You know something weird is afoot when Donald Trump starts making strategically sound political decisions such as opting to skip next week’s first Republican debate—which is exactly what he reportedly plans to do, according to The New York Times.  

Instead of mixing it up with his 2024 GOP rivals next Wednesday in a Republican National Committee-organized debate on Fox News, Trump will join former Fox host Tucker Carlson for an interview on a platform yet to be announced.

On Thursday, Trump, citing his “extraordinary” polling in a Truth Social tweet, posited, “People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I’M YOUR MAN.”

For once, Trump weirdly has a point: He’s leading the GOP field nationally by some 40 points, voters do have a clear sense of his White House tenure, and debating a cohort of also-rans arguably has more downsides than upsides.

But since when does egomaniacal Trump live in a rational world?