Trump's decision to back out of debate tests Fox News' ability to pivot again
Donald Trump to skip Wednesday's first debate of the 2024 presidential primary season likely deprives Fox of a huge late-summer audience. Even worse for the network, Trump has talked of appearing in an online interview with former Fox star Tucker Carlson at the same time.
Trump's announcement on Sunday wasn't necessarily a surprise.
Fox debate moderators Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum had been preparing for two events — one if he were there and one if he wasn't.
Several Fox personalities this summer publicly urged Trump to attend the event, and Fox executives privately made the same argument to the former president. His former press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, called Trump's decision a «huge political miscalculation» on Monday on Fox.
Despite Trump's lead over other Republicans in polls, MacCallum cautioned potential viewers against dismissing a debate without him as a junior varsity event.
She cited a recent poll by The New York Times and Siena College, taken July 23-27, that showed nearly half of Trump backers in Iowa said they were open to other candidates.
«I don't think as members of the media or people who watch politics it's our place to say, Oh, this is over, these people aren't going to be the nominee,'» she said.
«It's way too soon to say that.»
Trump's first appearance in a GOP primary debate brought 24 million viewers to Fox in 2015. It would be next to impossible to reach those numbers again, given his novelty has worn off and cord-cutting has diminished cable news audiences.
