Former President Donald Trump may be skipping the first Republican presidential debate slated to be hosted by Fox News in August. Instead, he may look to be joining former Fox News host Tucker Carlson in a one-on-one interview on social media on the same night.
For now, it’s a hypothetical, but the former president is entertaining the idea in what could be a battle of mainstream media vs. new media.
Trump reposted on his Truth Social platform July 23 a comment suggesting a one-on-one with Carlson the night of the Fox primary debate, to which he responded, “Interesting? So many people have suggested this!”
There are also reports from Vanity Fair citing sources who say Trump “reached out to Carlson and asked if Carlson would do the interview — but no decisions have been made.”
The former president has qualified for the first primary presidential debate given his dominant poll numbers, but has already signaled he won’t be showing up. Fifty-two percent of GOP voters would vote for Trump if the primary was held the day the poll was conducted, according to a survey released last week.
Trump also says his appearance on stage would give Fox News a surge in ratings which is something he’s reluctant to provide for the media giant he’s previously clashed with. Fox is struggling to maintain its largely conservative audience after recent controversies, including the removal of Carlson from his primetime slot.
As SAN reported earlier this month, Carlson is reportedly looking to start his own media company and investors have already promised a reported $100 million behind the venture. So the hypothetical tussle over ratings that could come Aug. 23 would highlight the ongoing rivalry between a mainstream media and up-and-coming streaming services looking to break away from the typical format.
This story speaks to the swift evolution of an industry in transformation. Fox News is the most-watched cable news network. Last year the networks top show generated an average of 3.5 million viewers.
But Tucker is finding early success away from mainstream after launching “Tucker on Twitter.” While viewership is not measured the same from TV to online media, it’s worth noting his most recent episode on Twitter generated nearly 95 million views.
