Donald Trump plans to skip the first of two Republican primary presidential debates because it’s being moderated by Bret Baier of Fox News, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.
The notion that the former president would shy away from TV coverage by the conservative news outlet he has watched for hours daily was once unthinkable. But perceived cracks in his favourite channel’s allegiance have apparently changed his outlook.
Baier is scheduled to moderate the first debate in Milwaukee in August.
In a Times report backed by five unnamed sources who have “discussed the matter” with Trump, he reportedly raised his objection as one of the reasons to ditch the first televised encounter.
“‘Why would I have Bret Baier’ question me, Mr Trump told an associate,” the newspaper wrote.
Trump was “furious” that Baier rejected many of Trump’s voting-fraud claims in covering the 2020 election, according to the Times.
Baier was on the air when Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona was correctly called by Fox News, a network move that has stuck in Trump’s craw. Baier later made a point-by-point rebuttal of Trump’s baseless Arizona claims after Trump attacked him.
Trump is additionally wary because former Fox News host Megyn Kelly asked him about demeaning comments he made toward women during a 2016 Republican debate, associates told the Times.
Trump has already criticised the Republican National Committee’s announcement of the debates, saying he led by “seemingly insurmountable numbers” and would have to respond to “hostile Networks with angry, TRUMP ... hating anchors asking the ‘questions.’”
Trump has a large polling lead on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has not announced his candidacy. Official challengers include former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former biotech exec Vivek Ramaswamy.