The Republican Party is once again making headlines and this time, Donald Trump had nothing to do with it. On Thursday, Fox Business Network released its lineup for Thursday night’s Republican debate and it only features seven candidates: Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Chris Christie and John Kasich. Senator Rand Paul did not make the cut and he was super pissed about it, Gawker reports.
The Kentucky politician called the move a “rotten” thing to do and turned down an offer to appear at an “undercard” debate alongside Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum and Carly Fiorina. “[We] won’t participate in anything that’s not first tier because we have a first tier campaign,” he toldCNN.
After a series of Tweets insisting he won’t give up (and asking for donations), Paul also released a statement on the matter.
According to USA Today, Fox Business Network previously revealed their criteria for the debate, saying that "to qualify, a candidate needs to be either among the top six in an average of the five most recent national polls, or among the top five in an average of the five most recent Iowa or New Hampshire polls."