WASHINGTON — (CNN) Days after refusing to commit, Donald Trump now says he will attend next month’s Fox News Republican debate.
“I’ll be there. I have no objection to being there,” Trump told Newsmax TV on Friday.
Trump also said that his decision to skip the network’s January 28 debate was due to a taunting public statement from Fox News, and not to his longstanding complaint that co-moderator Megyn Kelly treats him unfairly.
“That had nothing to do with Megyn Kelly, the fact that I went out of the last one. That had to do with a memo that was sent out by Fox that was a little bit taunting and I said it was inappropriate,” Trump said.
The Republican frontrunner had not been so committal during a press conference in New Hampshire on Tuesday night. Asked if he would attend the debate, Trump replied: “It’s a long ways away. We’ll see.”
Trump’s decision to commit to the debate may have something to do with the fact that he finished second in the Iowa caucuses to Ted Cruz. Trump has since suggested that his loss may have been due to his decision to skip the last debate. “It could have been the debate. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t,” Trump said during his press conference here.
The Fox News debate will be held in Detroit, Michigan, on March 3, five days before the state’s primary. It will once again be moderated by Kelly, Bret Baier and Chris Wallace.
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