Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans on being at the first 2024 Republican presidential debate that will be hosted next month by Fox News, even though the party’s leading candidate, former President Donald Trump, has signaled he won’t be there.

“I’ll be there regardless. I hope everybody who’s eligible comes. I think it’s an important part of the process and I look forward to being able to be on the stage and introducing our candidacy and our vision and our leadership to a wide audience,” DeSantis told the network on Thursday.

The first of a series of GOP debates will be held Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, Wis.

Trump is dominating the field as he embarks on his third consecutive White House bid and has made it clear through public and private channels that he is contemplating the possibility of forgoing participation in the upcoming debate. The decision stems, in part, from his substantial lead over the other Republican 2024 contenders.

Fox News noted further:

But Trump campaign officials say the former president has yet to make any final decision on his participation in the debate. Trump’s aides have also been looking into options for an alternative event should the former president skip the debate.

The Republican National Committee, which is organizing all the GOP presidential nominating debates, is requiring a high donor threshold as well as polling thresholds for candidates to make the stage. 

Officials from the Trump and DeSantis camps, as well as the presidential campaigns of former ambassador and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy have confirmed that they have successfully met the required thresholds, the network reported.

o qualify for participation in the debate, the RNC has introduced a requirement for candidates who meet the thresholds to sign a loyalty pledge, saying they will support to the eventual 2024 GOP nominee. But the pledge has garnered criticism from some candidates who openly express their opposition to Trump.

Though he trails Trump by double digits in the latest surveys, DeSantis nevertheless noted his fundraising ability and said during the Fox interview, “Did you just see the news today about the record fundraising haul we’ve had? Nobody’s been able to match that in the history of modern presidential politics.”

“We’ve got a huge amount of support to be able to take the case to the people,” DeSantis argued. “We really haven’t started that yet. We’re in the process of building out a great organization, and I think we’re going to be on the ground in all these early states.”