Trump may steal the show from Fox with debate distraction: Ex-adviser

Former President Donald Trump may be planning to completely derail next week’s Republican presidential primary debate by surrendering in Georgia as his rivals take the stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to a former adviser to the ex-president.

Trump has until August 25 to turn himself in to authorities in Fulton County, Georgia, after being indicted this week on 13 felony counts accusing him of attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result. Two days before the deadline, the 2024 election cycle’s first GOP presidential primary debate will occur in Milwaukee, with Trump, the clear front-runner, already indicating that he will not be participating.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Trump was planning to upstage the debate, which is being hosted by Fox News, by appearing in a live interview with Tucker Carlson at the same time. Jason Osborne, who served as an adviser to Trump’s successful 2016 campaign, suggested during a CNN interview on Friday night that the former president may be planning to up the ante with a far more dramatic distraction.

“My guess—and I’m at about a 30 percent chance that this is going to happen—I think Donald Trump is going to turn himself in either right before the debate or during the debate,” Osborne said. “Which will suck all the oxygen out of the room.

“And then Fox is stuck having to air the debate,” he continued. “Other networks [would be] able to say, ‘Wait a minute, Donald Trump has actually just turned himself in.’ And then there’s Tucker Carlson waiting on the steps of the courthouse, able to interview him right there.”

Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump’s office via email on Friday night.

Trump has appeared ambivalent about the prospect of taking part in any Republican primary debate this year and first floated the idea of skipping the Fox News debate and instead staging a rival event with Carlson last month.

The former president has also repeatedly lashed out at Fox News over a perceived lack of coverage and respect for his status as the Republican front-runner.

Appearing live with Carlson at the same time as the debate would be a particularly bitter blow to Fox, as Carlson was the network’s top-rated opinion host before being fired earlier this year.

In June, Trump denounced Fox News for covering rival GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis instead of a Michigan county’s Republican Party presenting him with a “Man of the Decade” award.

In a Truth Social post on Thursday, Trump compared himself to former President Ronald Reagan, suggesting there was no need for him to appear at the GOP debate since he is enjoying a wide lead in the polls at the moment.

“As everyone is aware, my Poll numbers, over a ‘wonderful’ field of Republican candidates, are extraordinary,” Trump wrote. “In fact, I am leading the runner up, whoever that may now be, by more than 50 Points.”

“Reagan didn’t do it, and neither did others,” he added. “People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I’M YOUR MAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”