NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'Fox & Friends' host Steve Doocy has once again shown his ambiguous standing on former President Donald Trump through a pointed remark to his fellow hosts.
While discussing the Republican leader's confirmed step down from participating in the first GOP debate, he brought up the charges against Trump as his co-hosts pointed out the former President's popularity.
Trump's loyal supporters on the panel, Ainsley Earhardt and Brian Kilmeade, have been dejected over their favorite candidate's declaration of having no chance of coming to the debates.
They both also seem to be defending his decision to not debate, aligning their arguments along the same lines as Trump's claimed reasons to do so.
'Fox & Friends' hosts defend Donald Trump's absence from debates
The conversation came around to the GOP debate's participant status when the 'Fox & Friends' panel brought up the poll reports.
If Trump's updates on his primary social media account on the platform Truth Social were not enough, the hosts reminded their viewers of his lead among the GOP candidates for the 2024 Presidential elections.
“One other poll that says, regarding the front-runner, who is not going to be there,” Doocy said per Mediate, continuing, “73% of Republicans say Donald Trump should be at the first debate. Only 27% say he should sit it out.”
He then went on to suggest that Trump might turn the tables when no one expected him to, saying, "That is also one of the reasons why that, apparently, all the other candidates are preparing for a last-minute ad. There’s a possibility that Donald Trump might just actually say, ‘You know what? I’ve changed my mind.”
To this, Kilmeade responded, "If you qualify as division champ, why play the wild-card game?”, suggesting Trump's win in the near future is certain.
Then, Earhardt went on to add, "I feel like a lot of them are vying for vice president or to get a cabinet position," explaining, "They want to stay in as long as they can because they know that President Trump is ahead, so far ahead."
She also said, "Anything can change. I know we are a year out, but he’s ahead by 20 or 30 points, depending on the poll you look at.”
Steve Doocy's reminder about Donald Trump's criminal charges
Trump's lead in the polls so far has been his primary reason for not feeling the need to debate with his fellow GOP candidates. However, Doocy, in his consistent fashion of having an undefined position on Trump, reminded his hosts of the current reality.
"Right, but here’s why it’s different," he started, "Donald Trump is under criminal investigation in a whole bunch of places."
He further pointed out that Ron DeSantis, who was in second place, dropped in the polling "when the Alvin Bragg thing came out," implying that Donald Trump's numbers could drop just as quick and drastically with the elections so far away.
Trump's felony charges and indictments have only grown over the past few months. He recently also addressed the recent charges about his interference in the 2020 Election in the state of Georgia. and his $200,000 bond on his platform, Truth Social.
He wrote, "The failed District Attorney of Fulton County (Atlanta), Fani Willis, insisted on a $200,000 Bond from me. I assume, therefore, that she thought I was a “flight” risk."
He sarcastically added, "I’d fly far away, maybe to Russia, Russia, Russia, share a gold domed suite with Vladimir, never to be seen or heard from again."
He further joked, "Would I be able to take my very “understated” airplane with the gold TRUMP affixed for all to see. Probably not, I’d be much better off flying commercial – I’m sure nobody would recognize me!"