Julia Azari: “Donald Trump has announced that he ‘won’t bother’ with Thursday’s Republican debate — the last one before Monday’s Iowa caucuses. It’s certainly not the norm for a leading candidate to bail out on a party event just as primary season is about to begin. But Trump’s decision not to participate Thursday is especially weird because the debate is hosted by Fox News.”
“In the school of thought that defines parties as networks of actors who have a common purpose, Fox News is easily included as part of the GOP — not just as a sympathetic news outlet, but as a member of the party coalition. So we have a situation where the Republican Party’s polling front-runner is openly feuding with its biggest media outlet. This is not how parties are supposed to work according to many political scientists.”