Fox News hosting Trump town hall on same night of CNN Iowa debate

Trump set to appear on Fox News on same night as Haley-DeSantis debate airs on CNN

Fox News will host a town hall with former President Donald Trump on the same night as his challengers for the Republican presidential nomination appear on stage for a debate just days before the Iowa caucuses.

Both the debate and the town hall will take place in the Hawkeye state on 10 January ahead of the caucuses on the 15th.

Anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will moderate the Des Moines debate set for 9pm ET next Wednesday. The network noted that it’s the first time that Mr Trump will sit with both of them since May 2020.

Mr Trump last took part in a sit down with Mr Baier in June, speaking about his handling of classified documents for which he was indicted in Florida. He also commented on former members of his Cabinet speaking out against him returning as president, in addition to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Both anchors also moderated the first GOP primary debate in Milwaukee in August, which drew 13 million viewers. The viewership for the subsequent three debates has steadily decreased. Mr Trump has so far declined to take part in any of the debates.

The debate next week looks set to be a one-on-one between former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. The upcoming caucuses may reveal who’s likely to come out as the main alternative to Mr Trump, the overwhelming favourite to win the nomination.

Both Ms Haley and Mr DeSantis are on average more than 30 points behind Mr Trump among Iowa voters, meaning that someone has to emerge as the clear alternative early in the race to even have the slightest chance of beating Mr Trump to the nomination.

No other candidates had qualified for the debate by the Tuesday deadline. At least 10 per cent support in three national or Iowa polls that met the criteria for the host network CNN was required, including at least one poll being of likely participants in the caucuses.

Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson all failed to meet the requirements.

In a lengthy post on X, Mr Ramaswamy shared his frustration with CNN after he was fact-checked during a town hall regarding the many conspiracy theories he has been pushing on the campaign trail and in the previous debates. He also criticised the negative comments about him from CNN anchors and commentators.