WASHINGTON — A rising number of Republicans are trying to pressure Donald Trump to join a debate with his GOP rivals, though the former president refuses to commit to any such event.
Reince Priebus, a former Trump White House Chief of Staff and Republican Party chairman, on Sunday told ABC’s “This Week” that taunts from rivals like former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie could entice Trump into the ring.
“I think it’ll happen,” Priebus said, adding that the nation is in the midst of “middle finger politics … the world of Wrestlemania politics, the world where, you know, attention is what everyone is seeking in order to get support.”
The Christie factor
Christie, Trump’s most vociferous critic on the Republican campaign trail, has badgered the front runner over debates, suggesting he is afraid to joust with others over items ranging from his two indictments to abortion policy.
“These are the kind of issues we need to be discussing on the debate stage,” Christie said Sunday on ABC .
Trump: Why should I give them a chance?
Trump has repeatedly suggested he will skip Republican debates this cycle, starting with an Aug. 23 event in Milwaukee.
Citing his large lead in Republican polls, Trump told Fox News last week: “Why would I let these people take shots at me?”
Trump’s indictments
Trump does enjoy significant leads in Republican polls, leads that have grown in spite of his two indictments − a hush money case in New York state and a federal obstruction of justice and classified documents case in Florida.
The GOP frontrunner is also under investigation in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., over efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. Pollsters say he is benefitting from Republicans who are buying his clams that the investigations are a plot by Democrats to damage his presidential bid.
A new poll gives Trump 51%
An NBC News poll released Sunday said that 51% of Republican primary voters make Trump their first choice for the GOP nomination, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 22%, former Vice President at Mike Pence at 7% and Christie at 5%. No other candidate topped 4%.
But the poll also said independent voters are increasingly opposed to Trump over the indictments, and they’re the ones who will likely decide the general election against Biden. The survey found that half of Republican primary voters say they would consider a leader other than Trump.
‘Get in the ring, pal’
Debates are probably the best chance for the other candidates to catch up with Trump, a challenge that would be even tougher if he refused to participate.
In a tweet last week, Christie noted that Trump said it would be unfair for him to debate low-rated opponents.
“Crybabies and losers say life isn’t fair. And Trump is both,” Christie said. “Want to be President? Then get in the ring pal.”
