Donald Trump has already made it clear that he will not be attending the first GOP debate, and instead, will spite Fox News by appearing in a pre-recorded interview with Tucker Carlson that will go live on Twitter during the Wednesday night event. However, Fox has reportedly made plans to ensure that Trump is part of the debate, and no, it doesn’t involve using Donald Trump Jr. who will be attending as a surrogate for his father. Whatever that means.
Last week, moderator Bret Baier told Politico that Trump will “be there, even if he’s not there” thanks to his current position as “leader of the primary.” What that exactly entails wasn’t clear at the time, but according to The Daily Beast, Fox News is taking great pains to make Trump part of the debate:
Indeed, multiple people familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that the network has committed to a plan to “beam Trump in” by playing clips of him throughout the debate and having the candidates respond. The move partly satisfies the network’s need for an active, lively debate with the frontrunner somehow involved, as well as its post-2020 core operating principle to “respect the audience”—in particular, the MAGA base that craves all things Trump.
As for why Trump is skipping the debate, The Guardian reports that the former president is hoping to humiliate both Fox News and Rupert Murdoch as well as “starve the other Republican presidential candidates of attention.”
According to sources, Trump is still mad at how Fox News has covered him lately as evidenced by his recent freakout over their continued use of that picture he doesn’t like. The “big orange one.”
(Via The Daily Beast)
Source: https://uproxx.com/viral/fox-news-beam-trump-in-gop-debate/