Donald Trump said Monday that the upcoming Democratic debate is likely to be a bore, unlike the first Republican primary debate that drew approximately 24 million viewers, because he won’t be in it.
“Well, I think it’s not gonna be very well-rated because Trump isn’t in the debate … I’m only kidding,” the Republican presidential front-runner told reporters during a campaign stop in New Hampshire.
“I think it’s not gonna be highly rated. I think it’s going to be, you’re gonna watch it for 10 or 15 minutes, and people are gonna get bored and turn it off,” he added.
Tuesday night’s debate marks the first event featuring all five candidates who are vying for the Democratic nomination. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will take center stage as the front-runner, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who is currently polling in second place nationally, will be positioned at a podium to her left.
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee and former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb will also take the stage, despite polling at less than 1 percent each among Democratic voters nationwide. Vice President Joe Biden was invited to participate, but declined to participate.
Similar to Trump’s prediction, CNN Washington Bureau Chief Sam Feist said Monday the network does not anticipate attracting the same ratings as it did during the second Republican debate last month in Simi Valley, Calif.
“Viewership for the first two GOP debates was an anomaly in a highly unusual Republican nomination cycle,” Feist told Politico. “While I won’t predict ratings for this debate, we expect the audience to be significantly smaller.”
Nevertheless, the Democrats can expect at least one of their GOP rivals to tune in.
“I’ll be watching. I don’t know how long,” said Trump, who holds the No. 1 spot in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings. “It’s gonna be hard to watch. I think it’s not going to be a very exciting debate.”
