There’s one Republican presidential candidate unhappy with the party’s choice to hold its second debate in the 2024 primary at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library: former President Donald Trump.
On his Truth Social account Tuesday, Trump seemed to question whether he’d participate in any debates in the first place while also critiquing the choice of the Simi Valley foundation because its longtime board chair, Frederick Ryan Jr., is the publisher of the Washington Post. In another post, Trump claimed that “President Ronald Reagan would not approve” of Ryan chairing the library’s board.
Of note, Ryan is Reagan’s former chief of staff and served on his re-election team as well as in other capacities.
“I see that everybody is talking about the Republican debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump campaign, before announcing them,” Trump said. “When you’re leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile networks with angry Trump & MAGA hitting anchors asking the ‘questions,’ why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Also, the second debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, publisher of the Washington Post. No!”
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel announced the Reagan Library — named after the former Republican president from California who is still revered by many in the party — would host Republicans’ second presidential debate in the primary while she was there last week.
“I firmly believe that our next president will be on that stage,” McDaniel said.
This wouldn’t be the first presidential debate Trump has skipped. In 2016, during his first run for the White House, Trump skipped a debate moderated by then-Fox News host Megyn Kelly amid a feud with the network. And a 2020 debate between Trump and then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden was canceled after Trump refused to agree to a different, virtual format…
Read the full article here