Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel said that Donald Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP presidential race, would be making “a mistake” if he opts out of the upcoming primary debate.

“I think it’s a mistake not to do the debates, but that’s going to be up to him and his campaign,” McDaniel told Fox News on Wednesday.

[Politically? Maybe. Legally? Almost certainly not, since his rivals would likely talk about his legal woes, especially Chris Christie. I don’t know that snubbing the debates would hurt Trump politically in primary support, but even if it didn’t and he won the primary, it sure won’t help make the sale with GOP voters who wanted a change — and that’s half the party at the moment. — Ed]