Former President Donald Trump is doing another cable news town hall, this time for Fox News and with Sean Hannity in Cedar Rapids, IA.
The hourlong event, slated for next Tuesday July 18, will be pre-taped earlier in the day at Alliant Energy Powerhouse Arena. Trump already has another Fox News appearance on his schedule: An interview with Maria Bartiromo set to air on Sunday Morning Futures this Sunday. That interview also will be pre-taped.
Hannity and Bartiromo are friendly interviewers of the former president, and the scheduling comes as Fox News prepares for a potential ratings blockbuster: The first 2024 Republican primary debate, scheduled for August 23.
As the front runner for the GOP nomination, Trump’s participation likely would make a big ratings difference. In 2015, Fox News hosted the first primary debate, when Trump instantly clashed with moderator and political rivals, and it drew about 24 million viewers.
But Trump is “unlikely” to participate in the first debates, his adviser, Jason Miller, said on NewsNation on Tuesday. Miller said, per The Hill, “He’s up by 30, 40, and even new polling shows he’s up by almost 50 percent in certain places. It really wouldn’t make much sense for him to go and debate right now with a bunch of folks who are down at three, four and five percent.” Miller, though, said that Trump has not made a definitive decision.
The debate will be moderated by Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. Trump did sit down with Baier for an interview last month, and the Fox News anchor was praised for his questioning of the former president on issues like his handling of classified documents and his false claims that the 2020 election was rigged. Trump later bashed Baier for a “nasty” interview, while he has criticized the network, claiming that they are pushing his rival Ron DeSantis. That said, Murdoch-owned media have in recent weeks given DeSantis noticeably tougher coverage.
