On Tuesday, GOP front-runner Donald Trump announced that he would not be participating in Thursday night´s Fox News/Google debate.
Trump cited the presence of one moderator, Fox´s Megyn Kelly, as the reason for his to-be absence on Thursday, stating earlier in the week that "She doesn't treat me fairly. I'm not a fan of hers at all."
His reasoning for these statements is what he perceived to be the unfair treatment he received at the hands of Kelly in the August debate, in which she challenged Trump on his history of denigrating women. In response to the recent demands made by Trump and his campaign to have Fox remove Kelly as a moderator, the network has simply stated its unwavering support for Kelly as a journalist, and has steadfastly refused.
"Megyn Kelly is an excellent journalist and the entire network stands behind her - she will absolutely be on the debate stage on Thursday night," said Fox News chairman and chief executive Roger Ailes, in a statement on Tuesday.
Ted Cruz, ever the political jockey, has meanwhile chided Trump for being ¨afraid¨ of Kelly, and has offered to debate him one-on-one, without moderators. This would be ideal for Cruz, who was an accomplished debater at Princeton and is essentially level with Trump in recent Iowa polls. Regardless of how little we all seem to enjoy Cruz (although the polls suggest there are Cruz supporters, apparently) he would almost certainly dismantle Trump in a one-on-one debate, all the while aiming for the evident chinks in Trump´s armor. Such weaknesses include, but are not limited to, his ignorance of most things political.
What has been a blitzkrieg of a national campaign for Trump thus far has seemingly stalled in Iowa with Cruz´s recent surge in the state polls, and Trump cannot afford to miss such an important debate. Caucus and primary season is just beginning, and with Trump´s Iowa lead whittled down to a mere seven points, he needs to be on the stage Thursday, peddling his product for all of the nation to see.
Trump´s absence will be one of the prominent topics of discussion at the upcoming debate, and if he isn't there to guile his way out of every challenge, his opponents will have a field day.
If Trump actually wants to be president, he needs to be debating tomorrow.
Will Trump's potential absence hurt his national standing?
Will you be watching Thursday´s debate if Trump is not present?
How are we to be entertained now?
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/26/donald-trump-will-skip-next-republican-debate-his-campaign-manager-says/?_r=0
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-says-he-wont-participate-in-gop-debate-on-fox-news/2016/01/26/58fa0b2e-c490-11e5-a4aa-f25866ba0dc6_story.html
10 comments:
Trump is still leading in Iowa, but I think his absence from the debate will definitely bring his ratings down. Skipping this debate is possible his biggest gamble yet. Craig Robertson, a conservative activist and blogger in Iowa pointed out the two consequences of Trump’s decision, either “it creates doubt about him,” or “it cements the fact that he is someone who beats to his own drum and just kind of dictates the terms of this nomination process.” I am hoping it is not the latter. However Trump’s campaign did say that it was planning to run its own televised event in Iowa the night of debate that will raise funds for wounded veterans. Personally, I think that Trump’s reasoning behind skipping the debate is very silly. In a previous interview with Megan Kelly he complimented her on her moderator skills and said he could not have done a better job. This previous statement, plus the influx of negative Trump ads being run will, hopefully, put a dent in his ratings. How can we trust a man to be President if he continually contradicts himself? While I do think that CNN will lose viewers do to Trump’s absence, I think it will benefit the rest of the Republican candidates. I personally will be watching and I think that this is an opportunity for the other candidates (aka Jeb Bush) to speak up and hopefully be heard.
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/27/politics/donald-trump-iowa-debate-2016-election/index.html
I agree with Claire in that his reason for not attending the debate is not only silly but unbecoming of a future president. His self contradiction, and his apparent inability to cooperate with people he doesn't like does him a disservice. How can anyone endorse him as a leader if he is unwilling to deal with aspects of the political process he has a problem with. Honestly, his behavior is petty. His absence will no doubt benefit the remaining candidates at the debate, bereft of his loud jeers and inflammatory comments.
Although Trump’s absence shows how insecure he truly is, he still is the frontrunner and the people who make up his coalition seem to unconditionally stay by his side. However, his absence from the GOP debate will give the other GOP candidates more personalized attention by the media and also the opportunity to ridicule Trump for his decision to back out on the debate simply for “not being treated fairly”. I will certainly be watching the debate because this may be the only situation where we are able to view the GOP candidates without Trump’s presence. In previous debates, Trump has dominated the stage and commonly mocked the other candidates, casting negative light on each of them. Now, without Trump, viewers will see a more clean cut debate and will have the opportunity to hear the candidates speak without the mockery that usually occurs when Trump is on stage. For now, the entertainment will come from real politics. The real politics that this election has been so deprived of. Because of this, I believe this debate is a one of a kind event for the 2016 election, which has greatly lacked legitimacy and needs to be taken with more seriousness. I think an important question is how can we trust someone like Trump to run our country if he can't even take criticism from Megyn Kelly from Fox News? I believe it would be entirely foolish to place trust in the hands of a man like Trump. How can we trust Trump to deal with ISIS and other extreme situations when he isn't mature enough to deal with being treated unfairly? I think this needs to be taken into consideration for Trump because although people may think he is fully capable being the leader of the free world, he definitely does not handle criticism maturely.
