Real estate magnate Donald Trump might be an expert when it comes to bear markets and bull markets, but put him on the debate stage next month amid a crowd of determined GOP contenders and, in the candidate’s words, he’s “going to be in the lion’s den.”
“I’m by far number one, so I’m going to be there. But I’m not a debater. I create jobs. I’ve never stood at a podium and debated a bunch of people,” Trump told reporters Saturday at Oskaloosa High School in Oskaloosa, Iowa.
He added: “From what I hear, every one of them’s going to come at me. For two hours, I’m going be in the lion’s den, but I don’t do that for a living.”
And: “I hear everyone saying I’ll be great at debate. I don’t know if I’ll do good. I look forward to debate, but I’ve never done it before.”
The remarks, a rare moment of public self-doubt for the brash and cocky mogul, come as Trump continues to lead 2016 GOP contenders in national polls while his Republican contenders anxiously await a chance to knock him down.
Fox News, which on Aug. 6 is sponsoring the first debate, has said it will only invite the top 10 finishers in recent opinion polls to its event. However, CNN’s first debate on Sept. 16 will be split into two parts: One will have the candidates that national polls rank as the top 10 GOP contenders, and the other with the candidates who didn’t make that cut.
Currently, it appears Trump is a lock to make the top 10.
But Trump told reporters Saturday that because he is not a politician, he will have the least experience of those participating.
“They say Jeb Bush hasn’t been on stage lately. I haven’t been on stage my whole life. And nobody talks about that,” he said. “I have to be honest. I am who I am.”