Former President Donald Trump said in an interview this week that he would not sign the Republican Party’s “beat Biden” loyalty pledge that requires candidates to state that they will support the GOP nominee for president in 2024 if they want to attend the party’s primary debates.

“I have a problem with the debate for another reason: I wouldn’t sign the pledge,” Trump said in an interview this week. “Why would I sign a pledge? There are people on there that I wouldn’t have.”

“I wouldn’t have certain people as, you know, somebody that I endorse,” he added. “So they want you to sign a pledge.”

Newsmax noted that Trump did not specify which candidates he would never endorse, but he repeatedly attacked Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson during the interview, the outlet added.

“I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president,” Trump told Newsman host Eric Bolling. “So right there, there’s a problem right there. There’s a problem.”

Trump won't sign RNC pledge to support the 2024 nominee if he loses the GOP primary. pic.twitter.com/APVXGITpSg

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) August 10, 2023

The “Beat Biden Pledge” that the candidates have to sign states in-part: “Additionally, I affirm that if I do not win the 2024 Republican nomination for President of the United States, I will honor the will of the primary voters and support the nominee in order to save our country and beat Joe Biden.”

“I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party,” it added.

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Trump told Breitbart News earlier this month that he had not made a decision about whether he would participate in the debate.

The Daily Wire reached out to the Republican National Committee (RNC) to ask if Trump would be allowed to participate in the debates if he did not sign the pledge, and a spokesperson responded by pointing to a statement that chairwoman Ronna McDaniel made several weeks ago.

“Everybody has to sign the beat Biden pledge, everybody, it’s across the board, the rules aren’t changing, we’ve been very vocal with them,” McDaniel told CNN’s Chris Wallace.

The Daily Wire also asked about remarks from Christie, who has suggested that he will sign the pledge but may not honor it later on after signing it.

The RNC responded by again pointing to McDaniel’s statement during the CNN interview, in which she said: “It’s not just the pledge, not just a piece of paper. Intent is going to be part of it, too. I think the debate committee is going to meet, and they don’t want somebody saying, ‘I’m blatantly lying.’ You have to say I’m going to support the nominee whomever the voters choose.”

The Biden administration reportedly plans to send FBI agents to Ecuador to investigate the assassination of right-wing presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot multiple times on Wednesday after leaving a political rally.

Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso posted on X that he requested aid from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“The U.S. Federal Investigation and Intelligence Agency accepted our request and in the next few hours a delegation will arrive in the country,” Lasso wrote.

In comments reported by CNN, Lasso said, “Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law will fall on them,” and declared a national state of emergency for 60 days, three days of national mourning, and deployed armed forces across the country.

Although FBI officials have not confirmed the report, it’s common for the bureau to launch investigations in allied nations, Bloomberg reported.

Villavicencio, a journalist who covered government corruption before entering politics, was killed ten days before the presidential election was scheduled. The 59-year-old candidate reportedly campaigned on building safety in the country by focusing on five pillars: citizens, food, economics, environment, and health.

Villavicencio was married and is survived by five children, the Associated Press reported.

“The assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime, is a brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law,” Brian Nichols, the assistant U.S. Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, said in a post on X. “We urge a swift and thorough investigation by the appropriate authorities and offer our support.”

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National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby told CNN it was not what “anybody would want” for Ecuadorean democracy.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the assassination of the Ecuadorian presidential candidate and offered condolences to his family and the people of Ecuador in a statement on X.

“We stand ready to support local authorities to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice,” he said.

According to CNN, at least nine other people were injured in the incident, including a candidate for the National Assembly and two police officers.

Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said authorities arrested the seven suspects, including the alleged killer, who later died from wounds received while he exchanged gunfire with a security detail.

The suspects allegedly include foreign nationals and members of organized criminal groups, according to Interior Minister Juan Zapata, who said authorities found a rifle, a machine gun, four pistols, three grenades, two rifle magazines, four boxes of ammunition, two motorcycles, and a stolen vehicle.

“The Ecuadorian people are crying, and Ecuador is mortally wounded,” Patricio Zuquilanda, Villavicencio’s campaign adviser, told the Associated Press. “Politics cannot lead to the death of any member of society.”

Villavicencio was known for speaking up against cartels, who have recently started using the country’s coastal ports and have revamped violence in the South American nation not seen in decades. According to the Associated Press, Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel affiliates had recently threatened him after the group began operating in Ecuador.

In 2014, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly slandering former left-wing President Rafael Correa, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Latin America news division. He remained a fugitive for three years and was granted political asylum in Peru, where he stayed until 2017.

After returning to the country, Villavicencio went to Ecuador’s attorney general and accused the government of misusing public resources in the “commercialization of crude oil between Ecuador and private company PetroChina,” which he estimated resulted in billions of dollars in loss for the country.

During his final speech moments before being assassinated, Villavicencio vowed to imprison more criminals, take on corruption in Ecuador, and directly named José Adolfo Macía — better known by the alias “Fito” — the detained leader of the Ecuadorian gang known as Los Choneros.

“Here I am showing my face,” Villavicencio said. “I’m not scared of them.”