Former President Donald Trump will skip the third Republican presidential debate in November, even after being nicknamed “Donald Duck” for ducking out on the previous two, The Post has confirmed.
Trump will again fail to appear on stage with his GOP rivals for the debate in Miami on Nov. 8, one day after several states hold their primaries, sources confirmed to The Post.
The decision comes after his rivals lambasted the 77-year-old at the second GOP debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. Wednesday night, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie calling Trump “Donald Duck” and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called him out for “missing in action.”
The former president opted not to attend the debate, and instead rallied in Michigan.
DeSantis later challenged Trump to a one-on-one debate.
“You know what, maybe we can say since the former president didn’t come here, maybe he’d be willing to do one with you and I,” DeSantis told Fox News’ Sean Hannity after the second GOP primary debate Wednesday night.
But the former president has repeatedly said he will not appear at the debates, as he maintains a hefty lead over his rivals.
“These are folks that are nipping at the heels of the frontrunner, they’re nowhere close,” advisor Chris LaCivita said in an interview with CBS News following the debate Wednesday.
“As a matter of fact, if you took the combined polling weight of every single candidate on stage tonight and paired it up against Donald Trump, they’d be losing by 20 points,” he claimed.
“So I mean, these guys aren’t worth our time.”
When asked about the jabs the seven rivals made at the second debate, LaCivita replied, “I don’t think there’s anyone who wouldn’t say that Donald Trump doesn’t push back.
“But again, at the same time, when you look at the combined polling weight compared to the president, they’re gonna exchange numbers among themselves — they’re not coming into the president’s polling position in Iowa.
“The Republican primary voters make the decision, and their decision is Donald Trump,” he added. “That’s who they want, so everything else is a sideshow.”
LaCivita had earlier issued a statement saying the Republican National Convention should put a stop to the debates before Wednesday’s event had even ended.
He complained that the debate was “as boring and inconsequential as the first” and said “nothing that was said will change the dynamics of the primary contest being dominated by President Trump.
“The RNC should immediately put an end to any further primary debates so we can train our fire on Crooked Joe Biden and quit wasting time and money that could be going to evicting Biden from the White House,” he said.
The former president topped a recent New Hampshire state-wide poll, with 39% of the vote. He also maintains a lead over DeSantis among GOP voters by a margin of 62% to 12%.
And in a match-up between Trump and Democrat President Joe Biden, the former president won 52% to 42% — up significantly from Trump’s 49% to 43% lead during a similar survey from the outlets in May.
