GOP presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said he would prefer that former President Trump not participate in the first Republican presidential debate because he would be a distraction from discussing the issues facing the country.
Hutchinson said in an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Thursday that significant policy differences exist among the Republican candidates for president, but Trump would divert all the attention from policy discussions if he attends.
“I’d just as soon Donald Trump not participate in the debate simply because we want to talk about the issues,” he said.
Hutchinson’s comments come after Trump said in an interview with Newsmax that he would not sign the loyalty pledge required by the Republican National Committee (RNC) for candidates to participate in GOP debates.
“Why would I sign a pledge if there are people on there that I wouldn’t have? I wouldn’t have certain people as somebody that I would endorse,” Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly hinted that he might skip the first debate later this month and said in the Newsmax interview that he would officially announce his plans next week.
The RNC is also requiring candidates to meet certain polling requirements and receive donations from at least 40,000 unique donors, including 200 in at least 20 states and territories, to be able to participate. A total of eight candidates, including Trump, have qualified for the debate so far.
Hutchinson has met the polling requirements but said he is more than halfway to reaching the donor requirement. He said people should donate to his campaign so someone who will “speak the truth” about Trump will be on the debate stage.
“It’d be nice to be able to have that serious policy discussion, but if he participates, he will be the focus, and I’ll be out there speaking the truth about he’s not the right leader for our country,” Hutchinson said.