Former President Donald Trump is encouraging his challengers to debate to see whom he “might” consider for his vice president, he teased on Truth Social on Monday.
“Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President!” Trump exclaimed in the post, which comes as speculation rises on whether or not Trump will participate in the first Republican primary debate, taking place August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin:
Reportedly, seven candidates have qualified for the first debate thus far: Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, the last of whom offered $20 gift cards to those who donated $1 to his presidential campaign to help meet the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) donor threshold. However, it remains unclear if Trump will participate, expressing concerns about doing so even back in April.
“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them,” Trump said in an April 25 Truth Social post, adding “When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused?” Months later, reports surfaced indicating that the former president is considering alternate programming to the RNC’s first debate.
Donald Trump Jr., Trump’s eldest son, has expressed similar sentiments, telling Breitbart News in an interview in July that he is “torn” about his father participating in the first RNC debate.
“Listen, I’m torn on it. I mean, the meme general in me wants to see it because I know he’ll do great,” he said. “At the same time, am I gonna give, you know, Asa Hutchinson polling at .01 percent, you know Chris Christie, polling at 1 percent, you know, a three-hour window to basically crap all over you?”
“That’s literally, you just gotta go after the one guy, and that’s what everyone has to do, right? To be the man, you gotta beat the man. So do you give them that opportunity?” he asked, emphasizing, “[I am] torn in the sense that I want to see it because I know my father will do well, just like he crushed, you know, on the CNN town hall.”
“As a strategist, like, do you give every loser who’s looking to become the conservative voice of CNBC, like you give them the chance to try to dunk on you for three hours? It doesn’t seem all that intelligent,” he added, noting that his father is not afraid to debate any of his challengers.
VIDEO — Donald Trump Jr.: I’m “Torn” on Father Participating in RNC Debate
Jack Knudsen / Breitbart NewsTrump’s message coincides with the release of a New York Times/Siena survey showing him crushing his challenges in the GOP field by 37 points:
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