He was and he wasn't. He did fine in the debates, but they were the only time during which he seemed like just another candidate. But as of Tuesday, it seems as though he's confident enough to set those aside, too.

Trump needs them about as much as he needs any other facet of how-things-are-supposed-to-be-done: Little to not at all. Trump isn't really self-funding his race. He's raising money from donors and spending it, but doesn't actually need or seek out contributions from the typical Republican donor system. He has no bundlers. He doesn't appear to do fundraising events. Trump isn't worried about the broader universe of Republican kingmakers and poobahs, either. There's no seeking out endorsements from senators and governors, and he hasn't received any. After all, he's only been a Republican two years longer than Reince Priebus has run the Republican National Committee.

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The only vestige of the Republican power structure to which Trump has paid even grudging lip service so far was Fox News. In an era in which the Republican Party is fractured in ways that are just now starting to catch the light, Fox News remains one of the few outlets trusted by both sides. It's the only segment of the mainstream media that can bash the mainstream media and not prompt spit-takes. It's safe to say that if Fox News gets behind an idea, it will gain much more traction among Republicans and conservatives much more quickly than if some random person like Paul Ryan or Ted Cruz were to do so.

So, since the launch of his campaign, Trump has dutifully appeared on Fox News shows and sat for interviews with Fox News hosts. He's been in every Republican debate so far, including those hosted by Fox News and Fox Business. Despite being a candidate who prides himself on ignoring the way things are supposed to be done, who revels in dismissing the party and watching it apologize to him as a result, Trump found himself in a symbiotic relationship with the network.

After the first debate in August -- the first time Trump had to deal with the media and his competitors on terms other than his own -- Trump reframed the awkward introduction and questions by moderator Megyn Kelly by insisting that he'd been treated unfairly. He hadn't, certainly no more than he was treated badly at either of the next two debates. But Trump's game isn't to run for office, it's to dominate, to enter arm wrestling contests only once everyone else's arms have been broken. He lashed out at Fox and temporarily boycotted the network, until Fox's Zeus, Roger Ailes, smoothed things over.

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The tension wasn't resolved; it just piled up at a fault line. For the past five months, Fox has dealt with Trump because it wanted ratings and Trump has dealt with Fox because Trump loves attention from the media. Things weren't perfect, but they worked. But Trump had worked himself into a weird corner. When Fox put forward Megyn Kelly as a moderator again, it was a challenge. Say what you will about him, Trump's not going to ignore a challenge like that. And say what you will about Fox, but it wasn't going to let some dumb politician tell it what to do.

What's particularly fascinating here is that it's not clear who will win. Lots of people will tune in to the debate despite Trump's boycott, but he can spin that either way. This close to the Iowa caucus, it will be hard to gauge the extent to which Trump's isolationism played a role in whatever the outcome happens to be. It could very well be read by voters as an insult to them, instead of an insult to the power of the network. Anecdotally though, our Jenna Johnson reports that his fans support his position, because he's standing up to Fox, as he stood up to everyone else so far.

We were surprised when Donald Trump stormed to the front of the Republican field. We were surprised when the Republican establishment huddled on Capitol Hill proved repeatedly incapable doing things that might even slow him down. We were surprised when Trump shooed away his competitors like dying mosquitoes, on the rare occasions that his competitors approached.

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Most surprising of all, though, is that Trump is willing to ignore the will of the mighty Fox News, the artery through which red conservative lifeblood has flowed for a decade. The detente between the network and Trump after the first debate was a cold war. With Iowa looming and a double-digit lead in most polls under his belt, Trump wants to relegate Fox to the same tier as Rand Paul and Jeb Bush and the other losers. To make both debates the kiddie table debates, at which all the old ways of doing business talk amongst themselves. To demonstrate to Fox that, for all of respect it earns from its position of power in the establishment, the establishment isn't something of interest to Donald Trump.