Former President Donald Trump declared on his Truth Social site Wednesday that "my interview with Tucker Carlson will be aired tonight at 9 p.m. Sparks will fly. Enjoy."
This is the exact same time that the first Republican primary debate for the presidential nomination will begin in Milwaukee. The debate will be televised nationally on Fox News, and will include eight other candidates.
Trump announced earlier this week that he would not be participating in the debate, citing his commanding lead in the GOP field — he's about 40 points ahead in national polls — and instead would be taking part in the interview, The Hill reported.
The pre-recorded interview will be broadcast on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Trump has been feuding with Fox News recently, in contrast to previous years when it was the network on which he preferred to appear for interviews. Carlson has also been at odds with Fox. The former prime-time host was ousted from the network in April, CNN reported.
After Trump announced he would not be participating in the debate, Fox News informed his campaign that they will no longer provide credentials to some surrogates of the former president to attend the debate's spin room, which is under Fox's control.
However, the Republican National Committee manages the credentials for the actual debate, and sources said those tickets are still expected to be honored.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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