Trump on GOP primary: 'Why debate when you're 40 points ahead'?

Former President Donald Trump hesitated on Wednesday to commit to Republican Primary debates, insisting he would face a "hostile network" and that he lacked any incentive to do so, given he currently holds a commanding lead in the polls.

"When you're way up, what's the purpose of doing the debate?" he asked during an interview with "Cats & Cosby," with hosts John Catsimitidis and Rita Cosby. Trump currently holds a 28.1% lead over Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in the RealClearPolitics polling average. No other candidate or would-be candidate has claimed double-digit support and many draw 1% or less.

"If you're tied, if you're a little ahead... you should definitely debate," he contended. "You don't have an obligation when you have people like - I won't mention names - but everybody's at 1% and DeSantis is way down."

He did, however, admit that he felt compelled to debate a Democratic opponent, saying "you have really an obligation to do that."

Trump also expressed concern over using the Reagan Library as the venue for one of the debates.  He said it was controlled by the Washington Post, given that the paper's CEO, Fred Ryan, is also chairman of the Board of Trustees of the library.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.