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Twitter votes for Trump to appear in debate

by Jesse Byrnes - 01/27/16 5:22 PM ET

A majority of respondents to a poll posted to Donald Trump’s Twitter account want the Republican contender to show up at the Fox News debate Thursday night.

Since it was posted Tuesday afternoon, hours before Trump pledged to not show up in the debate, 56 percent voted in the survey for Trump to attend, while 44 percent voted he not.

{mosads}While anyone can weigh in on the poll, including those not supporting the outspoken billionaire’s campaign, the 157,864 votes gives the candidate some wiggle room on whether to show up at the event.

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski maintained during an interview Wednesday morning on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that Fox News’s ratings would plummet without the GOP front-runner.

But some have speculated that Trump, amid vocal criticism of Fox host and debate co-moderator Megyn Kelly, may show up at the event despite his campaign saying it would hold a competing event.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he did show up,” rival Ben Carson said Wednesday morning during an event in Iowa, according to The Washington Post.

“I expect to see Trump on stage tomorrow….” tweeted John Weaver, strategist for John Kasich, another Republican presidential candidate.

Trump, whose campaign told The Hill that he would appear on Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox Wednesday night, has dominated attention heading into the debate, even provoking a response from the White House.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said that by not showing up, Trump is “owning the entire event.” Limbaugh also speculated that Trump may view the debate as an event where someone else has control.

The decision to walk away from the Fox debate comes days before ballots will be cast in Iowa, where Trump has caught up to Ted Cruz and now may have an edge there based on recent polling.

Tags Donald Trump Fox News GOP debate