Why is Donald Trump skipping the GOP debate on Fox News to do an interview with Tucker Carlson?

Former president Donald Trump plans to sit out the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday next week and instead appear in an online interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, according to the New York Times, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The debate is being staged in Milwaukee, Wisconsin by Fox News.

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Why is Donald Trump skipping the GOP debate on Fox News to do an interview with Tucker Carlson?

There had been multiple reports that the former president was going to skip the Republican debate, and that he was planning some counter-programming to the event. Over the course of the past day, he was reported to be telling those close to him that he had made his decision, which was to sit for the Carlson interview.

Trump had already brought up the possibility for months that he would not attend either one or both of the first two Republican primary debates. He said that it did not seem to be a good idea to lay himself open to attack, given that he has a considerable lead in the polls over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Trump has also had disagreements with debate host Fox News over their recent news reports on him.

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Polls show Trump’s lead increase

According to the latest poll from Reuters/Ipsos, which was released this month, Trump secured the support of 47% of the Republican vote on a national scale. He has maintained his overwhelming lead despite the increasing number of indictments he is facing. Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis experienced a decline of six percentage points since July, bringing his current support down to only 13%.

None of the remaining candidates who are expected to participate in the upcoming debate have managed to exceed single-digit support.