MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — GOP frontrunner Donald Trump said Tuesday that he would skip Thursday's key Republican debate on Fox News, even as it comes only days before the beginning of presidential voting with the Iowa caucuses.

In a statement released Tuesday evening, the Trump campaign called the debate a "bad deal" and said Trump wouldn't "play games" with Fox News, with whom Trump has been feuding for months.

"Roger Ailes and Fox News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn’t play games," the statement said.

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Trump had been angered by Fox News during the very first presidential debate, in August, when Fox anchor and debate moderator Megyn Kelly asked him about harsh and sexist statements he had made about various women. In Iowa today, Trump called Kelly a "third-rate reporter" and a "lightweight."

In a statement released Tuesday night, Fox News' criticized Trump's decision to drop out of the debate as well as his campaign's threats lobbed at Kelly. However, Fox News said it would still welcome the candidate on stage Thursday if he changed his mind. Trump was originally pegged to stand at the No. 1 slot, the center podium.

Fox Statement on Trump skipping debate pic.twitter.com/DlfwseFQKz — Hadas Gold (@Hadas_Gold) January 27, 2016

At the time Trump seemed to leave the door open to participating in the debate saying, "Most likely I won't be doing the debate." But as the day wore on, Trump hardened his stance and his campaign made clear that he would leave the stage to Ted Cruz, Jeb Bush and other Republican candidates.

Trump was also irked by a tongue-in-cheek press release that Fox News issued Monday afternoon. Trump called it "a wise guy press release" that was "written by a child."

The latest statement from Fox News on the ongoing Trump/Fox feud pic.twitter.com/d4AZ2Tdxx1 — Katherine Faulders (@KFaulders) January 26, 2016

Trump claimed he was all set to do the debate. "I came here to do the debate!" he exclaimed Tuesday. But he changed his mind, he said, after reading the press release, which mocked Trump's Twitter passion. He also objected to the revenue that Fox will reap from holding the debate.

"It's time that somebody plays a grown-up," Trump said as he complained about Fox News' tone. "They're not dealing with a baby. So we'll see."

Trump on ditching the debate: "Why do I have to make Fox rich?” pic.twitter.com/lhJWwTzTYo — Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 26, 2016

"I’m going to have something else in Iowa, we’ll do something where we’ll raise money for the veterans and the wounded warriors, we’re going to do something simultaneously with the debate," he said.

Ted Cruz, Trump's main rival in both Iowa and national polls, fired back by mocking Trump and offering to debate him one-on-one.

"Apparently Megyn Kelly is really really scary. And you know, Donald is a fragile soul," he told conservative radio host Mark Levin.

The candidate lineup for the 9p ET Fox News-Google #GOPDebate on Thursday, January 28th: pic.twitter.com/OO6ExOojvt — Fox News (@FoxNews) January 26, 2016

“So, if Donald is afraid of Megyn Kelly, I would like to invite him on your show to participate in a one-on-one debate between me and Donald, mano a mano,” Cruz continued.

If Trump's threats seem familiar it's because he has done this before, threatening to pull out of previous debates only to, in the end, still take the stage.

Donald Trump's primary season boycott thoughts: A brief and incomplete timeline pic.twitter.com/Hy10qzfuhR — Rebecca Sinderbrand (@sinderbrand) January 26, 2016

But Trump's campaign insists that he won't budge.

"He’s definitely not participating in the Fox News debate," Trump Campaign Manager Corey Lewandowski told the Washington Post. "His word is his bond."