Though absent, Trump likely to star in debate
CLIVE, Iowa - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he won't participate in the last GOP debate tonight before Monday's caucuses - but he's still likely to be center stage as other candidates make their closing arguments.
CLIVE, Iowa - Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump says he won't participate in the last GOP debate tonight before Monday's caucuses - but he's still likely to be center stage as other candidates make their closing arguments.
"What does it say when Donald tells the men and women of Iowa, 'My time is more important than your time?' " Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said at a campaign rally Wednesday night.
Trump says he won't debate because Fox News wouldn't comply with his demands to remove the journalist Megyn Kelly as a moderator. Trump has complained that he faced unfair questioning from Kelly during the first GOP debate in August.
Trump plans to hold a fund-raiser for veterans at the same time as tonight's debate (9 p.m. eastern time).
Cruz, Trump's chief competitor in Iowa, taunted him on the subject: "Apparently Mr. Trump considers Megyn Kelly very, very scary. And you know Donald is a fragile soul."
Cruz has even challenged Trump to a one-on-one debate.
Other candidates piled on. "I think it shows that when he gets criticized, he can't take it," New Jersey's Gov. Christie told Sean Hannity on Fox News Wednesday night. "And I think that's a shame, and I don't think as president you're going to be able to deal with it that way. I mean, there's no other conclusion to come to, why else would he do this?"
Christie added that Trump gets plenty of coverage from Fox. "He sits in his jammies in Trump Tower and phones in," he said.
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who's polling third in Iowa and also doing well in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary on Feb. 9, told a crowd of several hundred supporters Wednesday that Republicans wouldn't win in November "if this campaign becomes a sideshow."
"We've all been entertained by some of the things that have happened over the last few months," Rubio said at a bar in West Des Moines. "We've all watched some of the theatrics that go on, even up to today: Who's going to show up, who's not going to show up, who's challenged who to what. All that's very interesting and makes for good television."
"It doesn't solve our problems," Rubio continued. "Our problems are real. And we need to confront them."
Trump, as he is wont to do, responded on Twitter: "The 'debate' tonight will be a total disaster - low ratings with advertisers and advertising rates dropping like a rock," he wrote. "I hate to see this."
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