“Now, if I were running the party, I’d say, ‘Excuse me, if you can’t win the state of X, a major state, if you can’t win Virginia because you’re not allowed to go in, or if you can’t win South Carolina or you can’t win this one or that one, because you didn’t file, that means it’s taken off your list, you’re not allowed to be in the debate anymore,’ ” Trump said at a rally in Iowa on Saturday.

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“When you’re at like, this guy [former New York Gov. George] Pataki, he’s been at zero for months. He couldn’t get elected dog-catcher in New York. The guy’s at zero for months. And he keeps on staying and staying,” he added.

The real estate mogul said the bloated primary field does not allow for serious policy discussions at debates.