Fox News Channel Cancels GOP Primary Debate

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Republican front-runner Donald Trump warned on Wednesday of riots if he is denied the party's presidential nomination and pulled the plug on a scheduled debate among candidates, raising the temperature even more in a heated White House race.

The outspoken New York businessman scored big wins in primaries in Florida, Illinois and North Carolina on Tuesday, bringing him closer to the 1,237 convention delegates he needs to win the nomination.

Trump also claimed victory in Missouri but lost the crucial state of Ohio, and left the door open for those in the party trying to stop him from becoming the Republican nominee for the Nov. 8 election.

According to Reuters, Trump might fall short of the majority of delegates required, enabling the party's establishment to put forward another name at the July convention in Cleveland to formally pick its candidate.


Fox News announced Wednesday that the network has canceled the Republican presidential primary debate scheduled for Monday in Salt Lake City, after first Donald Trump and then John Kasich said they would not attend.

The Republican presidential front-runner, coming off a set of victories in Tuesday’s primaries, told Fox News earlier Wednesday that he did not plan to attend the debate.

He said he thinks the candidates have had “enough debates,” and he plans to make a speech that night instead.

After the comments, Kasich’s campaign said the Ohio governor had hoped to face off against Trump and was disappointed in the billionaire businessman’s decision. The campaign indicated in the statement that Kasich would only attend if Trump does, saying, “If [Trump] changes his mind, we will be there."