Trump steals the show by skipping Republican debate

Fox News released a statement yesterday in response to Trump’s threats to skip Thursday’s debate, the last GOP debate before Iowa’s caucuses.

The Hill reported that Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said the event would be used to raise funds for multiple veterans organizations.

Paul is returning to the debate stage after he boycotted the last Republican event earlier this month because Fox Business Network assigned him to the “undercard” stage.

Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes has defended Megyn Kelly amid the criticism from Trump, saying she’ll “absolutely be on the debate stage”. A Quinnipiac University poll published this week showed only 2 percent of likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers are undecided, but a whopping 39 percent said they might change their mind.

Trump threatened to boycott Thursday’s debate if Fox stuck with plans for Kelly to moderate again, but said it was a sarcastic statement from the network that was the final straw.

Trump’s campaign announced that instead of participating in the debate, he would hold a fund-raiser for “veterans and wounded warriors”. Trump is opposed to Fox News’ decision to use host Megyn Kelly, who he has called not “professional at all”, after testy exchanges between the two in the first Republican debate in August.

In a later interview on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor”, he told host Bill O’Reilly that she was “highly overrated”.

His rivals tried to paint his reaction – “Let them have their debate and let’s see how they do with the ratings”, Trump said – as the latest example of why he’s unfit for the White House.

Trump’s Republican presidential rivals were quick to criticize the former reality TV star, with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas blistering him in a series of tweets and accusing him of “trembling at being questioned by Kelly”.

While on the one hand Trump pulling out of the debate makes him look like a “petulant child”, Noah said he might actually be a “genius”.

“I don’t like being taken advantage of”, Trump said, referring to Fox’s refusal to dump Kelly from its panel of moderators.

Trump also continued his criticism of Kelly, who he has accused of bias against him.

“Incumbent President Jimmy Carter refused to debate Ronald Reagan and John Anderson in September of that year because he didn’t want to debate with Anderson being on the stage as well, and that didn’t really help Carter very much”, he said.

Trump then pulled out of the debate, explaining his decision the following day.

Trump stunned the political establishment Tuesday by pulling out of Fox News’ GOP debate on Thursday.

An Iowa GOP strategist called Trump’s decision a high-risk move. I think she’s a third-rate reporter.