I'll basically agree with the majority on this one and say that Trump is acting a little childish in this instance. That being said however, such is the character that Mr. Trump abides by; so it's not surprising that hes skipping out on the debate. Furthermore, if Trump feels as if Megyn Kelly exercises unfair treatment upon him during the debate, he has every right to deny Fox News his presence. Overall, I don't think that this decision of Trump's will not affect his overall standings on the national level. In actuality, I don't think it crazy to believe that Trump's hiatus will have more of a negative effect on Fox than Mr. Trump himself. Donald Trump is a guaranteed source of entertainment, despite the boorish nature of statements and comments; but that's why the media loves him. Trump is a catalyst for more viewers, plain and simple. Personally, I don't have a desire to watch the debate either way, any information exposed in the debate is easily accessible online the morning after. But Trump not being in the debate makes it worse than it would have been from the get-go. At least with Trump, it's fun to see what kind of statements get thrown around and how those statements are approached by other candidates at the event. However, with the absence of Trump, I think it will benefit the other candidates at the debate, as it will provide them with a playing field free of antics as well free of exposition that would otherwise reach a more personal level (relatively speaking).
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/us/politics/republican-debate-fox-news.html?_r=0
I believe Trump’s absence will hurt his ratings—it not only displays his immaturity but his lack of responsibility. In fact, I’m surprised he has made it this far with his poor debating skills and lack of knowledge on anything politics. I agree with Fox’s response to Trump as they tried to defend Megyn Kelly: “Sooner or later Donald Trump, even if he’s president, is going to have to learn that he doesn’t get to pick the journalists — we’re very surprised he’s willing to show that much fear about being questioned by Megyn Kelly.” All of the candidates face challenging questions during the debate but have the maturity to address it with composure. Trump, when faced with a difficult task, simply backs out. What does that say about his character? How can someone that forfeits so easily be the president of our country?
There’s no doubt that the debate without Trump will be less entertaining, but this is an opportunity for the other candidates to speak about things that truly matter without getting distracted by witty comments and personal attacks. I will most definitely be watching the debate on Thursday nevertheless, because for the first time, there’s a chance this debate will remain focused on the political issues at hand.
http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/26/donald-trump-will-skip-next-republican-debate-his-campaign-manager-says/
I think that bowing out of the debate is an incredibly poor decision, exactly like Gursimar said. It makes him look immature, irresponsible, and extremely unpresidential. A true leader would never willingly back down from a debate like this one. Though I have a sneaking suspicion that Cruz's comment could have a few sexist undertones ("Are you going to let a girl beat you?"), the sentiment is by and large a valid one. No matter how offensive a moderator is (which, let's face it, Megyn Kelly was not), a leader should take the opportunity to face them once more and prove that they are calm, cool, and collected when under fire. Instead, Trump has essentially just forfeited. I'm sure that he will spin it that he was protesting her presence but really he is shirking the presidential duty of handling difficult questions with composure. Unfortunately, I wouldn't have been watching the debate anyways but I think that many people will choose not to do so because it will simply not be as entertaining. Unfortunately, our presidential elections have become somewhat of a circus act and our ringleader is missing. But there may be more opportunity for GOP candidates to get their plans out there and have a more productive and informative, if less entertaining, debate without the threat of suffering as many ad hominem attacks.
Donald Trump is once again demonstrating loud and clear to the American public how inept he would be at holding the highest office in the nation. As many other commenters have pointed out, in being President, there is going to be a never ending stream of criticism, and if Trump is unable to handle those (very fair) comments and questions at this level I'm not sure how he will be able to survive if he were to win. We definitely don't want a President who can't appropriately respond to some criticism (especially when it is justified).
While I don't see any merit in skipping the debate (from Trump's perspective), I'm not too surprised he decided to pull a stunt like this - seeing as how this is Trump's go to move when he appears to be threatened by another candidate (this time Cruz). Given how close the Iowa caucus is, skipping probably one of the most critical debates of the campaign season, Trump could effectively be putting the nails in his own coffin by opening up the stage to the other candidates to attack him without his abusive comebacks. Or it could be a big enough media stunt to draw even more attention to him - and as we've seen with Trump supporters, any media stunt is a positive. Nevertheless I feel that this debate will be different from the rest and finally allow the candidates to be serious with the American public about their policy stances. As Claire, and other have mentioned, this will provide many of the candidates who have been bulldozed by Trump, namely Jeb Bush, the opportunity to really draw the support of the public. Hopefully this debate setting has not come at too late a point for other candidates (Bush and Rubio) to effectively express their positions and win over the public.
