Trump to Blow Off Presidential Candidate Forum Hosted By Tucker Carlson On Friday

AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File

Tucker Carlson is hosting a forum in Iowa this week featuring 2024 presidential candidates. But the leader of the pack has decided to sit it out.

Carlson will interview six presidential candidates on Friday at the FAMiLY Leadership Summit in Des Moines. Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL), former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former governors Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson are all slated to sit down with the former Fox News host.

But notably absent from the roster is former President Donald Trump. And on Tuesday morning, event organizer Bob Vander Plaats confirmed that the former president plans to no-show.

“I learned last night that @realDonaldTrump will NOT attend our Leadership Summit this Friday,” Vander Plaats wrote on Twitter. “Thus, our lineup is set.”

Vander Plaats has not been shy about going after Trump — arguing that he’s been overly fixated on the 2020 election and that he has alienated the base on abortion.

“I thought his answer to the pro-life issue on the CNN town hall with Kaitlan Collins over that was a disaster as well,” Vander Plaats told NewsNation in May. “That’s why I think the Iowa caucus door has flung wide open for people to take a look at who should be our nominee.

Trump, however, will appear at another event this weekend where Carlson is scheduled to attend — the Turning Point Action conference in Florida. Trump and Carlson, though, will give separate speeches and not sit down for a conversation.

In a statement to Mediaite, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said, “President Trump was in Iowa last week and will be back next week. Unfortunately there is a scheduling conflict and the President will be in Florida this weekend headlining the premier national young voter conference with Turning Point Action conference while DeSantis is nowhere to be found.”