Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has taken a fresh swipe at Fox News Channel's "arbitrary" ground rules for its upcoming GOP debate.
"The day it was announced I was the only candidate who went out there and blasted them. Now more and more people are blasting the way, including pundits and others who recognize that this is a folly," Santorum said Monday on "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
Newsmax TV.
Story continues below video.
Watch Newsmax TV on DirecTV Ch. 349, DISH Ch. 223 and Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
A candidate needs to place in the top 10 in an average of national polls to meet the criteria Fox News Channel has set to take the stage Aug. 6 in Cleveland, a requirement Santorum, a former senator representing Pennsylvania, is dead set against because of the slim margins involved.
"The margin of error in these polls are 5 and 6 percent … On all fronts, this is just an arbitrary, draw in the line by the media to be able to pick a top tier that was made by in large to promote themselves to be the top tier," Santorum said.
"I'm not worried about it. I'm going to stay focused on what I was focused on before these debates were announced which is spending my time and energy and every primary states and win those states...."
As of Sunday, Santorum, along with former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former New York Gov. George Pataki and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham were outside the top 10.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.