Editorial: Trump shows selfishness in debate withdrawal

Max Goldberg/Iowa State Daily

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks in front of a crowd on Jan. 19 at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center. Trump talked about economic and healthcare reforms. At the rally he was endorsed by former governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin.

Editorial Board

One could easily compare Donald Trump’s experience on the campaign trail to that of a boxing match that never ends. At every debate, he’s taken jabs at his competitors — of course — but also at individuals on the outside of the political world. Celebrities and reporters have each taken their fare share of uppercuts from The Donald, although, there is one journalist in particular who has received more bruises and gashes than the reset, and that’s Fox News host Megyn Kelly.

Kelly infamously faced Trump as one of the three moderators for the first Republican debate in August, when she listed derogatory names Trump has used to describe women. Trump said in response that Kelly had “blood coming out of her wherever.”

Ever since the two have been at each other’s throat, resulting in Trump’s withdrawal from the last Republican debate that will take place Thursday night on Fox News.

Trump backed out because he accused someone of being biased against him. He is choosing to avoid his last opportunity to sway voters because a journalist pissed him off? That sounds more like the reaction a toddler would have rather than that of the next president of the United States.

Picture this: say that Trump is elected. And say that he was to meet with some important world leader on an issue that greatly impacts all Americans. Say a month or two before the meeting, Trump said the world leader did something that led Trump to believe he or she was also biased against him. Is America just going to be OK that our president decided to skip that meeting last minute because of a personal matter?

The answer is no because it would mean that our president cared more about his reputation than the nation that he swore to “make great again.”

Granted, this is a hypothetical situation, but the same basic sentiment applies. Dropping out of the last debate before people cast their vote in a caucus is a disservice to the American people and to Trump himself.

Trump is of course now seeing dollar signs following his announcement — not his own but the ones he feels he is taking away from Fox based on his absence. “Let’s see how much money Fox is going to make in a debate without me,” Trump said in a news conference.

This speaks volumes about who Donald Trump is as a person because this debate shouldn’t be about the money. It should be about making sure the American people understand his platform before the public floods the polls.

But what’s done is done, and his actions should be reflected in the caucus results come Monday night — maybe Trump will finally get a bruise or two.