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WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump would rather sit for an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson than take part in next week’s first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.
The 45th president, 77, plans to appear with Carlson — whose video interviews can generate more than 100 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter — in a bid to upstage both Trump’s rivals for the 2024 GOP nomination and Carlson’s former employer, the New York Times reported Friday.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a source close to the situation told The Post that the interview has not yet been finalized.
The former president has for weeks teased that he might skip the Fox News-hosted forum Wednesday, citing polls showing him far ahead of his GOP rivals.
The former president leads his nearest Republican challenger, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, by 39.9 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of recent polls, which puts Trump at 54.7%.
DeSantis garners 14.8% support, according to the survey average, followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 6.9%, former Vice President Mike Pence at 5.4%, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley at 3.6%, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) at 2.8% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 2.7%.
“Many people are asking whether or not I will be doing the DEBATES?” Trump wrote Thursday night on his Truth Social platform.
“ALL AMERICANS have been clamoring for a President of extremely High Intelligence. As everyone is aware, my Poll numbers, over a ‘wonderful’ field of Republican candidates, are extraordinary. In fact, I am leading the runner-up, whoever that may now be, by more than 50 Points,” Trump went on before sending the clearest signal he would not be on the Milwaukee stage Wednesday night.
“Reagan didn’t do it, and neither did others. People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I’M YOUR MAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Although Trump thrived politically from clashes with rivals during the 2016 Republican primary, he also has a record of counter-programming to deprive his political foes of attention.
As president, his first appearance in the White House press briefing room occurred on the same day in January 2019 that Nancy Pelosi reclaimed the gavel as House speaker, diverting focus from the Democratic victory. And rather than serve as a punching bag for comedians, Trump skipped each annual DC dinner put on by the White House Correspondents’ Association and hosted large campaign rallies outside the Beltway instead.
Carlson’s recent interviews have featured in-depth and news-making discussions with prominent subjects, including first son Hunter Biden’s former business partner Devon Archer, Ramaswamy and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Trump is expected to face four criminal trials next year — dramatically shaping his attempted rematch against President Biden.
While the Republican National Committee has yet to confirm the debate lineup, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Pence, Christie, Haley, Scott and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are among those believed to have qualified.