Fox News hosts: Trump may be ducking debate to avoid incriminating himself but it's "helping" Biden

"He might not want to get on stage because his lawyers might say you can’t talk about it," said Ainsley Earhardt

By Igor Derysh

Managing Editor

Published August 21, 2023 11:37AM (EDT)

Steve Doocy hosts "FOX & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios on August 30, 2022 in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)
Steve Doocy hosts "FOX & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios on August 30, 2022 in New York City. (Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

Fox News host Steve Doocy suggested on Monday that former President Donald Trump may inadvertently help President Joe Biden by skipping the Republican primary debates. Trump on Sunday declared that he will not participate in any debates, citing his massive lead in GOP primary polls. Trump last week also lashed out at Fox News, alleging they "purposely show the absolutely worst pictures of me, especially the big 'orange' one with my chin pulled way back" and complaining that "then they want me to debate!"

"By skipping the debates, though, Donald Trump may actually be helping Joe Biden because he's giving Joe Biden an excuse for not debating Donald Trump," Doocy warned on Monday's edition of Fox & Friends, according to Mediaite. "That's one of the things that Ronna McDaniel told the former president when she was trying to get him to do the first debate. But he said, 'nope, not going to do it.'"

Co-host Ainsley Earhardt later suggested that Trump's legal team may have talked him out of participating. "He's also being indicted four times. He might not want to get on stage because his lawyers might say you can't talk about it," she said. Fellow co-host Brian Kilmeade noted that Trump also scrapped a planned press conference to present his election fraud report after warnings from his attorneys. But Doocy warned that if Trump later changes his mind and participates in future debates, "it will look like he's jumping in because he's losing."


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