Per Olav Ødegård
Commentator in VG. Former foreign journalist and correspondent for VG in the USA. Writes mostly about international affairs.
In capital letters on social media, Donald Trump states that he will not participate in election debates. He who otherwise loves the limelight leaves the podium to his rivals.
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This is a comment. The comment expresses the writer’s position Donald Trump rejects participation in the first Republican presidential candidate debate organized by the Republican Party and Fox News. Trump boasts very high numbers in the opinion polls. Trump believes he has nothing to gain by participating in the debate, as his rivals may use the opportunity to attack him face-to-face. He is expected to be interviewed by Tucker Carlson, one of his favorite hosts, on another network at the same time as the Fox News debate. Trump planned to present a 100-page report at a news conference Monday that he claimed would exonerate him on charges of election interference in Georgia, but the event was canceled. He and 18 other defendants have until Friday to surrender voluntarily to the Georgia court. At least eight candidates are eligible to participate in the Fox News debate on Wednesday. To qualify, a candidate must have at least 1% support in three approved opinion polls and have received financial support from at least 40,000 individuals. Show more
On Wednesday, Republican presidential candidates will meet for the first debate of the year. The Republican Party and Fox News need Trump. They have urged him to join the televised debate. But Trump apparently thinks he can do just fine without them both.
The man who is not present will cast long shadows over the debate in Milwaukee. Trump is of course the big attraction in the Republicans’ election campaign circus. The warm-up band plays, but he who everyone has turned up to see never comes on stage.
STRONG SUPPORT: A large majority of Republican voters want Donald Trump to become the party’s presidential candidate for the third time. The picture is from a political meeting in Arizona in January 2022. Photo: Ross D. Franklin / AP / NTB
Everyone knows who I am, as he says. And he is right about that. Everyone knows how successful I was as president, he adds. There are very different opinions about that. But Trump can with good reason boast of very good opinion polls. He has, in his own words, built up a “legendary management”.
Trump has nothing to gain by facing the other candidates in a debate. For him it is exclusively a risk that he can be without.
Several of his rivals would have used such an opportunity to direct harsh attacks face to face with the former president, who is now indicted in four extensive criminal cases.
MUST MEET IN JAIL: Donald Trump and 18 other defendants in the case of election interference have until Friday to report voluntarily here in the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia. The trial will come up at a later date. Photo: ERIK S. LESSER / EPA / NTB
Then it is far safer for Trump to be interviewed by one of his favorite presenters, Tucker Carlson, who recently had to leave Fox News in disgrace. It is expected that the interview will be broadcast on another media channel at the same time as the live Fox debate.
Trump’s boycott will cause Fox News to get fewer viewers. Trump has increasingly expressed displeasure with his former favorite channel which does not always give him the unreserved support he expects. Trump also shows that he is blowing what the leadership in the Republican Party apparatus thinks. After all, he has his own movement, Make America Great Again, where everything is about making Trump great and powerful again.
GOOD TONE: Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has interviewed Donald Trump. It can be broadcast at the same time as the TV debate. Here from a meeting between the two at a golf tournament in Bedminster, New Jersey, in July 2022. Photo: Seth Wenig / AP / NTB
On Monday, Trump should have presented a comprehensive 100-page report at a press conference that he claimed would clear him of all accusations of election interference in the state of Georgia. A week ago, Trump said that the statement of defense would lead to charges against him having to be dropped and a full acquittal.
Nothing came of the announced press conference. Trump’s lawyers obviously had him change his mind. The “evidence” must instead be presented in court, according to Trump.
While the other candidates prepare for televised debates, Trump and 18 other defendants have until Friday to surrender voluntarily to the Georgia court. It will not place restrictions on Trump’s election campaign until March next year at the earliest. Then the state attorney wants to initiate legal proceedings in the case against Trump and his associates.
CLOSEST COMPETITOR: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is closest to Donald Trump in the polls, but the gap is large and growing. Photo: SCOTT MORGAN / Reuters / NTB
At least eight candidates will participate in the Fox News debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday. To qualify, a candidate must have at least 1 percent support in three approved opinion polls and have received financial support from at least 40,000 individuals.
There is also a requirement that the participants undertake to support the candidate nominated by the Republican Party at the national convention next summer. It is hard to imagine Trump signing such a promise. After the 2020 election, it has become obvious to everyone that Trump can never admit defeat.
In the primaries it will hardly be necessary. In the latest CBS poll, Trump has 62 percent support from Republican voters. Only 16 percent support Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. All the others are far behind.
There is a storm around Trump, but he surfs the waves undaunted. They will carry him through to being nominated for a third time.
Published:
Published: 21.08.23 at 22:45
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2023-08-21 20:45:22
#Comment #debate #Trump
