Trump confirms he will NOT be appearing in ANY Republican primary presidential debates - as speculation grows he will do an interview with Tucker Carlson instead Donald Trump, 77, has confirmed he will not be taking part in the upcoming Fox News GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday The former president took to the social media platform Truth Social on Sunday to say 'the public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had' There is growing speculation that he will instead do an interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson By Kamal Sultan For Dailymail.Com Published: 23:05 BST, 20 August 2023 | Updated: 00:23 BST, 21 August 2023 e-mail 23 shares 345 View comments Donald Trump has confirmed he will not be appearing in the upcoming Fox News GOP presidential debates. There is growing speculation that he will instead do an interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson. The former president, 77, said he will not be taking part in the Republican party debates because 'the public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had'. 'I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES,' he wrote on the social media platform Truth Social on Sunday. Republican hopefuls for the 2024 race are preparing for the GOP presidential primary debate at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Wednesday. Donald Trump has confirmed he will not be appearing in the Fox News GOP presidential debates There is growing speculation that he will instead do an interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson The former president, 77, said he will not be taking part in the Republican party debates because 'the public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I had' Trump took to Truth Social to announce he will not be taking part in the highly anticipated debate on Wednesday. 'New CBS POLL, just out, has me leading the field by 'legendary' numbers,' he wrote. 'TRUMP 62%, 46 Points above DeSanctimonious (who is crashing like an ailing bird!), Ramaswamy 7%, Pence 5%, Scott 3%, Haley 2%, Sloppy Chris Christie 2%, “Aida” Hutchinson 1%. 'The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had, with Energy Independence, Strong Borders & Military, Biggest EVER Tax & Regulation Cuts, No Inflation, Strongest Economy in History, & much more. I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!' The former president took aim at his rival Ron DeSantis, who is a distant second in the GOP field, and said he is crashing in the posts 'like an ailing bird'. In addition to Trump, the candidates that have qualified for the first Republican debate are DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Mike Pence, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Tim Scott and Doug Burgum. But he is reportedly planning to sit down for an online interview with Carlson rather than take part. The New York Times reported Friday on his plan to try to upstage the GOP primary field in the Fox News-sponsored debate by sitting down with the conservative network's renegade ex-anchor. Carlson was pushed out of the network, and his popular primetime show, in late April, and has been broadcasting using Twitter ever since. Trump previously hinted for months that he would snub the first debate - arguing that he's polling way ahead of any of his competitors. 'Many people are asking whether or not I will be doing the DEBATES?' he posted to Truth Social Friday. 'People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I’M YOUR MAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! In the same post, Trump said that 'ALL AMERICANS have been clamoring for a President of extremely High Intelligence.' Former President Donald Trump (left) is not attending the first Republican primary debate and will likely sit down for an online interview with former Fox News Channel host Tucker Carlson (right) instead Trump slightly left the door cracked open Friday to appear at Wednesday's debate in Milwaukee, but he revealed on Sunday he will not be taking part Carlson was pushed out of the network, and his popular primetime show, in late April, and has been broadcasting using Twitter ever since 'As everyone is aware, my Poll numbers, over a "wonderful" field of Republican candidates, are extraordinary,' he continued. 'In fact, I am leading the runner up, whoever that may now be, by more than 50 Points. 'Reagan didn't do it, and neither did others,' Trump also said. Trump was referring to Reagan's decision in 1980 to skip the Des Moines Register's Republican debate - which was the first televised GOP debate ever. In Reagan's case the decision briefly backfired. George H.W. had a good night and eventually won the Iowa caucuses. Reagan, however, became the eventual nominee and made Bush his running mate. During the 2016 campaign Trump skipped a primary debate in Iowa as well, because he was - like he is now - feuding with Fox News Channel over the network's inclusion of moderator Megyn Kelly. Fox News is considering showing video clips of Trump during questions to other candidates at the upcoming GOP presidential primary debate, according to a new report. The network's anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the debate on Wednesday in Milwaukee. If Trump does counter-program the debate by appearing with Carlson, it would set up an epic battle for viewers during the first major event of the primary season. In response, the team at Fox is considering integrating video clips of Trump into their debate questions, and is preparing to ask other candidates about Trump's latest indictment in Georgia, according to the Times. Former President Donald Trump participated in all but one of the GOP primary debates during the 2016 cycle It's unclear exactly which clips they'll use - and if Fox is trying to entice Trump into making an appearance. 'If he's not there, he'll still be there,' Baier told Politico this week, hinting at the network's strategy for a Trump no-show. 'In other words, he'll be a part of questioning.' 'There may be sound bites, there may be elements where 'this is what the leader of the primary says about this issue.' He'll be there, even if he's not there,' he added. The moderators said that they have questions prepared for Trump if he does attend, but that his absence wouldn't radically change the subjects they plan to cover. 'For the most part, we talk about subjects as buckets of questions,' Baier said. 'The buckets wouldn't change that much whether he's in or not. Maybe some of the interaction between candidates would change a bit.' A Fox News spokeswoman declined to comment when reached by DailyMail.com. While Trump dominates the field, polling well above his opponents, some observers warn that a no-show could give his rivals a chance to create a viral moment and gain momentum. Share or comment on this article: Trump confirms he will NOT be appearing in Fox News GOP presidential debates as speculation grows he will do an interview with Tucker Carlson instead e-mail 23 shares Add comment Comments 333 Share what you think Newest Oldest Best rated Worst rated View all The comments below have not been moderated. View all The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. Add your comment Enter your comment By posting your comment you agree to our house rules . Submit Comment Clear Close Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. 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