I think it is a mistake for all the candidates to not show. Trump has star power and will draw in viewers who would never tune into a Fox News or other news station. Especially dumb for a guy like Huntsman who needs all the name recognition he can garner.
trump said he might run against them.
any candidate would be crazy to allow a potential moderator co CONTROL the debate, ask anything he wants, etc.
Imagine if Moderator Trump wants to talk about Newt's affairs for 2 hours. He can. I dont know why any candidate would want to subject himself to that kind of potential abuse. And 2 RNC chairs, and most of the candidates, agree.
Trump is a joke. he's desperate to stay in the media. he'll be having media wars with bachmann and mitt now... just because they declined his offer (politely!)