What the GOP candidates are saying about their first debate

The 10 highest-polling Republican candidates will take the stage in Cleveland, Ohio Thursday for the first debate of the presidential cycle - just about six months before the first votes will be cast in the nominating contests.

The debate has already caused some consternation because of the criteria set by Fox News, the debate host. Fox decided that only the top 10 candidates in the five most recent national polls recognized by the network would appear on the main debate stage (although in the event of a tie for the tenth spot, the tied candidates would also appear in primetime debate). The remaining candidates will appear in a one-hour forum at 5 p.m. on Thursday, a few hours before the debate.

With several candidates clustered within the margin of error in the low single digits, it's not entirely clear who will make the cut. Fox is planning to announce the candidates who will appear in the primetime debate on Tuesday.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus is defending Fox's methods.

"[Y]ou can't necessarily treat someone that's polling at 18 or 20 percent the same as someone that's polling at a half a percent or 1 percent," Priebus said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "I'm actually very grateful to Fox News and CNN for the fact that they're letting every single person, all 17, participate in debate night."

And, he pointed out, four years ago, some low-polling GOP candidates like Jon Huntsman and Gary Johnson didn't make the cut for some of the GOP debates.

Click through to see what some of the candidates are saying about the upcoming debate.

Donald Trump: “I’m not a debater”

Businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump, who is currently leading his fellow Republicans in the polls by a substantial margin, seemed to be trying to lower expectations Sunday when he declared in several network interviews, "I'm not a debater."

Of course, with Trump an insult is often not far away.

"I don't stand up and debate like these politicians. They are all talk, no action. All they do is, their whole life, they debate and then they don't get things done. I get things done," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

Trump said he's preparing "by seeing what's going on" rather than using pollsters to test his message - a practice that he said leaves other politicians "frozen."

On NBC's "Meet the Press," he said he thinks he knows "most of the subjects very well," since people had been asking him questions for three or four months.

"I don't think you can artificially prepare for something like this," he said.

While Trump isn't one to shy away from a fight with another candidate, he claimed, "I don't think I'm going to be throwing punches. I'm not looking to attack."

At least one of the Republican candidates thinks Trump is telling the truth.

"I actually think that Donald Trump is not going to be nearly as wild as people think he is," neurosurgeon and presidential candidate Ben Carson said on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday. "He's a reasonable guy. He is not going to try to out-talk everybody else."

Ben Carson: I wish more people were included

Ben Carson, the conservative neurosurgeon, sits comfortably in the middle of the GOP pack and is almost certain to be on the stage Thursday night. He said on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday that he has "plenty of people" who are checking the polls but he's not "obsessing" over his standing.

But he does feel for his fellow GOP candidates who aren't so lucky.

"I am on record as wishing that perhaps more thought could be put into ways to include everybody. You know, I just don't see why everybody can't be provided an equal platform on which to explain their vision for America," Carson said. If it were up to him, he would cut the field in half randomly and hold two debates.

In any case, he's looking forward to the chance to clarifying his stance on some issues because he believes he's been maligned. On "Reliable Sources, he said , "I find it pretty amazing. You know, for instance, there are people who say, Carson thinks all welfare programs should be withdrawn and all safety nets, even though he perhaps benefited from those things. Where do they get this crap from?"

Rick Santorum: “These national polls are irrelevant”

Although former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was the runner-up for the 2012 GOP nomination, he's been close to the bottom of the 2016 field in recent polls, meaning he will almost certainly not make it to the main debate stage on Thursday.

He's criticized Fox for its standards but has at the same time been dismissive of the national polls so far.

"I saw a poll recently that said that they asked Iowa caucus goers if you can name all the presidential candidates. And 80 percent could only name three. And that's people here in Iowa that probably study this more than anybody else. These polls, these national polls are irrelevant," Santorum said on ABC's "This Week."

Santorum is quick to remind his interviewers it's not the first time he has had a slow start. In 2012, after spending months in the single digits, he came from behind to snatch the Iowa caucuses away from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 34 votes.

