I am dismayed that Donald Trump seems to be adopting the tactics of the Biden-dominated DNC and rejecting the opportunity for voters to hear directly from candidates for their parties' nomination in a presidential debate.  In a post on Truth Social, he writes:

I see that everybody is talking about the Republican Debates, but nobody got my approval, or the approval of the Trump Campaign, before announcing them. When you're leading by seemingly insurmountable numbers, and you have hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP & MAGA hating anchors asking the "questions," why subject yourself to being libeled and abused? Also, the Second Debate is being held at the Reagan Library, the Chairman of which is, amazingly, Fred Ryan, Publisher of The Washington Post. NO!

Every honest observer of politics realizes that Biden must shun debates because he is afflicted with dementia and cannot even announce his candidacy for re-election in a live event.  Many progressives and Democrats are appalled by this.

The DNC refusing to hold a single primary debate is undemocratic and robs the voters of choice.

No one who feels confident in their record and/or ideas would hesitate to stand on them.

The DNC should hold debates.

This is supposed to be a democratic process.

— Nina Turner (@ninaturner) April 24, 2023

DNC has already announced that it will not allow any debates in 2024 primary. Biden is not to be challenged. Everyone on the Democratic side must shut up and fall in line. Not having debates is undemocratic and ridiculous. No progressive should agree to this kind of power grab.

— Cenk Uygur (@cenkuygur) April 24, 2023

If Trump is the nominee, Biden (assuming he still runs and is the nominee) will refuse to debate him for the same reason he doesn't want to debate Democrat challengers.  But by rejecting Republican debates, Trump loses the ability to chastise Biden on this point and even raises the prospect of his own mental impairment for age-related reasons.  Certainly, that's a point that Biden's puppet masters will want to emphasize.

Trump's attitude is rather imperious, suggesting that his permission is necessary before even announcing debates.  Since when do parties need to obtain approval from candidates to schedule debates?

The Right Scoop suggests that Trump is setting up a bargaining process:

I think a likelier rationale is that Trump is trying to leverage his candidacy to have more influence over the debates. Trump will suggest that he's not showing up in order to get some changes he wants to see happen during the debate...or something to that end.

That's plausible, but my sense is that Trump is outraged at the very idea that anyone with gravity in the party would challenge him for the nomination.  By this I mean Ron DeSantis, against whom Trump appears to have declared total war, ever resorting to Democrat talking points to attack the governor of his state of residence, Florida.

I have been a huge supporter of Donald Trump, but this is not the first time I have been dismayed by his approach to 2024.  I don't think this attitude serves him well.

Graphic credit: Pixabay license.