Former President Donald Trump has offered scintillating new details about his upcoming interview with Tucker Carlson, and it’s an open question whether his counter program to the GOP’s presidential debate will surpass the latter’s viewership.
President Trump, posting on Truth Social, said his sit down with the former Fox News host will air at 9:00 PM tonight. The duo is expected to use X, formerly known as Twitter, for dissemination, where Carlson has made his popular “Tucker on Twitter” series a staple of viral video circulation since he began the series in June.
The 45th president tantalized followers with one simple message: “SPARKS WILL FLY.”
Donald Trump says his interview with Tucker Carlson will drop at 9pm tonight, the same time as the start of the GOP Debate pic.twitter.com/GoCaDoVO8K
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) August 23, 2023
The calculation to air a competing program may benefit both men, who hold grudges against Fox News for negative coverage of the former president as well as their decision to fire Carlson in the wake of a $787 million settlement that alleged he spread disinformation about Dominion Voting Systems in the wake of the 2020 election. Fox executives in recent weeks made a pilgrimage to Trump’s Bedminster residence to plead with him to join the debate; the overture, insiders said, left the former president feeling even more emboldened that he made the right decision to skip.
For Carlson, the opportunity to exact revenge on his former employer is prime. Despite being the network’s top-rated host, Carlson was sacrificed under the terms of an agreement with Dominion to avoid further litigation. The brash conservative will now have the opportunity to wield his influence against Fox in a head-to-head matchup.
The GOP debate also begins at 9:00 PM Wednesday night and features eight Republican candidates who are vying with President Trump to become the party’s nominee to take on President Joe Biden. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy lead the runner-ups, and others who qualified for the stage include South Carolina Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, former Vice President Mike Pence, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson.
President Trump believes he is “up by too many points” to participate in the debate, insiders say. Poll after poll has shown him leading the GOP field by sizable margins and taking a significant lead over President Biden in the general election.