Former President Donald Trump dropped an intriguing hint recently, suggesting a one-on-one interview with Tucker Carlson could be his next move rather than participating in the upcoming Republican presidential primary debate on August 23.
The former president’s musings surfaced on Truth Social, where he responded to the idea by saying, “Interesting? So many people have suggested this!”
Earlier this month, Carlson took on the role of a moderator at the first GOP presidential forum of the primary season in Iowa. There, he interviewed an impressive roster of conservative leaders, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and former Vice President Mike Pence, among others. However, Trump did not attend this forum, referring to a scheduling conflict.
When probed on his potential participation in the GOP debate, Trump took a page from history, pointing out that leaders with significant leads, like Ronald Reagan, often abstain. “When you have a big lead, you don’t do it. We have a lead of 50 and 60 points in some cases,” Trump stated, questioning the fairness of granting low-polling candidates an opportunity to challenge him.
However, he remained non-committal about his final decision on attending the debate, leading to speculation about potential alternative appearances, like a sit-down with Carlson.
The roster for the first debate, as per Republican National Committee’s polling and fundraising criteria, includes Trump, DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and others. These candidates must exhibit at least 1 percent support in three national polls meeting the RNC’s requirements and have 40,000 unique donors from a minimum of 20 states and territories.
As of Monday, Trump leads the Republican candidate field by over 30 percentage points, according to an average of polls.
Recall that in 2016, Trump skipped a GOP debate hosted by Fox News and chose to hold an Iowa rally instead. His absence cut the viewership for the debate nearly in half, from 24 million to 12.5 million, according to The Washington Post.
Could this potential one-on-one with Tucker Carlson be a strategic move from Trump to engage his supporters in a more direct, less conventional manner? With Carlson’s shows raking in millions of views since they began airing last month, it’s certainly a possibility worth considering.
Whatever the former president’s decision, it’s clear his approach continues to shake up the traditional political landscape, challenging conventional expectations. The anticipation for the GOP debate – and whether Trump will choose to partake – highlights the significant impact of his choices on the political dynamics within the Republican party.
