Trump suggests GOP rivals debate for chance to be his running mate

Former President Trump on Monday suggested his Republican presidential rivals debate for the chance to be his running mate, amid questions over whether Trump will join other GOP White House hopefuls at the party’s first primary debate next month.

“Let them debate so I can see who I MIGHT consider for Vice President!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The former president is running for another four years in the White House after losing his reelection bid in 2020 to President Biden. 

Trump, who is polling as the GOP front-runner for 2024, has suggested that he doesn’t need to participate in the debates, the first of which is slated for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee. 

At a rally in Erie, Pa., over the weekend, Trump was met with a chorus of “no” when he asked the crowd whether he should take part in the debate. 

“Am I going to stand up there by guys with zero, 1, 2, 3 percent, maybe 4, and have them ask me hostile questions?” he asked Saturday. Trump has argued that Fox News, which will host the first debate, is a “hostile network.”

Many in his party are split on whether he should attend. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and several of Trump’s GOP rivals are among those pushing for him to get on the stage next month. 

A Trump adviser earlier this month said the former president hadn’t yet made up his mind on whether to participate in the Republican presidential primary debates but said that it’s “unlikely” that he participates in at least the first two events. Trump also threatened to skip debates several times during his 2016 and 2020 White House bids.