# Trump to skip debate **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 27, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323 "2016-01-27T00:36:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/101 "2016-01-27T19:11:06Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’m having trouble understanding this. Are you saying his refusal to participate in the debate is due to thin skinned sensitivity and/or vindictiveness more than it is a calculated move? I have no way of knowing, it might be both, but it’s a fact that the inability to take criticism, and retribution against his critics and detractors, has been one of Trump’s defining attributes for years, and has been very prominent this election cycle. How can you possibly rule out pure vindictiveness against Fox and Kelly as one of the motivating factors, given Trump’s history, or perhaps even the sole motivating factor? On the other side of the coin, not appearing at all poses risks, too, whereas Trump’s perception of his debate performances – and especially the last one by most critics’ estimations – suggest that this would be an opportunity to solidify his lead even further. IOW, if he could calm down his pathological need for revenge, a rational view might suggest that engaging in the debate might be the preferred risk/benefit path. > [@Bone](#): > > This is poorly crafted fantasy. OK, so he might have relented if he had received an abject apology from Megyn Kelly and Fox News, and a promise from Megyn to be good in the future. Is that any different, really? That’s what Hugh Hewitt had to do to get Trump back on his show. And it’s absolutely shameful, the very opposite of journalistic integrity. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/102 "2016-01-27T19:18:05Z")
Why would you assume it’s vindictiveness rather than garden-variety self-interest? If a candidate can ensure positive coverage by throwing a tantrum, the candidate is stupid if he doesn’t throw said tantrum. We’re talking about Fox News. Journalistic integrity is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/103 "2016-01-27T19:22:56Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Why would you assume it’s vindictiveness rather than garden-variety self-interest? If a candidate can ensure positive coverage by throwing a tantrum, the candidate is stupid if he doesn’t throw said tantrum. Is he getting that positive coverage, though? Most of what I’ve seen says that he’s skipping because he’s mad at Kelly for asking tough questions. If that’s positive, then I really have fallen in the rabbit hole. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/104 "2016-01-27T19:27:02Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I have no way of knowing, it might be both, but it’s a fact that the inability to take criticism, and retribution against his critics and detractors, has been one of Trump’s defining attributes for years, and has been very prominent this election cycle. How can you possibly rule out pure vindictiveness against Fox and Kelly as one of the motivating factors, given Trump’s history, or perhaps even the sole motivating factor? I don’t rule it out as one of the motivating factors, but I think it’s unrealistic to think a person like Trump acting impulsively in this fashion without also considering the downstream impacts. Consider what’s already happened - the narrative shifts to him, during the debate and the after analysis will be framed with respect to his absence. It doesn’t have to be a brilliant tactical move, but it could be motivated purely by strategy. I just think it’s silly to ignore areas of acumen because he is otherwise a buffoon. It’s like saying he doesn’t really want to win…it’s just a weird interpretation that doesn’t square with reality. I can imagine Trump saying something like this to Fox - **Trump** : \*You know what, fuck you, that’s what. \* And the crowd goes wild. Is that vindictive or playing to his strengths? > [@](#): > > OK, so he might have relented if he had received an abject apology from Megyn Kelly and Fox News, and a promise from Megyn to be good in the future. Is that any different, really? That’s what Hugh Hewitt had to do to get Trump back on his show. And it’s absolutely shameful, the very opposite of journalistic integrity. The reason why I call it fantasy is because you are inferring way beyond what is supportable. You’re trying to get in Trump’s head and concocted a fanciful narrative. Megyn Kelly banned for life from moderating debates. Megyn Kelly fired. Trump believing in special rules about the way the world works. Trump having a fragile ego. It would be amusing if you weren’t actually being earnest. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/105 "2016-01-27T19:29:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Most of what I’ve seen says that he’s skipping because he’s mad at Kelly for asking tough questions. If that’s positive, then I really have fallen in the rabbit hole. That’s the point: Trump’s previous tantrum apparently _did_ guarantee positive future coverage from Hugh Hewitt (I have no idea who he is and don’t much care, so I am relying on **wolfpup** ’s post). So by threatening to skip the Fox debate Trump can perhaps force Ailes/Murdoch/Kelly to promise to report positively _from now on_. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/106 "2016-01-27T19:29:33Z")
Not to mention the guy is a fucking hypocrite. He wasn’t too complimentary about Romney missing a debate back in 2012 in an interview with, yep… Megyn Kelly. Oh the irony. https://video.foxnews.com/v/video-embed.html?video_id=1318694783001&ref=twitter.com ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/107 "2016-01-27T19:31:50Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Is he getting that positive coverage, though? Most of what I’ve seen says that he’s skipping because he’s mad at Kelly for asking tough questions. If that’s positive, then I really have fallen in the rabbit hole. I am sure his supporters see it as “Have you stopped beating your wife?” questions, not “tough” ones. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/108 "2016-01-27T19:31:53Z")
I think it’s thin-skinned vindictiveness _and_ what he needs to do. He can’t be seen to get held up for ridicule by Fox and then still meekly come along to the debate, or go and whine about it while standing on their stage and boosting their ratings. That’s the kind of thing that Jeb does, which causes him to look like a beta male, or an omega really. To put it another way, it may be true that Trump would have been better off, and preferred it, if Fox had not sent those tweets, and Trump went to the debate. But once they did tweet that ridicule about him, he really had no choice but to walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/109 "2016-01-27T19:35:27Z")
