Former President Donald Trump will skip the second GOP debate and will instead address current and former members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) in Detroit, the NY Times reports.
The move will directly inject Trump into one of the largest strikes in the past three decades, as 146,000 workers rival the 1998 UAW/General Motors strike when 152,200 workers walked off the job for nearly two months (and the largest being a 10-day UPS strike in August 1997, when 180,000 workers walked off the job).
Trump's decision will mark the second consecutive primary debate he won't attend, while the remaining candidates vie for Trump's VP spot on the eventual ticket (based on current polling).
In response to Trump skipping the debate, former Vice President Mike Pence, who's polling 'somewhere in that mess' above, told CBS News it was a "missed opportunity" for both Trump and Republican voters.
"Look, this country is in a lot of trouble. Joe Biden has weakened America at home and abroad, and I think the former president – just like all the rest of us vying for the Republican nomination – owe it to the American people to express what our agenda will be for turning this country around," Pence said.
