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By Andrew Stanton
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Donald Trump fumed Tuesday over the Republican primary debates, questioning why he should participate with the other candidates.
Trump, who could be headed for a rematch against Joe Biden now that the president has announced he is running for a second term, is up against a handful of primary opponents he will have to defeat to secure the GOP nomination.
The Republican candidates are set to face off in August for their first debate, which will be held in Milwaukee. The second debate is expected to be held in Simi Valley, California, but a date has not been announced.
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In a Truth Social post on Tuesday afternoon, Trump raged about the debates, slamming the Republican National Committee for not receiving "approval" from his campaign before announcing them. The former president also asked why he should debate his opponents given his "seemingly insurmountable" lead in recent polls.
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"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?" he wrote.
Trump remains the front-runner to win his party's nomination, according to recent polling. An aggregate of polls from FiveThirtyEight found him winning 51 percent of the vote, with the other candidates splitting the remainder. His closest opponent was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not announced a campaign but averages 24.5 percent support in polls.
Trump's announced opponents—former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and radio host Larry Elder—typically poll in the single digits.
Trump also noted in his social media post that the California debate is set to be held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which is chaired by Washington Post Publisher Fred Ryan.
"NO!" Trump wrote.
Newsweek reached out by email to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee for comment.
A presidential front-runner refusing to participate in primary debates would be unprecedented in modern politics, as major candidates have debated their opponents in recent elections. (Incumbent presidents typically do not debate challengers, however.)
Trump's post drew mixed responses on Twitter. Some of his supporters, including conservative influencer Alex Bruesewitz, said the former president should not go to the debates.
"Trump is right! The debates will be totally RIGGED against Trump," he tweeted. "Trump haters Neil Cavuto and [Bret Baier] "moderating" the first debate? What a joke! They'd be just as bad as Chris Wallace was!"
Others, however, mocked Trump over the post. Attorney Ron Filipkowski said in a tweet that the post indicates Trump is "afraid to debate."
On the Democratic side, Biden is not expected to debate opponents for the nomination, despite calls from some progressives to do so. Biden is expected to easily win the Democratic nomination.
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