It appears that the GOP debate on December 27th moderated by Donald Trump will not come to pass. As a result of little candidate interest, it appears that Trump himself decided to cancel his role as the moderator which leaves the event in limbo of even taking place.
Report from Newsmax:
Donald Trump today announced that he is withdrawing as moderator of the proposed Newsmax ION Television 2012 Republican Presidential Debate scheduled for Dec. 27 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Newsmax Editorial Director Steve Coz said: “We are very disappointed as we believe Mr. Trump would have made a tough and fair moderator. However, we respect his view that the role may have presented a conflict of interest in light of the fact that he now wishes to keep his options open to run for the presidency himself.
“We join Mr. Trump in thanking candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum for their commitment to the debate.”
In his statement Trump said that candidates were concerned that he might announce his run as an Independent candidate after the next season of his NBC reality show, “The Apprentice,” ends on May 20, and that was why several candidates had declined an invitation to appear.
This isn’t shocking in the least since I was very skeptical that this event would come together with any candidate interest.
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