Donald Trump will most likely not attend the debate and instead will seek to participate in an interview with Tucker Carlson

The first debate of the Republican candidates may not have the presence of Donald Trump. The former president is reportedly considering an online interview with Tucker Carlson that day.

The Republican front-runner has been hesitating for weeks about his participation in the Aug. 23 debate that will air on Fox News. Trump has said that participating in the Republican event would allow his rivals to attack him unnecessarily.

However, the new plans of the former president would not only see him skip the conversation with his opponents but also attempt to generate direct viewer competition to the event, as the interview with Carlson would take place at the same time as the debate.

Counterprogramming could help measure the support or interest that Republicans have for Donald Trump and compare him with the rest of the candidates. But that is not the only competition at stake because it would also show Carlson how he measures up against the news giant that took him off the air.

Trump campaign spokesman on plans

Steven Cheung explained that the candidate has not yet decided exactly what to do, making it clear that the former president could still appear in the debate.

“We haven’t confirmed anything on our end,” he said.

It should be noted that one of the requirements for the debate is that Trump must agree to sign a pledge in which he states that he will support the eventual Republican nominee. However, the former president has made it clear that he disagrees with signing the loyalty pledge.

“I wouldn’t sign the pledge. They want you to sign a pledge, but I can name three or four people that I wouldn’t support for president. So right there there’s a problem,” he said during an interview with Newsmax TV.

Trump stopped short of specifically naming the candidates he would not support but criticized both former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.