Trump will fundraise while opponents debate
WASHINGTON− It doesn’t look like Donald Trump will be doing a big public event opposite next week’s Republican presidential debate, but instead is planning to host a private fundraiser instead.
Trump and his political committees are holding a closed-door event with donors in Hallandale Beach, Fla., on Wednesday, the campaign said, the same day his Republican rivals debate in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Trump, who has skipped all of the debates this election cycle, has previously staged varying public events as his GOP primary rivals clash.
A pre-taped interview with commentator Tucker Carlson, a speech in Michigan, and a rally in Hialeah, Fla., competed with GOP debates in Milwaukee, Simi Valley, Calif,. and Hialeah, Fla.
This time around, CNN reported, “a text message sent from his campaign to supporters Sunday announced the ‘VIP reception’ and told recipients that if they donated to Trump’s campaign, they would be automatically entered to win a trip to meet the former president at an end-of-year reception on December 6, the same day as the debate.”
The Trump campaign would not comment on why Trump is not counter-programming the Alabama debate, or whether the former president will add events to his schedule.
The former president says he has skipped the debates because he has such a big lead in the polls. He and his aides have also called on the Republican Party to end the debates, but more are being planned before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary.
Back in June, Trump told Fox News that “when you’re 40 points up ... Why would I let these people take shots at me?”