 December 06, 2011 
 
 Mitt Romney said that he called Donald Trump to tell him that he will not be participating in the Trump-moderated debate that was proposed for late December.Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman have also declined.
– More time for the Donald to voice his views: Mitt Romney says he will skip the GOP debate to be moderated by Trump later this month, notes the Political Wire blog. He joins Jon Huntsman and Ron Paul in turning down the event, though they did so with more fireworks. Romney announced the move on Neil Cavuto's show on Fox, saying he couldn't cram it in on top of two other debates in December and a heavy campaign schedule, notes Mediaite. "I spoke with Donald Trump earlier today and indicated that we just can’t make this debate," he said. "We're going to focus on the other two we’ve got and on some campaigning." Romney said Trump understood and "wished me well." So far, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have accepted the invitation.