[Hoot Gibson]

I agree with Vivek. Donald Trump should be punished heavily in the polls if he elects not to participate in the Republican debates. Trump has a record to defend and refusing to face his competition and defend that record would make him look cowardly and weak, IMO.

BTW, I have watched several interviews of Vivek Ranaswamy and I have been very impressed. I would not hesitate to vote for the man for president or any other office. He is a very conservative, articulate, and a straight-talker who seems to be a "quick thinker." He will be a very worthy debate opponent, should Trump choose to accept the challenge.

Trump's lead in the polls will shrink once the campaigns heat up, but I believe his lead will evaporate very quickly if he is a no-show to a debate that includes DeSantis and Ramaswamy. Allowing every debate participant to take their best shots at Trump as he dodges debates would be a huge mistake on Trump's part.

Vivek Ramaswamy: It Would Be ‘Fundamentally Uncourageous’ For Donald Trump To Refuse To Debate

“I think it would be fundamentally uncourageous for Donald Trump to refuse to debate. And I’m not going to let him get away with that very easily because we are the party that should be unafraid of open debate. And I’ll tell you this, I think a big mistake electorally for him not to do that. I don’t think our base wants somebody who’s uncourageous and duck’s debate. That’s part of what made Trump successful in 2015, is that he was unafraid and he took to task the incumbents on the debate stage.”

^^^ One of THE shallowest understatements I have seen lately, and that's saying something.

Trump was the lone contender among the 17 or so vying for the nomination in 2015 to actually have the courage to say what everybody else was thinking. He was and is still the Lone Ranger where it comes to taking on political correctness. And that default posture has carried him through daily impromptu press conferences, baloney CV-19 ridiculousness from Fauci and corps, and the daily false charges that came his way from the left. Charges which BTW,  still fly about daily. I predict Trump will defend his record and he will be at the debates.

Trump also ran one of the most dishonest, childish, and sleeziest primary campaigns in history. I supported and defended Trump for more than 4 years and I will continue to defend him against the organized criminal attacks from the left. However, he ran against the two worst Democrat candidates in history, and at best, he eked out to narrow wins. All of the factors that made him a weak candidate in the general elections are still there, except he has racked up a couple of big setbacks on the legal front that may not matter in the primaries but will certainly be important to many independent voters. As a man who stood behind Anthony Fauci month after month, Trump is also in a pandemic position that is going to be very difficult to defend.

Republicans can and should do better than Donald Trump in 2024. I hope that Trump runs a real campaign and ditches the childish nicknames and outlandish lies during this campaign. Voters deserve better than a choice between Biden and Trump again.