MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. – Gov. Rick Perry of Texas and Representative Michele Bachmann have joined other candidates, including Mitt Romney, in passing on Donald Trump’s Dec. 27 debate in Iowa. Mr. Perry’s campaign issued this statement on Thursday:

Governor Perry has talked to Donald Trump in recent days and respects him and the folks at NewsMax very much. There are two debates in the next seven days. Traditional retail campaigning in the days and weeks leading up to the Iowa caucus is the Perry campaign’s top priority. In the coming weeks, Governor Perry will be in Iowa almost continually, meeting with real voters, doing town hall meetings and events and talking American jobs, faith and overhauling Washington, D.C., to Iowa voters. So we have respectfully declined the invitation for the Dec. 27 debate.

Mr. Trump’s involvement has been criticized by some Republican leaders because he has held out the possibility that he might still run for president.

So far, only Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum have said they will appear at the debate, which is being hosted by Newsmax, the conservative magazine and Web site, and broadcast on Ion Television on Dec. 27. Mrs. Bachmann’s decision not to attend was reported by ABC News. In addition to Mr. Perry, Mrs. Bachmann and Mr. Romney, Jon M. Huntsman Jr. and Representative Ron Paul have declined to attend.