Francis Wilkinson, Columnist

Trump Is Not the Problem With GOP Debates

The party is the problem.

August 3, 2015 at 9:41 PM UTC

Francis Wilkinson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US politics and policy. Previously, he was executive editor for the Week and a writer for Rolling Stone.

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Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

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Republicans have a presidential debate problem. Again.

In the 2012 race, Republican primary candidates debated 20 times. Among Republican leaders, a consensus emerged that the frequency and tenor of the debates, which provided a regular platform for sniping and strong incentives to veer toward the fringe, damaged the party's eventual nominee, Mitt Romney. His proposal for "self-deportation" by undocumented immigrants -- which Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus described after the election as "horrific" -- was made at a Republican debate in Florida.