On Tuesday morning, the moderators for the opening Republican debate of the 2024 presidential election cycle were made public.
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, two seasoned Fox News hosts, will be in charge of covering the event, which is certain to be filled with exciting moments.
The information was first reported by Deadline, who noted that former President Trump’s involvement is yet uncertain:
Fox News’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the first Republican primary debate on Aug. 23.
The event at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee is expected to be a big ratings getter, as was the first GOP primary debate in 2015, also aired on Fox News.
The unknown is whether Donald Trump will participate, something that would undoubtedly add to the attention of the event.
The debate is scheduled from 9 p.m. ET to 11 p.m. ET.
Trump’s position on Fox News has changed, according to Deadline, since he made the commitment to skip the event. Additionally, he had previously stated that he was not interested in speaking with Baier, particularly following Fox News’ coverage of the 2020 election. But despite the heated exchanges that occurred during their sit-down interview Friday night, Trump seemed to be warming up to the idea of once again using the cable behemoth to deliver his message.
The New York Times reported last month:
Trump was resistant to having Baier question him at a debate, given the Fox News anchor’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election. But since then, Trump agreed to sit down with Baier on Monday for an interview, in which the Fox anchor told him, “You lost the 2020 election,” after Trump claimed that he won. Trump also offered comments on his recent indictment on charges of withholding classified information from federal officials.
Baier is Fox News’ chief political anchor and executive editor of Special Report with Bret Baier. MacCallum anchors and is executive editor of The Story with Martha MacCallum. Baier and MacCallum have co-anchored other Fox News special events coverage, including the midterms, and moderated a town hall with Trump at the Lincoln Memorial in 2020.
“For me, at times, the Washington Post, various people – even Fox because, you know, I’m no great fan of Fox anymore,” Trump told Baier. “But you’re sitting here,” the Fox host replied. “Well, you’ve gotta get your word out somehow, right?” Trump shot back.
“They fought me very hard in 2016, very much like the way they’re fighting me now – very, very hard and, I won. Then they became very nice,” Trump said.
Furthermore, according to Baier, Fox News is the cable news network that attracts the most independent viewers. More independent voters than any other TV source watch Fox News, he claimed. Trump retorted with, “A whole lot less than used to watch it.”
