Donald Trump's former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany thinks her former boss is making a "miscalculation" by choosing to skip the first GOP primary debate.
The comments came after Mr Trump made it clear in a post on Truth Social that he plans to sit out the first debate in the GOP presidential primary race, citing his position as front runner and arguing that participating would only provide his opponents the chance to sell themselves by attacking him.
"Many people are asking whether or not I will be doing the DEBATES?" Mr Trump said in the post. "As everyone is aware, my Poll numbers, over a 'wonderful' field of Republican candidates, are extraordinary. In fact, I am leading the runner up, whoever that may now be, by more than 50 Points. Reagan didn't do it, and neither did others. People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I'M YOUR MAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Mr Trump will instead sit down for an interview with Tucker Carlson that will be posted to X/Twitter at the same time as the debate.
Ms McEnany appeared on Fox News on Monday, where she said the former president was likely making a misstep by allowing his opponents to lash out at him unchallenged on a national stage.
"The takeaway from that is this is a huge political miscalculation," she said. "You give others the opportunity to shine. You give others two hours to throw lobs at you. I know former President Trump can dance across the debate stage, can defend himself. But you're not there to do it himself, you're counting on maybe others."
The "others" Ms McEnany mentioned may be a reference to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The governor's debate strategy was discovered on the internet and the details published in a New York Times story last week. His strategists advised him to "hammer" anti-woke businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been gaining on him in the polls, and to defend Mr Trump during the debate.
It is unclear if Mr DeSantis has decided to pivot away from those tactics since they were revealed.
Ms McEnany also worried if Mr Trump skipping the debate would constitute a "strategic risk" by setting a precedent that would make it acceptable for Joe Biden to skip debates with his predecessor during the general election.
Mr Trump is currently leading FiveThirtyEight's national average poll tracker with 53.8 per cent support among Republican voters. The next closest candidate is Mr DeSantis, with 15 per cent.
Other candidates, including Mr Ramaswamy, Mr Trump's former vice president, Mike Pence, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are all polling in the single digits.
While he sits comfortably at the head of the pack, Mr Trump has a very unique problem that none of his opponents are likely to contend with: months of coverage of his upcoming trials for numerous alleged crimes, many of which are tied to his actions as president.
