'He's angry': Trump set to create new problems for the GOP as nomination looks locked up

With Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' 2024 presidential hopes already fading before he officially announces, Republicans are trying to get their arms around how much damage Donald Trump will inflict on the primary process and to candidates down ticket.

According to a report from Politico's Jonathan Martin, the former president is already creating headaches for the GOP leadership by considering disrupting plans for the GOP presidential debates, and aides close to Trump claim "he's angry" and already expressing his displeasure with the Republican National Committee.

Days after Trump launched a furious diatribe aimed at the RNC on Truth Social claiming they didn't consult him on the timing and place of the second debate, Martin writes that the former president has been quizzing GOP lawmakers and asking whether he should appear at the first GOP debate.

According to the Politico report, at a recent meeting, "Trump surveyed the lawmakers about whether they thought he should show up for the first GOP primary debate and lend legitimacy to there being a serious contest for the nomination," before adding, "Some of the Republicans wondered out loud about the wisdom of exposing himself to attacks from lesser candidates when he’s so far up in the polls."

Taking the other side, aides close to Trump are urging him to show up over fears that he will be battered by his GOP rivals in his absence and won't be able to "punch back" in real time.

Politico's Martin added that the former president is also furious that Fox News is sponsoring the second debate.

Writing, "Trump may be headed to a showdown over the debates that will reveal how much power he holds over his adopted party," Martin added, "He’s angry, people close to him tell me, that the Republican National Committee is insistent upon holding the first debate, sponsored by Fox News, in Milwaukee during the dead of summer simply because that coincides with the party’s summer meeting there."

The report notes that Trump believes the debate is scheduled too early in the process and "...he has questions post-Tucker Carlson defenestration about how friendly Fox may be to him and wonders whether his lead is so significant that there’s no reason to give their news side anchors the draw they crave."

You can read more here.

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