At this point, it's still up in the air as to whether or not Donald Trump will actually participate in the first Republican primary presidential debate, but he's definitely enjoying the tease.
Not sure the same can be said for more Republicans who haven't pledged their undying loyalty to him, however. I feel like most GOP voters who plan to support Republican candidates not named Trump are probably getting pretty tired of Trump's will-he-or-won't-he games.
And this probably won't do much to endear them to Trump going forward:
🚨President Trump makes a new statement on who his VP might be and on the debates. pic.twitter.com/ibBabNA42m
— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) July 31, 2023
OK, so first of all, there's the grossly outsized ego factor.
I think we all know he can't defend his term without sounding like a Democrat.
— Zachsquatch (@Zachsquatch86) July 31, 2023
"let" them, thank you your highness https://t.co/GzluLRPpf2
— cc (@cc_fla) July 31, 2023
I mean, geez. He makes it sound like any of his rivals would be lucky to have the chance to lick his boots as his running mate. We're talking people he's insulted at every opportunity and would absolutely have no problem throwing under the bus at the first sign of insufficient fealty, by the way. Any candidate standing on that debate stage who would go on to accept his invitation to be his VP would immediately lose respect of anti-Trump GOP voters. Mike Pence sort of got away with it at first because he accepted Trump's offer before Trump had actually started his term and had a chance to go fully off the deep end, beyond the point of no return. But anyone who'd accept an offer from Trump now, after everything Trump has said and done since leaving the White House would have to be pretty spineless and would definitely be undeserving of wide respect among Republican voters who don't ever want to go back to a Trump presidency.
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So there's that.
The ego thing is probably what stands out the most on first glance at Trump's post. But if you think about it just a little longer, you'll get to the heart of it, which is that when he says "Let them debate," what he likely means is "I'm too scared to participate in a debate against anyone else."
Trump chickening out of the debates? pic.twitter.com/iDmGeLmWLG
— Justin Hart (@justin_hart) July 31, 2023
It sure sounds like it. Mr. "But He Fights!" has said several times before that he has no interest in participating in the debates, ostensibly because he's so far ahead of the rest of the pack that there's really no need for him to participate. But let's face it: it's not a confident person who would turn down the opportunity to demonstrate his supposed superiority to his rivals. It's almost as if Trump knows that he couldn't outfox or out-debate, say, Ron DeSantis and would rather avoid the very real risk of humiliating himself on the debate stage, and it's almost as if Trump knows that if he's not speaking before an audience completely made up of devoted supporters, he may get some pushback and then wouldn't know how to handle it without resorting to name-calling and thinly veiled threats. What's funny is that Trump, for all his ignorance, is well aware that his diehard supporters will back him no matter what. So all he really has to lose by getting creamed in a debate is the respect of other candidates' supporters, which he's either already lost or never had to begin with.
In other words “Hey Joe? You got any room in your basement?”
— Austin Rich (@samaustinrich) July 31, 2023
It really is very Bidenesque, isn't it? Joe Biden's handlers have made a point of keeping Biden out of the public sphere because when he's in it, he has a tendency to sound like an idiot or a liar or both. If Trump were confident in his debate skills, he wouldn't hesitate to put himself and his tremendous virility out there.
But it doesn't sound like he's willing to do that, and if that's in fact the case, what other conclusion is there to draw than that the man's just scared?
I think we all know he can't defend his term without sounding like a Democrat.
— Zachsquatch (@Zachsquatch86) July 31, 2023
He can't defend his primary strategy of attacking his GOP opponents from the Left, either. If you think about it, he really has no choice but to hunker down at Mar-a-Lago during the debates.
So the coward is staying home. Pathetic.
— Florida Dad (@FloridadadD) July 31, 2023
How pathetic.
— Ben Inabinet (@ben_inabinet60) July 31, 2023
The truth hurts, but it's still the truth.
What an arrogant statement to make.
— MarybethinFlorida 🇺🇸🐊We Are SW Florida (@marybeth5025) July 31, 2023
But then again what else should one expect from a gutless malignant narcissist . . .
. . . Who thinks he’s too good to have to show up at a debate & defend his record in front of the American people? https://t.co/Mtq5FalP98 pic.twitter.com/wNc6dYDsdj
Sad!
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