President Donald Trump may not attend any presidential debates in the 2020 general election, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Trump is reportedly hesitant to get on a debate stage because he believes the body that governs the debates, the Commission on Presidential Debates, is biased against him. Trump made a habit of complaining about circumstances surrounding debates during both the 2016 Republican primary and the 2016 general election, going so far as to say his microphone’s volume had been tampered with in a debate against Hillary Clinton.
(MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)
Now, he reportedly fears the commission would select a biased moderator for the debates, two people familiar with the matter told the Times. (RELATED: ‘They’re Not Ted Cruz’: Trump Rips Dem Primary Debates)
Trump isn’t concerned about whichever Democratic nominee he would be facing, the two people said.
While Trump found great success in the crowded Republican primary debates in 2016, he performed worse in the one-on-one debates with Clinton in the general. Clinton’s poll numbers increased after each of the three debates, and 60 percent of viewers of the third debate thought Clinton performed better, according to NYT. (RELATED: Here’s Who Talked About Trump The Most In The 4th Democratic Debate)
Only one of the 2016 moderators received praise from Trump after the debate, NBC’s Lester Holt.
“I thought Lester did great,” Trump told the Daily Caller after the first debate.