The final Republican Presidential Debate before the Iowa Caucus won't feature front-runner Donald Trump.  Trump on Tuesday night released a lengthy statement explaining why he is skipping the debate, scheduled for January 28th in Des Moines.

Trump also stated that he will hold a separate event in Iowa on Thursday night to raise money for veterans.

Thursday's prime-time debate starts at 8pm CST on FOX News Channel and will feature eight candidates.  KFYO, and the Lubbock County Republican Party, will hold a debate watch party at Premiere Cinemas at the South Plains Mall, in Lubbock.  It's free to attend; doors open at 7pm and State Rep. John Frullo will buy a small popcorn for the first 100 people in attendance.

The Trump Campaign's complete statement from January 26, 2016 can be read below:

Donald J. Trump Campaign-- New York, NY-- As someone who wrote one of the best-selling business books of all time, The Art of the Deal, who has built an incredible company, including some of the most valuable and iconic assets in the world, and as someone who has a personal net worth of many billions of dollars, Mr. Trump knows a bad deal when he sees one. FOX News is making tens of millions of dollars on debates, and setting ratings records (the highest in history), where as in previous years they were low-rated afterthoughts.

Unlike the very stupid, highly incompetent people running our country into the ground, Mr. Trump knows when to walk away. Roger Ailes and FOX News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn’t play games. There have already been six debates, and according to all online debate polls including Drudge, Slate, Time Magazine, and many others, Mr. Trump has won all of them, in particular the last one. Whereas he has always been a job creator and not a debater, he nevertheless truly enjoys the debating process - and it has been very good for him, both in polls and popularity.

He will not be participating in the FOX News debate and will instead host an event in Iowa to raise money for the Veterans and Wounded Warriors, who have been treated so horribly by our all talk, no action politicians. Like running for office as an extremely successful person, this takes guts and it is the kind mentality our country needs in order to Make America Great Again.

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