Trump says he’d debate a GOP rival ‘if it’s very close’

Former President Trump said Friday that he’d be willing to debate one of his Republican primary rivals if the race is “very close” after next month’s New Hampshire primary.

He also signaled he would participate in general election debates run by Commission on Presidential Debates, which he has often criticized.

Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump if he would do a debate with any of his Republican challengers if there is only one left in the race after the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary.

“Yeah, I would, if it’s very close,” Trump said. “I would debate that Republican, yeah. But it’s not close.”

Trump has declined to participate in any of the four primary debates that have been held thus far, citing his massive lead in the polls and suggesting there would be no benefit to him appearing on stage with the other candidates. 

He has not paid a political price for his decision, as the former president is still leading in national polls by an average of 50 percentage points, though his lead is smaller in state level polls. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in particular has started to close the gap on Trump in New Hampshire.

Trump also said he would look forward to debating President Biden prior to a general election, even if it were organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Trump and other Republicans have chastised the nonprofit group that organizes the debates dating back to the 2016 election cycle.

“They’re totally corrupt. They’re totally Democrat-leaning — that’s being nice when I use the word leaning. They are totally corrupt, and they’re terrible,” Trump said. “With that being said, I would do 20 debates, even if it was organized by them. I’ll do as many debates as they want. I’d do a debate every night with this guy. But he’ll never show up to a debate.”

Trump has railed against the commission, pointing to a technical issue with his microphone during a 2016 debate, complaining about moderators and blasting a decision to cancel a debate with Biden in 2020 because of concerns about COVID-19.

The Republican National Committee signaled last year it would not have its eventual nominee participate in debates run by the commission.

Some pundits have suggested Trump’s decision to skip the GOP primary debates could give Biden justification to opt out of the general election debates.

A Biden campaign official earlier this month said the president’s team “will have those conversations” about debates in the future.