(NEWSnet/AP) – Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday he won't sign a pledge to support the Republican nominee if he loses the presidential primary, flouting a requirement for appearing in the upcoming party debate.

“Why would I sign it?" Trump said in an interview on the conservative cable network Newsmax. “I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there, there’s a problem.”

He declined to name the candidates he wouldn't support, saying “there's no reason to insult them.”

Trump said he will announce next week whether he'll participate in the debate, scheduled for Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, but his refusal to sign the pledge suggests he plans to skip it. Trump has repeatedly questioned why he should debate his rivals given his substantial polling lead and has suggested he might hold a competing event instead.

On Wednesday, he told Newsmax’s Eric Bolling that there’s no advantage to participating in a debate when he’s already leading by a wide margin.

“It’s not a question of guts. It’s a question of intelligence,” Trump said.

Eight candidates say they have met qualifications to be on stage in Milwaukee, with former Vice President Mike Pence announcing this week he had secured enough donors. Candidates need to satisfy polling and donor requirements set by the Republican National Committee: at least 1% in three high-quality national polls or a mix of national and early-state polls, between July 1 and Aug. 21, and a minimum of 40,000 donors, with 200 in 20 or more states.

They also must sign a statement pledging not to participate in any debates not sanctioned by the party, including the general election debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates, and to support the winner of the Republican primary.

Candidates also must pledge not to run as an independent, write-in candidate or third-party nominee.

Despite his critique of the GOP’s pledge verbiage, Trump did apparently recently sign a document with a similar attestation that he would generally back the party’s nominees next year.

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