There’s no poetry or prose in Twitter. The Donald should once and for all put on his big boy pants and stop his twitter bullshit because the media will just do the same. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/110 "2016-01-27T19:36:38Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That’s the point: Trump’s previous tantrum apparently _did_ guarantee positive future coverage from Hugh Hewitt (I have no idea who he is and don’t much care, so I am relying on **wolfpup** ’s post). > > So by threatening to skip the Fox debate Trump can perhaps force Ailes/Murdoch/Kelly to promise to report positively _from now on_. I see. I misunderstood your point. Breaking news from FOX: Donald Trump is positively a jerk! How’s that? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/111 "2016-01-27T19:39:27Z")
> [@Andiethewestie](#): > > Not to mention the guy is a fucking hypocrite. He wasn’t too complimentary about Romney missing a debate back in 2012 in an interview with, yep… Megyn Kelly. > > Oh the irony. Dude, there’s clips of him praising Clinton and calling for universal health care. Skipping the debate hypocrisy isn’t a spec on the map. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/112 "2016-01-27T19:54:32Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Reported Qin Cool story, bro. ---
**Author:** ![Andiethewestie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ba9def/32.png) [@Andiethewestie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andiethewestie)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/113 "2016-01-27T19:54:58Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Dude, there’s clips of him praising Clinton and calling for universal health care. Skipping the debate hypocrisy isn’t a spec on the map. Dude the clip I posted was about Romney missing a debate Trump was moderating in 2012. Trump called it “Lack of Courage” …especially fun how he said he wasn’t a better moderator than Megyn. 🆒Here’s the link again [ideo.foxnews.com/v/1318694783001/trump-talks-2012/?playlist\_id=86858&intcmp=obnetwork#sp=show-clips](http://ideo.foxnews.com/v/1318694783001/trump-talks-2012/?playlist_id=86858&intcmp=obnetwork#sp=show-clips) ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/114 "2016-01-27T20:08:27Z")
So? I didn’t deny it was hypocrisy - just said it’s low on the totem pole. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/115 "2016-01-27T20:19:01Z")
Is it a hijack to bet a nickle Ms Kelly will be defended up to the debate, but that after her contract won’t be renewed? That if she stays with FOX, it won’t be in the NY Market after that? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/116 "2016-01-27T20:21:46Z")
Seems like a bad bet. How has she upset her Fox overlords? ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/117 "2016-01-27T20:24:07Z")
Whoever it was at FOX who decided it would be a good idea to attack and insult Trump, a valid Presidential contender and soon to be quest at a FOX debate, via twitter is a moron. They had to have been drunk when they tweeted about President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and Iran’s supreme leader. _“We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president — a nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.”_ That is something that a Google or Yahoo chat room inmate might say, not something one would expect from the leader of a major network. :eek: Trump is not running away from anyone. Trump is in control. FOX, and the other media outlets, NEED Trump more than he needs them. It’s amusing to see most of the talking heads on the main stream media outlets trying to second guess what Trump really means or what Trump will do next. \*Mr. Lewandowski said that instead of attending Thursday’s debate, Mr. Trump would hold an event in Iowa, raising money for the wounded soldiers in the state. He cited recent statements by the network about Mr. Trump as a reason for the decision to withdraw from the event. “They’ve been very clear about what their position is about Mr. Trump,” Mr. Lewandowski said. “They’ve put out a series of statements in the last three or four hours about what they thought about Mr. Trump.” “Mr. Trump said ’That’s fine. Fox is entitled to their opinion.’ He’s entitled to do what he wants,” Mr. Lewandowski said.\* [http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/26/donald-trump-will-skip-next-republican-debate-his-campaign-manager-says/](http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2016/01/26/donald-trump-will-skip-next-republican-debate-his-campaign-manager-says/) We live in interesting times. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/118 "2016-01-27T20:27:16Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > No hiding in a veterans themed charity event will not save him from being mocked: “The man who mocked Senator McCain’s war service while never having served himself now looks to veterans as cover as he hides …” Any such mockery will fall flat, given how much of the GOP base disdains McCain as a yellow-bellied RINO. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/119 "2016-01-27T20:30:44Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Seems like a bad bet. How has she upset her Fox overlords? If Megyn Kelly’s viewership numbers go down, she’s toast. There are lot’s of people waiting in the wings to take over a evening new reader/commentator/reporter slot. If Kelly’s numbers remain high, she keeps her job and time slot. Trump didn’t want Kelly moderating the debate but he was still willing to show up. It was the ridiculous tweet: “\*We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president — a nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.” \* which caused Trump to ignore FOX’s debate. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2016, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323/120 "2016-01-27T21:13:10Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Ted Cruz, in a “fuck it, if craziness works for him, why not me?” mood, just [challenged Trump to a 1-on-1 debate sometime prior to Iowa.](http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-primaries/267125-cruz-challenges-trump-to-one-on-one-debate) If both survive the _lirpa_… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-to-skip-debate/744323.md?page=7)