Republicans are trying to kick Donald Trump out of the first GOP presidential debate

Donald Trump
(Image credit: Getty Images)

As we noted earlier, the GOP is in full-blown crisis mode over Donald Trump, who has quickly become the center of attention in the 2016 Republican primary, largely thanks to his remarks about Mexican immigrants being "killers" and "rapists." Trump denies that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus told him to "tone it down," but Priebus is not the only Republican trying to keep the Donald in check. Others reportedly hope to deprive him of a big platform from which he could potentially embarrass the party: the first GOP presidential debate, which is scheduled for early August.

With Trump doing well in the polls, he looks like a lock to be invited to the debate. So some Republicans are urging Fox News to establish stricter standards for eligibility, according to The New York Times:

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Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.