'He's starting to seem like he's above it all': Former Trump aide on abandoning the debates
While former communications director Stephanie Grisham agreed her former boss wouldn't look presidential at this week's Republican primary debate, she warned he has to be careful as he moves forward that he doesn't appear holier than the other candidates.
Speaking to CNN's Jim Acosta, with former Homeland Security Adviser to Mike Pence, Olivia Troye, Grisham explained that Trump's poll numbers might have him winning, but he shouldn't take it all for granted.
"I think there's two schools of thought: the strategist in me would tell him not to do it," Grisham said of the debates. "He is so far ahead. Why go up there and get such a contrast between these other candidates and himself which I think they would show him to be, most of them, a lot more presidential than he is? However, I do think by skipping so many events he is starting to seem like he is above it all and that is not a good thing, especially in a Republican primary. You have people, as you played in the clip really want to meet and say hello and hear from the candidates. So, I think in a way if he continues down this path it will be a mistake."
There was speculation among Georgia political strategists that Trump could surrender to Fulton County during the debate as a kind of "counter-programming."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
While the first state is the Iowa Caucuses, Trump didn't win the Iowa Caucus in 2016, but they still voted for him in 2016 and again in 2020.
Troye called the debate dodge "typical Trump" for him to "create his own rules and be the rule breaker." It's why some of the rules set up are "a joke," she said.
"He is not going to follow them. This whole pledge of allegiance to whoever is the nominee he is probably not going to follow that anyway," she continued. "Why are we going along with it? Rona McDaniel has been reporting she is not thrilled how this is playing out, but this is Trump's party and what are they going to do? They have to navigate around this. You know, don't discount that he may show up at the last minute. I don't know."
Trump has scheduled a "pre-taped" interview with fired Fox host Tucker Carlson, who has a kind of streaming show that was successful in its first episode but has lost about half of the audience, Forbes reported earlier in Aug. His former home time slot has regained much of the audience it lost to Newsmax after he was let go.
Troye confessed she's not even certain where Carlson's interview will air.
"I haven't really seen that is actually officially confirmed on what platform it will show up on. I think, you know, TBD," she said. "It would be nice to see these other candidates have the opportunity to actually engage with him instead of debating the invisible person out there as a front-runner."
See the full conversation with the former White House aides below or at the link here.
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