Kellyanne Conway suggests Trump may participate in GOP debate

Former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway suggested Monday the former president may participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate next month but will likely “keep everybody in suspense” in the lead-up.

“If I were you, I would keep that center podium warm because maybe he’ll make the announcement the day of,” Conway said of Trump on Fox News. “You just never know.”

Trump has repeatedly indicated he is leaning against attending the first Republican primary debate in Milwaukee on Aug. 23 because he maintains a sizable lead over the rest of the crowded GOP field. 

“When you have a big lead, you don’t do it,” the former president recently told Fox News. “Why would you let somebody that’s at 0 or at 1 or 2 or 3 be popping you with questions?”

Conway acknowledged Trump’s thought process for potentially skipping the debate but also noted the debate stage is a “natural habitat for him.”

“On the one hand, he’s acting like a front-runner,” Conway said. “He’s way ahead. What does he have to gain by going?”

“On the other hand, that’s a natural habitat for him,” she added. “It helped him in that first Fox News debate on Aug. 6, 2015, in Cleveland. He got center stage, he never lost it, became the nominee and indeed the president.”

Trump’s rivals also continue to up the pressure for him to take part in the debate, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Nobody’s entitled to be nominated. You gotta earn it. And I think he should show up and make his case and answer questions like the rest of us,” said DeSantis, who has typically polled in second behind Trump, last week.

Christie said Trump “can’t avoid” the GOP presidential debates, writing last week on Twitter: “Want to be President? Then get in the ring pal…”