Trump not backing down from Fox debate boycott

For all I know, this latest move by the Trump campaign, demanding that FNC remove Kelly from the panel of moderators may be just another clever ploy to control the media coverage of events heading into the Iowa caucuses next week.

With 48 hours to go before the faceoff, campaign manager Corey Lewandowski confirmed Trump’s decision Tuesday evening after a press conference in which Trump lashed out at Kelly and said she’d been “toying” with him.

The stage is set for Thursday’s Fox News Channel final debate ahead of the Iowa caucuses – but front-runner Donald Trump won’t be there. “Let’s see how much money Fox is going to make on the debate without me”, he added.

Instead of the debate, Trump says he’ll do an event that same night in Iowa that will raise money for wounded warriors instead. “I think we’ll have the best debate we’ve ever had”, Paul said.

Donald Trump, who’s planning to boycott Thursday’s Fox News/Google debate, once criticized Republican candidates who refused to attend a forum he tried to put together.

In a separate interview on Fox, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson said it was time to “stop worrying about personalities and start worrying about solutions”.

Jeb Bush, the former governor of Florida, wrote “Exactly” on Twitter when retweeting a statement from the conservative journalist Erick Erickson. “Without me they’d have no ratings!”

Trump arguably has the most to lose on Thursday night since polls show him in a commanding position in the Republican race for president.

Trump, pressed on his plans to build a wall along the US-Mexican border and deport many illegal immigrants, defended his proposal and said he would be able to persuade the US Congress to go along with his plan. “So let them have their debate and let’s see how they do with the ratings”, Trump said.

While Trump has threatened to skip debates in the past and not gone through with the threat, a sarcastic statement from Fox appeared to push him over the edge.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was one of several presidential candidates to knock Trump for being “terrified” of Kelly.

He said he would be “making a decision” but that he probably won’t be participating. “Because when you’re winning, you don’t want to stir the pot”, CNN anchor John Berman said on Tuesday’s “New Day”. “Her show has been increasingly negative toward Mr. Trump”.

His absence would change the balance of the debate and give his rivals free shots to attack Trump.

Kelly moderated the first debate of the campaign cycle, in August, when she was tough on Trump.