Fox’s MacCallum: Trump’s debate absence likely means more focus on ‘issues people care about’

Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum says former President Trump’s decision to skip the first Republican primary debate this week could present an opportunity for candidates to focus more on issues that are top of mind for voters.

“I think it’s kind of a golden opportunity for them,” MacCallum told The Hill during an interview Tuesday. “For all of them, I just think they’re going to get a little more room to breathe. I think there’s going to be a lot of focus on the issues that people care about, because that is the number one thing that we hear from everyone we speak with, is that they are just so hungry to move the conversation off of everything that’s been happening in the past and some of what’s been on [Trump’s] plate and hear about what matters to them.”

MacCallum, who is co-moderating Wednesday night’s debate for Fox in Milwaukee, said she expects the rest of the GOP candidates on the stage to pounce on the void left by Trump as they work to differentiate themselves from both the former president, the race’s front-runner, and one another.

“We’ll be asking them some pretty challenging questions,” she said. “So, we’ll see who is on their game and who’s not.”

MacCallum did not share any specifics about what questions the candidates will be asked but listed issues relating to the economy as a major point of emphasis for both Fox viewers specifically and GOP primary voters more generally.

Some GOP primary candidates might benefit more than others from Trump’s absence on the stage, the moderator said. Others are likely to miss out on the opportunity to bash Trump to his face, which could have given their campaign a boost.

“I think [former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie] probably would have relished an opportunity to go head-to-head with the former president,” MacCallum said. “I think his own former Vice President Mike Pence may have wanted that moment as well.”

However, the anchor said she and co-moderator Bret Baier will not stifle candidates who wish to address Trump and the various political and legal controversies he is currently embroiled in.

“There will be an opportunity for them to say their piece on those issues as it relates to the former president, even without him on stage,” she said. “It’s a debate, so we’re not going to squelch lively debate. That’s what we want. That’s what we want to see on that stage, and that’s what people at home want to see, too.”

Baier said Tuesday that Trump is seeking to drown out post-debate coverage by agreeing to surrender in a Georgia election interference case Thursday.

“I think there has to be some planning,” Baier said during an interview on Hugh Hewitt’s radio program. “I mean, I think it is about sucking the oxygen out of the room for anybody who had a big night on Wednesday making the rounds on Thursday.”

Trump was charged last week in connection with his efforts to overturn the Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results, marking his fourth criminal arraignment this year. And his surrender will be a major news event.

MacCallum called the timing of Trump’s planned surrender “not an accident,” but said the network plans to give debate reaction and analysis “equal time” with Trump arraignment coverage.

“People are going to want to see a lot of these moments replayed,” she said of the highlights from the debate. “There are going to be people whose campaign ends after tomorrow night because … the financial backers are the closest watchers of all of this … money is going to be shifting around a lot starting on Thursday so that will be interesting to watch.”

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