As his closest competitors lock in their spots at the first Republican presidential debate next month and the bottom of the pack scrambles to secure theirs via boosted donor numbers, former President Donald Trump still won’t say if he plans on attending.

The clear frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination in public polling, Trump said in an interview on Sunday he hasn’t decided if he will go and give the opportunity to his rivals to face him head-on.

“So you’re leading people by 50 and 60 points and you say ‘why would you be doing a debate?’ It’s actually not fair,” Trump said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” “Why would you let somebody is at zero or one or two or three [percent in the polls] be popping you with questions?”

“I haven’t really made up my mind,” he added.

Trump’s lead over the field is substantial and has grown in the last few months — though he is closer to a roughly 30% lead on average compared to his next closest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, per a FiveThirtyEight polling average.

For his part, DeSantis said on Fox News’ “MediaBuzz” on Sunday he will be at the Aug. 23 debate in Milwaukee, which his campaign said this week he has met all the polling and fundraising requirements laid out by the Republican National Committee.

“I’m going to be at the debates. I think it’s a great opportunity, especially for a guy like me. There’s a lot of Republican voters out there, they like what we’ve done in Florida, they know I’m a good governor, but they haven’t seen a lot about me up close and personal. So that gives us a great opportunity to share our vision,” DeSantis said. “I think that first debate, you’re going to have how many? Millions of millions of people are going to turn into it.”

“I think it’s great to be in an environment where you’re asked tough questions and having to articulate why you should be the next president of the United States,” the governor added.

Trump argued that, because he is leading the race by such significant margins, he shouldn’t have to expose himself to the other contenders’ level and expose himself to their attacks. Trump pointed to Ronald Reagan, who skipped one primary debate during his 1980 presidential campaign.

“It’s quite an easy question normally. Ronald Reagan didn’t do it and a lot of other people didn’t do it,” Trump said on Sunday. “When you have a big lead, you don’t do it.”

(Reagan would go on to narrowly lose the Iowa caucuses to George H.W. Bush, his eventual running mate and, later, White House successor.)

Looking at the Democratic side of the race, Trump praised Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the anti-vaccine scion of the Kennedy family, but described Biden’s refusal to debate the handful of candidates who have jumped into the primary as similar to his own.

“Why would he debate him if he's probably got it locked up?” Trump asked.

While he praised some of his fellow GOP presidential contenders, Trump had harsh words for DeSantis, the only other candidate polling in double digits. When asked if he was concerned not showing up could give the Florida governor a chance to cut into his lead, Trump speculated another debate participant could have a good night and cut into DeSantis’ support.

“He's going down and a couple of them are going up. I think Vivek [Ramaswamy] has done a very good job. Frankly, I think some others have done a good job,” Trump said.

The former president went on to say candidates running against him right now would make good choices for his future cabinet, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who he called “a very good” and “talented guy,” praising him for their work together on a program designed to drive private investment into low-income communities.

Scott said last week on Fox News “I did not enter this race to come in second place. Second place is the first loser.” According to FiveThirtyEight, the well-funded Scott is polling around 3% on average, trailing five other candidates. 

One candidate in the Republican primary has made confronting Trump on the debate stage central to their campaign: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who previously advised Trump’s campaign and administration until souring on him after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A super PAC supporting Christie plans to launch an ad this week taunting Trump for not committing to the debate.

“Should you show up to the debate? Because if you do, your opponents will bring up the impeachments, the indictments, bring up how you lost to Joe Biden,” a narrator reads in a version of the ad that debuted on CNN on Sunday. “So Donald, you need to decide: are you a chicken? Or just a loser?”

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson told Fox News that Christie “lives in a perpetual fantasy land” and that “everything that comes out of his mouth is a lie wrapped in incoherent psychotic rage.”

In an interview with ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Christie said he believed Trump would ultimately show up.

“I’ve known him for a long time, as you know. His ego will not permit him to have a big TV show that he’s not on,” Christie said. “I think he would be enormously frustrated sitting back at Bedminster and watching what I’m going to do to him on that stage.”

“C’mon Donald, get on the stage and defend your record,” Christie added.