I have to disagree with most people here, as I believe that skipping out on the debate will actually help Trump. People are attracted to Trump's belligerence, and they adore how upfront he is about the subjects that bother him. That being said, people will love the fact that he is not willing to put up with Megyn Kelly's "attacks," and they will see him as a candidate that does whatever he likes. This is very important, since people are tired of putting up with Republicans who compromise. A few months ago, when Congressional conservatives attempted to pass a budget bill with a provision to de-fund Planned Parenthood, Republican leaders protested against the bill. They believed that if they kept the provision about Planned Parenthood, Senate Democrats would block the budget bill and the government would subsequently shut down. Because GOP Congressmen were the cause of the last government shutdown, Republican leaders feared that people would lose their trust in the Republican Party. Thus, Planned Parenthood was not de-funded, and a temporary budget bill was successful reached through bipartisan agreement. Although Establishment Republicans got what they wanted, conservatives around the country were outraged, since they wanted to get rid of the "baby-killers" at Planned Parenthood." These Republicans were alienated by the actions of their own party, and so they are now looking for a candidate that is truly unwilling to compromise. Trump will likely fit that persona, and this whole debate boycott will likely earn him the support of people who want a stubborn and steadfast leader. Essentially, conservatives will see his boycott of the debate as a reflection of how he would behave as president, and subsequently rally behind him.
Although boycotting the debate could have initially been seen as a potentially harmful move, Trump has almost guaranteed that this action will help him, not hurt him. This is due to the fact that in place of attending the debate, he will be holding a rally instead to support veterans. Thus, many voters will not regard him as a big baby who is scared of Megyn Kelly, but rather as a charismatic leader that is willing to miss an important debate to help veterans. Even candidates like Santorum and Huckabee are rallying behind him, showing just how charismatic Trump can appear to people (although this is probably because those two candidates would rather be at a Trump rally than in an JV debate that no one watches).
Source: I ate a snack and watched CNN
It is foolish and childish for Trump not to attend the Republican debate based on Megyn Kelly’s presence. This type of behavior shows me that if he cannot even show up to a debate just because of a comment that was said about him, he definitely cannot be trusted making decisions for our country. He is too spontaneous and will not listen to any rules or laws as president; this will potentially be very dangerous. I hope that his absence will cause some decline in his support. I think that if he loses in Iowa, his supporters may see him as beatable and choose to back a more experienced and rational candidate (of course, this is a very optimistic idea).
I will watch the Thursday debate to see what the debate seems like without Trump. A lot of the time the debate is centered around him, and I would like to see if they are still talking about Trump or the real issues at hand in his absence. Brendan did say that his absence will be a topic of discussion at the debate, and I hope that this is not the case, because he should not be given the attention when he is acting so childish. Right now, he thinks that he has the nomination in the bag. While on the campaign trail, he even said, "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose voters". I truly hope that something as terrible as this is not true, but I think it might be true based on the fact that most of his followers unconditionally support him (as others have said above).
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/politics/donald-trump-shoot-somebody-support/
I agree with El KittyCat's view regarding Trump's absence in the debate, and that him skipping the debate will actually boost his ratings in the polls. The most significant reason his absence will boost his numbers in the polls is that Trump instead of the debate will be raising money for the Wounded Warriors foundation. Of course, all of his followers think this act of kindness is why he deserves to be President, and most people (myself included) view it as a good deed, but still he is being extremely stubborn refusing to talk in the debate, simply because he doesn't like Megan Kelly. However I must say, the way Trump is able perform these outrageous actions, without suffering any consequences really is the complete opposite of what we learned about Howard Dean, and the other failed Presidential Campaigns. Honestly, this guy is like the one exception to the media rule, he can almost do anything or say anything he wants to without catching any flak for it.
I will still watch Thursday's debate with or without Trump. This makes things a bit more interesting for the other candidates. Without Trump, the other candidates might voice their opinions much more profusely especially since they won't feel subjugated to a full blown roast by Mr. Trump. I am most interested to see how Senator Ted Cruz will carry out the debate, especially since Trump has been coming out with a tirade of insults most recently calling Ted Cruz "The Canadian." In my opinion, I feel as if the debate will be much more civilized and actually address real issues without Trump's presence simply because people won't be watching for his radical remarks anymore.
I think we will still be entertained by what Jeb, Dr.Carson, and Cruz have to say. Personally, I find Dr.Carson to be pretty comical himself especially in the debates. All in all, Trump definitely adds a sense of entertainment to the debates, but I truly hope this man doesn't actually become the Republican frontrunner, to me that's just scary to think he actually has a solid chance at either becoming the Republican Primary winner, or even worse POTUS.
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