Countdown to the Iowa Caucuses

“When you’re not treated properly you have to stick up for your rights, and if I’m your leader we’re going to stick up for the rights of the country”, Trump said. Trump said of the Fox News debate.

Trump boycotted the debate after Fox News issued a sarcastic statement mocking him for attempting to have Megyn Kelly removed from the moderator team.

Trump began assailing the Calgary-born Cruz over questions about his citizenship status earlier this month.

Fox News will still certainly argue that the debate was a big deal for the network as it was the second highest-rated telecast in the network’s 20-year history.

The audience for Thursday night’s face-off will not match the sky-high audience from the first debate of the primary election back in August, which broke records with 25 million viewers.

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen.

Instead of attending the debate with seven other Republican presidential candidates, Trump held a rally at Drake University in Des Moines that raised some $6 million that will be donated to local veterans’ organizations.

And if you don’t believe me, watch Colbert’s full takedown of The Donald below.

Republican Donald Trump is continuing his unconventional campaign by traveling to New Hampshire as his rivals scramble to make closing arguments in the days before the Iowa caucuses.

“I kid when I say this, but you may be feeling badly … you may have lost your job, you may be in a major state of depression”, Trump said.

Speculating on what skipping the last debate before the Iowa Caucuses might mean for his presidential aspirations, Trump admitted he wasn’t sure, but didn’t seem very anxious.

Turns out, Fox News didn’t have to worry about its debate ratings without Donald Trump. An Oct. 28 GOP debate on CNBC drew 14 million viewers, a November 10 throwdown on Fox Business Network scored 13.5 million, and 11 million tuned into the January 14 gathering on the same network. I always enjoy getting up on that stage, and mixing it up with other folks in this race. And I wanted to do it, but frankly, I actually asked them, I said give five million dollars to the vets, and I’ll consider it.

“I don’t know, jokingly”, Trump responded. “The thing about Donald Trump is he appeals to untraditional voters”.