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The former president has chosen to skip his party's three previous primary debates, citing his commanding lead in early state and national polls. But his decision not to schedule a public counterprogramming event to upstage the debate in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, marks a change in strategy.

Trump a Miami suburb, during the last debate, which felt, in many ways, like the main event. He in lieu of the second debate to rail against at an auto-parts manufacturing plant during an autoworkers' strike. And he with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that was released on X, the platform previously known as Twitter, to coincide with the first GOP gathering.

A senior Trump aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address the decision, cited waning interest in the debates given Trump’s dominant front-runner status.

Next Wednesday's debate comes as former U.N. Ambassador has seen a surge in support that has threatened as the distant runner-up to Trump.

The two are expected to continue to clash on a stage that will feature just a handful of candidates, as the Republican National Committee ups the threshold for participation. , candidates must garner at least 6% in two approved national polls, or 6% in polls from two separate early-voting states. They will also need to have raised money from at least 80,000 unique donors.

Several high-profile candidates, including Sen. of South Carolina and former Vice President , have already dropped out of the race.

Trump and his campaign have called on the RNC to cancel the remainder of the debates and instead focus on backing him against Biden.