Shortly after studying he was being indicted a 3rd time, former President Donald J. Trump had a non-public dinner with the highest management at Fox News as they lobbied him to attend the primary Republican presidential main debate this month, three folks conversant in the occasion stated.
The dinner between Mr. Trump, the Fox News president Jay Wallace and the community’s chief government, Suzanne Scott, was held in a non-public eating room at Mr. Trump’s golf membership in Bedminster, N.J., in line with two of the folks conversant in the occasion. The dinner was scheduled earlier than the indictment news.
Mr. Trump has been vocal about most likely skipping the primary debate, which Fox News is internet hosting with the Republican National Committee on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee, in addition to the second, deliberate for September on the Reagan Presidential Library in California. But he has additionally made clear to a number of folks in non-public conversations that he hasn’t closed the door on attending the primary one.
Despite Mr. Trump’s caustic assaults on Fox News over the previous a number of days on his social media web site, Truth Social, the two-hour dinner, was described as cordial.
The Fox executives made a tender enchantment for Mr. Trump to attend the talk, two of the folks conversant in the dinner stated, telling the previous president that he excels on the middle stage and that it presents a chance for him to indicate off his debate expertise. Several individuals who have tried pushing Mr. Trump to debate in latest weeks have argued that if he doesn’t present up, he might be giving a gap to different candidates to carry out effectively.
Mr. Trump informed the Fox executives that he had not but decided and would preserve an open thoughts, the three folks stated. The Fox staff requested the assembly. The dinner was purported to have included one other participant from the community — the host Sean Hannity, who’s pleasant with Mr. Trump — however he was doing his 9 p.m. present and couldn’t make it.
Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trump, declined to touch upon the dinner, saying, “I won’t discuss a private meeting.”
Irena Briganti, a spokeswoman for Fox News, additionally declined to touch upon the non-public dinner.
Mr. Trump has complained about Fox News for months, notably for its protection of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the previous president’s closest competitor within the Republican main. Recently, Mr. Trump publicly attacked an interview that the Fox News host Bret Baier performed with Mr. DeSantis, describing it as too tender. He resurfaced that grievance about Mr. Baier on the dinner, two of the folks stated.
Mr. Baier, who might be co-hosting the Fox News debate with Martha MacCallum, did an interview with Mr. Trump in June that was broadly seen as contributing to Mr. Trump’s authorized challenges, and which the previous president later complained was “unfriendly” after initially saying he loved it and that it was “fair.” Mr. Trump has had quite a few non-public conversations with a spread of individuals, together with his personal advisers, Fox expertise and main Republican donors, about whether or not he ought to attend the talk.
Mr. Trump has indicated to his associates that he could be silly to threat showing on the identical stage as his lower-polling rivals and giving them an opportunity to “have a moment” by touchdown a shot on him, in line with one of many folks, who has mentioned the talk with the previous president. Mr. Trump’s advisers have instructed to him and to others that he has nothing to achieve from debating, however the former president himself has pointedly refused to rule out making a shock look.
Source: www.nytimes.com