‘Don’t Take the Voters for Granted’: Fox & Friends Pleads for Trump to Show Up for Fox’s 2024 Republican Debate
Fox & Friends tried to play to Donald Trump’s vanity — as they expressed their hope that the former president will drop his reluctance and show up when Fox News hosts the first 2024 Republican primary debate.
The conversation began on Wednesday with the hosts cracking wise about Mike Pence being “a fibber” in his new campaign video where he clearly only pretended to fill up a pickup truck at a gas station. Ainsley Earhardt took a magnanimous view of the former vice president, saying “We are all on television. We know you have to shoot these things several times to get it right. Sometimes you have to do some safeties. So, you know, he can’t keep filling up. He can’t keep filling up the tank over and over and over.”
From there, the subject turned to whether or not Trump will appear at Fox News’ Republican presidential debate two weeks from now. Trump has repeatedly threatened not to show up (while trashing Fox along the way), and he held a rally last night where he once again openly questioned if he’d bother with the debate.
“People want to see Trump debate,” said Brian Kilmeade, calling him “extremely entertaining.” Kilmeade also fumed at the 2020 debate moderators (among whom was former Fox News anchor Chris Wallace) for, in his view, being unfair to Trump and covering for Joe Biden.
Steve Doocy chimed in next:
I think if Donald Trump is polling the audience and saying ‘Hey, do you think I should do that debate?’ Because he was very clear. He was emphatic. Nope, I’m not going it do it because I’m way ahead. We have heard him say you know my advisers are telling me I shouldn’t do it.
Obviously, he is having second doubts about the advice he is getting from his advisers. Because, if he is polling the audience and… I just don’t see Donald Trump sitting at home watching, along with 40 or 50 million Americans when he sees Ron DeSantis in that center square. That would absolutely drive him crazy.
“I know he is angry about everything that he feels this administration and the DOJ have put him through,” said Earhardt. “But don’t take it out on Republicans, because Republicans want to see him up on stage. Don’t take the voters for granted. Yes, he is ahead by a lot, but to see him up on the stage would just be wonderful. We want to see how they interact. We want to hear their policies.”
“That’s how he became Donald Trump the first time,” said Doocy.
“He made it entertaining,” Earhardt said.
Watch above via Fox News.