"Unfortunately, the networks and the RNC have gone along with this irrelevant measure of legitimacy of candidacy, and then have the ability to influence who is in the top 10 by the amount of coverage they get, and amount of advertising dollars. I mean, you have folks who have advertised on Fox and Fox Business in order to drive their numbers up," Santorum said Sunday. "People are really concerned that the media is now saying we're going to...cull the field. We're going to decide who the top candidates are, not the people of Iowa, not the people of New Hampshire. That's wrong."

Rick Perry: I expect to be on stage

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is one of the candidates on the cusp who may not know whether he made the top 10 until Tuesday night. But on "Fox News Sunday," he was the picture of confidence.

"I full well expect to be on the stage, but as a lot of people recognize, this is not a one-shot pony here. We've got a full campaign in front of us," Perry said.

Perry did not perform well in debates in his last presidential campaign, which he has frequently acknowledged on the campaign trail. In November 2012, his inability to remember the third agency of government he would cut - followed by the word "oops" - began the death spiral of his candidacy. He has said the recovery from back surgery contributed to his poor performance.

This time, he says he's ready.

"I have not made it any secret that my preparation has been substantially more than what it was four years ago. We got in this process late. We had had major back surgery. We were not prepared physically or mentally, and it reflected that," he said of the 2012 debate. "The preparation is going to be very reflective of what we've done. I think people will see a very, very focused, disciplined candidate and you add that to the record, and I feel very comfortable about where we are at this particular moment in time."

John Kasich: I’m focused on the grassroots

A recent spike in his poll members might help Ohio Gov. John Kasich climb over a few of his fellow Republicans to make it on stage Thursday night. But if not, he says it's no big deal.

"I'd like to be there, but, you know, this debate comes six months before the selection of a single delegate," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

Plus, he argued he's perfectly content with his low poll standings.

"I'm governor of Ohio. I wasn't traveling around the country trying to make a name for myself. I was just trying to take care of Ohio. And not many national reporters wanted to come out here and cover something that was going well. I mean, if we had been blowing things up, they would have been here. But, you know, everything is fine."

Rand Paul: I’ll make a clear distinction

If Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul makes the debate stage, he's almost certainly going to face attacks from his fellow Republicans for some of his positions on national security.

Paul says he's ready.

"We will make a clear distinction between myself and some of the others, that I'm a small-government conservative, one who believes in the Constitution," he said on CNN's "State of the Union." "I will do whatever it takes to defend the country, but I'm not interested or a believer that every intervention has been good for us."

He has criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's role in promoting U.S. intervention in Libya in 2011, and plans to tie some of his fellow candidates to that position.

"Many of the Republicans who are carping at my heels, those who want to be relevant in this debate, they supported Hillary Clinton's war in Libya. They supported sending money to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. So, we will have this debate over who supports the president's foreign policy. And I think you'll find that the tables may well be turned," Paul said.

Mike Huckabee: Hoping to get attacked

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will likely be on the stage Thursday night, but he has an unorthodox plan for the debate.

"The format only allows for one-minute responses and a 30-second rebuttal if we are attacked by name. So probably a lot of us are sitting there, hoping that we get attacked by name so we get a little more time," he said on CBS' "Face the Nation" Sunday.

Chris Christie: “Let’s all take a deep breath”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie - who may not know until Tuesday whether he'll make it into the main debate - likes to remind voters of what the race looked like at this time in 2012.

"Let's all take a deep breath. You know, four years ago, Herman Cain was winning right now. Eight years ago, Rudy Giuliani was winning right now," Christie said on CNN's "State of the Union."

"It doesn't happen overnight," Christie added. "These folks in Iowa and New Hampshire particularly are notorious late-deciders on what they're going to do."

His ultimate conclusion, however? "I'm confident I will be there on Thursday night."

Jim Gilmore: I won’t watch the top 10

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore was the 17th and final Republican to jump in the presidential race with almost no fanfare. True to form on his low-key candidacy, he's not worried about the debate and said on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" he isn't even sure he'll watch the top 10 (he won't make the cut).

"I'm more focused on what I want to propose for the people of the United States," Gilmore said Sunday. "This business of the debates is nice and it's a good vehicle for talking about issues, but at the end of the day, the people are not as important as what we'll want to do for the people of the United States."