president’s apparent decision to skip the first debate is a major affront both to the Republican National Committee and to Fox News, which is hosting the event.

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I thought he was the best debater? What's he afraid of?

I think it's a power move. The GOP is nothing without his base. He's forcing that point. Viewer numbers are what feeds his ego.

He’s afraid. He craves attention more than he can provide it.

Maybe both. Obviously Tucker will give him softballs. But it's a competition he's more comfortable with: collecting eyeballs.

He's too privileged and stupid to be scared. He's certain he'll get away with whatever he does regardless of what that is.

I agree with others saying this is a power move. By not going, he basically proves that many Republicans won't watch which means less views which means Trump can say, without lying, that because he didn't show the views were down.

Oh, I agree it's a move. But the Republicans also offer something he craves. Legitimacy and attention. He doesn't hold all the cards.

Lol, like he cares if any of his claims need to be true. He doesn't know what is or isn't true, not does he care. He says whatever suits his needs in the moment.

He’s got nothing to lose by not going, and everything to lose by going to the debate. He’s the clear nominee at this point. The GOP is Trump. It’s almost beneath him at this point to enter a debate with those others. And he’s making that point. The GOP is that far gone. Without someone like Trump what’s left of their electorate will not vote.

Exactly. Why go and share a stage with a bunch of people who are trailing him so much in the polls when he can go sit down with Tucker Carlson and get all the attention.

I think it's a power move.

Seriously? More likely he knows he will get his arse handed to him in a debate.

He doesn't really need to go though. Latest polling numbers have him at 54% of the Republican vote, with DeSantis at 15% as his closest competitor. Who does he need to convince that doesn't know who he is already? As much as I hate him, he's still unfortunately popular with many in the GOP, I just hope he's rotting in a prison cell by the time the actual election gets underway and the GOP has to scramble to put up some other reject in his place.

I just hope he’s rotting in a prison cell by the time the actual election gets underway and the GOP has to scramble to put up some other reject in his place.

You're thinking of the Republican primary. He'll still run in the general with or without the Republican nomination, in or out of prison. If he gets the nomination, and ends up convicted, there's going to be a hell of a fight in the Republican party. Invest in popcorn now.

There's already a hell of fight in the party. He lost twice already.

I've been seeing that rumble from some Republicans starting already, but it's still mainly behind closed doors. After the primaries, if Trump is the nominee, all hell is gonna break loose.

He doesn’t really need to go though. Latest polling numbers have him at 54% of the Republican vote, with DeSantis at 15% as his closest competitor. Who does he need to convince that doesn’t know who he is already?

If they're smart, this is the GOPs chance to out all the dirty laundry on Trump uncontested by Trump himself on a nationally televised event. Each candidate will have their chance to dunk on Trump while high-fiving each other.

Except, according to DeSantis' leaked debate prep, he's planning to defend Trump

What a pathetic little man. He has a chance to show how he's different from trump and the best he can do is get on his knees and plead fealty!?

I guess he's hoping for VP or at least a cabinet position?

Hopefully the other candidates have a spine and a brain. Trump has already sunk. The only hope for Republicans is to move away, not to sink with him. I don't really care either way. It looks to me like the party is doomed, which is good. Hopefully the democrats split and take over as two parties over time, maybe with actual progressives in one.

If the GOP didn't try to convince their base to drop Trump on January 7th 2021, they never will.

The only thing he is trying to convince people of is that they should send him money.

a strategically correct move in his case honestly

Really Trump's best move is just to assume he's the nominee and act like it's foolish for the GOP to even have a primary.

Wait. Tucker? I thought he’d been deplatformed.

He seems to be on twitter. yt algorithm recommended his video for some reason.

Maybe you’re a republican, but google somehow figured it out before you did?

YouTube thinks I'm far right because I watch videos related to some of my hobbies, which happen to be dominated by far right morons.

Same here. Also live in a red state. I mostly have hobbies on my recommendations I try hard to keep politics off my algorithms cause it can be a black hole and take over everything.

Sup fellow Video Game/Warhammer/Star Trek fan 😂

Don't forget us about us left wing farmers/hunters/outdoorsmen and shooting enthusiasts! I keep the majority of my hillbilly hobby to IRL only as the algorithms quickly follow the chain of gun owner -> gun nut -> far right -> conspiracy theorist and Trump fan

Yeah that's what gets me all the right wing nonsense. I love fishing, hunting, driving trails (usually to a fishing spot), and the outdoors generally. Apparently that means I'll love outright hateful content and Jesus.

I'd not heard of Star Trek. How the fuck can someone be right wing and watch Star Trek and go "yeah that represents my views"?

You'd be surprised at the amount of "Star Trek has gone WOKE/SJW" content on the internet. Yeah it doesn't make sense to me either.

My brain just had a momentary blue screen crash reading that.

Yeah Star Trek, the show to have literally the first interracial kiss on TV, with shatner intentionally sabotaging the take with the white actress to keep the other take in, and has one of the most diverse casts ever for a TV show, has only NOW gone woke. /roll eyes. Fucking maroons.

The article only has one line about this, noting that what platform this interview would take place on is unclear. I just checked and it looks like he's continued to do a show on Twitter despite Fox News sending him a cease-and-desist letter, so presumably it would be there.

The media will chop up the interview no one watched and play pieces of it ad nauseum on air and online.

Weird, I thought Trump was going to use the distraction of the debate to flee the country.

He can't flee the country. He literally has 24 hour secret service protection that will stop him if he tries to board a plane because they are state employees and not employed by trump.

I don't have your confidence that the secret service would side with the United States over Trump.

Their conduct has been less than exemplary lately.

I wouldn't show up to any debates either if I was him. Why would I I have a motherfuckin CULT that will die for me. All I gotta do is tweet "kill em all my peeps" and it's over.

Wouldn't even dignify these pretenders with my presence.

Honestly I'm curious as to why he hasn't given the "fire at will" order yet. I would have Jan 6. Other billionaires holding him back?

Ronna McDaniel's prayers have been answered. Now they don't have to fret over banning Trump for not signing the GOP Loyalty pledge.

Gotta try to boost the ratings for the mouthpiece that helped boost you up and covered your ass last time around, eh? And keep yourself from facing direct criticism or being forced to sign that annoying "support the nominee" pledge - or letting tv cameras you don't control show the nation see how fat, sallow, and stressed you look, or hearing the dementia-and-pill addled word salad come out of your mouth.

I wouldn't be surprised if they pre-recorded it, either.

It might ruffle some feathers at the RNC that he is treating their debate invite like he treats a Congressional subpoena.

Let them fight.

There's a reference there, but I didn't feel like looking up the gif.

If he doesn't have to go since he's so far ahead, this seems like a smart move.

Which again shows what a coward he is. He already said that he won't honor the pledge of a GOP candidate that he would support the primary winner regardless of who it is.

If the GOP was honest and true, they would have to stop supporting Trump.

He's not being cowardly, he's running the circus and rubbing it in the party's face. Trump stole the GOP base out from under the party and the party leadership can't do anything about it.

I think he's both being a coward and running the circus.

As for the debates, why should he?

I mean, the guy certainly doesn't care for democracy or informing the populous about his utter lack of policies, and with a >30% lead in the Republican primary polls he has everything to lose while the other candidates can only gain. Trump and his people know that there's no upside in it for him to debate, especially since he's fucking terrible at it, and his cult of followers probably won't care if he doesn't show up anyway.

This is just pragmatic. He gains nothing by being in the debate. The only reason he would be in it was if he was interested in the democratic process and societal norms.

I thought he'd turn himself in in Georgia during the debate to keep the spotlight on him.