Donald Trump is already certain tonight's debate is going to be unfair

Donald Trump doesn't have high expectations for Wednesday night's third-round Republican debate. Days before the debate was even scheduled to air on CNBC, Trump was already trash talking it, telling Politico on Monday that he didn't expect the debate to be fair.

Trump doubled down on that claim Wednesday morning:

In Trump's opinion, all of the perceived unfairness can be traced back to his ailing poll numbers, which he claims are the "result of a ruse by CNBC."

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On Tuesday, CNBC reported on a New York Times poll that showed Ben Carson ahead of Trump 26-22 in a new national survey. Last week, CNBC ran an article titled, "Is the long awaited Trump fade finally here?" highlighting Trump's fall to second place in Iowa.

Despite Trump's perceptions, Politico reports that the debate moderators have promised to "be fair and give equal time to all candidates."