Fox News announced on Tuesday morning that former President Donald Trump will be participating in a primetime town hall in Des Moines, Iowa, on Wednesday, Jan. 10 from 9-10 p.m. ET.
The network also said the town hall will be co-moderated by Special Report chief political anchor Bret Baier and The Story’s executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum. Baier and MacCallum were last seen together in August 2023 moderating the first Republican presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.
Despite his frequent bashing of Fox News, the former president continues to make appearances on the network, perhaps acknowledging its popularity among the conservative and Republican base. He was most recently interviewed by Baier in June 2023 (Trump called Baier “nasty” and “really unfriendly”).
The Fox News-Trump town hall is being held on the same night, at the same time and in the same city as CNN’s Republican Presidential Primary Debate co-moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. That debate will exclusively feature Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov./UN ambassador Nikki Haley.
The counter-programming makes sense for Fox News and for Trump. With the Iowa Caucus just days away (Monday, Jan. 15), the former president gets an opportunity steal some attention from the other GOP presidential candidates, and Fox has an opportunity to steal viewers from CNN.