Ron Paul rips Trump, boycotts debate

Presidential candidate Ron Paul announced Saturday that he will boycott the Dec. 27 GOP debate because reality television star Donald Trump has been chosen to moderate it.

Paul, who has struggled for years to be taken seriously as a White House candidate, said Trump's participation would turn the event into a circus.

“The selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate that voters nationwide will be watching is beneath the office of the Presidency and flies in the face of that office’s history and dignity,” Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton said. “To be sure, Mr. Trump’s participation will contribute to an unwanted circus-like atmosphere.”

Benton said the selection is also “wildly inappropriate” because real estate mogul Trump toyed with running for the presidency himself.

He said Paul will not consider participating in the debate until Trump apologizes to the Iowa Republican party for canceling an appearance earlier this year at the last minute.

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman said Friday that he will skip the Trump event and will have a "Lincoln-Douglas style debate with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. There is no word yet on whether other candidates will skip the Trump debate, hosted by Newsmax.

The GOP field and the nation were busy awaiting a decision Saturday on whether Herman Cain will end his candidacy for the nomination. Allegations of sexual harassment, a 13-year-old affair and foreign policy gaffes have generated a separate media circus around Cain.

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