Trump skipping Thursday's GOP debate

DES MOINES, Iowa - Donald Trump's campaign manager says Trump is skipping Thursday night's Republican debate.

The Republican candidates are set to square off in the Fox News debate, their last debate before Monday's Iowa caucuses.

Trump previously had said he may not show up. But campaign manager Corey Lewandowski said during a Tuesday evening news conference in Marshalltown, Iowa, that the GOP front-runner "will not be participating in the Fox News debate Thursday."

Trump has criticized Fox News for "playing games" and for including anchor Megyn Kelly as a debate moderator, whom he calls a third-rate reporter who is bad at her job.

Trump earlier in the day said his biggest rival, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, is "nervous" with less than a week to go before Iowa's caucuses.

Speaking to MSNBC and FOX News, Trump lashed out at his opponent, calling him "a big mess" and claiming "people have realized he probably can't even run for president."

The two Republicans are locked in a tight race in first-to-vote Iowa, but Trump is the national front-runner.

Trump also said the recent endorsement he received from conservative firebrand Sarah Palin "threw an ax into the machinery for Cruz because, man, he expected that endorsement 100 percent."

Cruz has said that he will continue to be a big fan of Palin's, regardless who she backs in the campaign.

Obama to meet with Sanders

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama and Bernie Sanders are slated to have their first extended meeting since the Vermont senator's presidential bid upended the Democratic race to replace Obama.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest says the two will meet Wednesday in the Oval Office. Earnest says the meeting will be informal, with no set agenda.

Sanders has met with Obama at the White House on several occasions over the years, but the men aren't close. Sanders' main rival, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, has dropped by the White House for meetings with the president several times since leaving the administration.

Earnest says the men first discussed the meeting at a holiday reception at the White House in late December.

Sanders' visit comes as Obama has opened up about his thoughts on the race. In an interview with Politico published Monday, Obama showered praised on Clinton but was less effusive in discussing Sanders. He suggested the Vermont senator was a one-issue candidate and dismissed any comparisons to his own campaign against Clinton eight years ago.

New Democratic debate?

The head of the Democratic National Committee says the party has "no plans" to sanction additional debates before the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary.

That's despite an announcement from the state's largest newspaper and MSNBC that they'll team up to host a debate next week.

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement Tuesday after the Union Leader newspaper and television network announced plans for a Feb. 4 debate in response to "overwhelming" calls from New Hampshire residents.

So far only candidate Martin O'Malley has committed to participating. Hillary Clinton's campaign says she'd participate if the other candidates agree, which it said would allow the party to sanction the debate.

But Bernie Sanders' campaign called for working with the party after the New Hampshire primary to schedule more debates.

The party has so far sanctioned six primary debates and previously threatened to punish any candidates for participating in non-sanctioned debates.

GOP attacks?

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says he won't attack Republican rival Donald Trump. But Cruz's surrogates aren't making the same pledge.

Christian conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats exchanged a series of testy messages with Trump over Twitter on Tuesday. And at a Cruz rally in Ottumwa, Iowa, Vander Plaats bashed Trump for describing his supporters as so loyal that he could "shoot somebody" and not lose support, and for saying in a previous interview that he had never sought forgiveness from God.

Cruz backer and Iowa congressman Steve King is meanwhile telling voters that the race in his state has come down to either Cruz or Trump.

King told voters gathered at a historic church in Bloomfield, Iowa, that they don't know what Trump's "core beliefs are" and they "don't know what he'll do tomorrow."

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said earlier the 2016 election is "not just about beating up on other Republicans," but ultimately about bringing the party together.

Rubio is honing a largely positive closing message with Iowa Republican caucus voters during a robust day of campaigning six days before the leadoff 2016 contest.

He says he understands and shares their frustration, but insists "being angry is not a plan."

The reference is a veiled shot at billionaire Trump, though his indirect critique of fellow U.S. Sen. Cruz is sharper, and goes to the heart of Rubio's call for a stronger military.

Without naming him, Rubio notes fellow senators who voted only for budget bills that cut military spending.

Endorsements

A week after heaping praise on Trump before a speech at Liberty University, the school's president Jerry Falwell Jr. is officially throwing his support behind the Republican presidential candidate.

The backing comes just days before the lead-off caucuses in Iowa. Trump's top challenger there is Cruz, the son of an evangelical pastor.

Cruz launched his campaign at Liberty and is banking on support from Christian conservatives to push him toward the nomination.

Falwell Jr. praised Trump in an introduction at the school last week, comparing Trump to his late father.

The campaign already had been using Falwell's remarks in a radio ad.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki says he is endorsing Florida Sen. Marco Rubio's bid for the White House.

Speaking to FOX News Tuesday, Pataki said Rubio is the one candidate in either party with the ability to bring the American people together.

"Hillary Clinton is always dividing us for her benefit. Donald Trump is dividing us so he gets the benefit," he said. "Marco Rubio is going to bring us together, and make us understand we are all Americans with a common future."

The freshman senator from Florida is trailing in Iowa preference polls behind GOP rivals Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, but he has received more support than either candidate from members of the House and Senate.

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is joining fellow Texan Sen. Ted Cruz's campaign in Iowa.

Perry is scheduled to make seven stops with Cruz in central Iowa on Tuesday, along with Iowa congressman Steve King and Bob Vander Plaats, head of the social conservative advocacy group The Family Leader.

Perry is the longest-serving governor in Texas history and twice ran unsuccessfully for president. He announced his endorsement of Cruz on Monday.

Perry's once-promising 2012 presidential run collapsed after a series of gaffes, and he was the first GOP presidential hopeful to drop out this cycle amid sluggish fundraising.

Cruz is one of the favorites in Monday's caucuses, with polls showing him near the top of the field along with billionaire Donald Trump.