Trump goes on defensive about debate decision

Instead of appearing alongside his rivals at the debate, Trump said he will host an event “to raise money for the Veterans and Wounded Warriors”, according to a statement released by his campaign.

The pair went back and forth for the entirety of the 20-minute interview over this topic, with Trump pushing his own rival event to benefit veterans – conveniently scheduled for the same time as the debate – and O’Reilly repeatedly saying he thought Trump was making a mistake.

“They’ve been in the witness protection program, and now they may come out”, Bush said, referring to his opponents’ decisions to not directly take on Trump in past debates, which have shattered ratings records for cable news networks.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop on Wednesday in Gilbert, South Carolina. In Iowa, however, polls suggest he is locked in a tight race with Texas senator Ted Cruz, a favourite of the conservatives and evangelical Christians who hold significant sway in the state’s Republican caucuses.

Mr Trump’s abrupt decision to boycott the debate has added a new layer of uncertainty to a race that has defied political convention. He renewed his offer to Trump to debate him one-on-one Saturday.

O’Reilly gave Trump props for not backing out of the interview under the circumstances, saying he did not know any other candidate who would have. Some 24 million viewers watched the first battle between Trump, Kelly, and the nine other top Republican hopefuls In August. The next Republican debate will take place February 6 in Manchester, New Hampshire, three days before the primary there.

“What’s that tell you about what we can expect if things go sideways when you go into the Oval Office?”

On the down side, the number of people who tune in could be lower without Trump at centre stage.

“When you’re mistreated, as we were with the Iran deal, our country should have walked”, Trump said.

He posted a video on Instagram to say why he wouldn’t be attending the debate. He complains about not being treated fairly by the press?

He blasted a “ridiculous PR statement” from the network defending the most visible target of his feud, debate moderator Megyn Kelly.

But despite Trump’s continued attacks against her, Kelly said he is a “breath of fresh air” in politics.

Yes, early in that opening GOP debate Ms. Kelly sharply challenged Mr. Trump about past ugly remarks he made regarding various women.

Everything he’s done – insulting his own party, insulting his colleagues, insulting the media – has given his supporters the impression that he’s a tough guy who’s not bound by the polite conventions that they’re used to seeing and associate with an ineffective government.