Trump says he won’t sign GOP loyalty pledge, hints he’ll skip debate

Former President Donald Trump said he wouldn’t sign the loyalty pledge that could be a requirement for participating within the upcoming first Republican presidential primary debate.

Trump has already met the opposite criteria, including minimum donor and polling thresholds, to take part in the talk set for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.

But Trump, the clear front-runner for the Republican nomination, said Wednesday night that he wouldn’t sign a candidate pledge agreeing to support the eventual party nominee, irrespective of who it’s.

“I would not sign the pledge. Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I would not have?” Trump asked in an interview on Newsmax.

“So that they want you to sign a pledge, but I can name three or 4 those who I would not support for President. So right there there is a problem,” Trump said.

The previous president has repeatedly signaled he plans to skip the debates, contending that there was no point in exposing himself to a barrage of attacks from his rivals who’re far behind him within the polls.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s nearest competitor in the first field, announced Wednesday that he had signed the GOP loyalty pledge.

Asked on Wednesday night if he would join the talk, Trump said, “I’ll let or not it’s known next week.”

“But look, I’m leading by 50 and 55 points over DeSanctimonious,” Trump said, deploying one in all the derisive nicknames he has used for the governor. Trump also claimed he was “leading by so much” over President Joe Biden within the polls.

During his first presidential campaign, Trump initially refused to sign an identical pledge in 2015 before eventually relenting. Several months later, once the GOP field had been whittled all the way down to just Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump went back on his pledge.

“No I do not,” Trump said in response to an issue in March 2016 about whether he intended to maintain his promise to the party.