Former President Donald Trump has announced that he will not sign the loyalty pledge required to participate in the upcoming first Republican presidential primary debate. Despite meeting the other criteria, such as donor and polling thresholds, Trump refuses to pledge his support to the eventual party nominee, regardless of who it may be.

In an interview on Newsmax, Trump questioned the purpose of signing a pledge when there are candidates he would not support. He stated, “So they want you to sign a pledge, but I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for President. So right there there’s a problem.”

Trump has indicated multiple times that he intends to skip the debates, citing his significant lead in the polls and the potential for attacks from his trailing rivals. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s closest competitor in the primary, has already signed the GOP loyalty pledge.

When asked about joining the debate, Trump replied, “I’ll let it be known next week.” He confidently claimed to be leading by a substantial margin over DeSantis and even President Joe Biden in the polls.

This is not the first time Trump has resisted signing a pledge. During his initial presidential campaign in 2015, he initially refused to sign a similar pledge but eventually relented. However, when the GOP field narrowed down to Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, he went back on his promise.

Clearly, Trump’s refusal to sign the loyalty pledge indicates his continued defiance and unpredictability in the political arena.