DONALD Trump said yesterday he will skip this week’s first Republican presidential debate, arguing that Americans know him well so there’s no need for a public showdown with his rivals for the White House.

In a message on his platform Truth Social, Trump touted what he called a hugely successful record as president and what he described as his popularity among the American people.

“I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” he said.

The first debate in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination is scheduled for Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In his post, Trump noted the latest in a wave of polls showing him far out ahead of the Republican field, including one by CBS News published yesterday.

It said 62% of those polled for the survey would vote for him even though he has been indicted four times this year, including on charges he tried to subvert US democracy by scheming to overturn the 2020 election and stay in power despite his loss to Joe Biden.

Trump’s closest contender in the CBS poll was Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at 16%. The rest of those in the field are polling in the single digits.

Trump wrote that DeSantis is “crashing like an ailing bird.”

“The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump said, citing issues including energy, border security and the military, and the economy. – AFP, August 21, 2023.