Trump to participate in Fox News town hall same night as CNN GOP debate

Former President Trump has agreed to participate in a town hall event airing on Fox News on the same night CNN is hosting a Republican primary debate featuring a handful of candidates challenging him for the GOP nomination.

The town hall event — which, like the debate, will take place in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 10 and air from 9 to 10 p.m — will be co-moderated by Fox’s Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, two of the network’s leading news anchors.

The Fox News town hall “will focus on the leading issues facing voters ahead of the Iowa Caucus,” the network said in an announcement of the event.

Trump’s appearance on Fox is notable given his relentless attacks on the network in recent months; he has accused it of covering him unfairly and attempting to boost his GOP political rivals.

Trump sat out the first two GOP primary debates, which were held by Fox and Fox Business, respectively, citing his large polling lead and a “hostile” relationship with the outlet.

On the night of the first Republican debate last fall, Trump participated in an online interview with Tucker Carlson, Fox’s formerly top-rated host whom it ousted last spring.

The former president sat for a wide-ranging interview with Baier last summer, during which the anchor pushed back on his false claims of a stolen election in 2020 and pressed him on the various legal controversies he is involved in ahead of the 2024 election.

The event will air during the prime-time hour usually occupied by pundit Sean Hannity, a Trump ally and leading opinion host on Fox.