Trump has already recorded his debate-night interview with Tucker Carlson, sources say

Donald Trump has already recorded an interview with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the former president intends to use as counterprogramming for the first GOP presidential debate on Wednesday night, which he has said he will skip, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

Carlson has been in Europe since Saturday, a source close to him said.

It remains unclear how and when the interview will be published. Carlson has been releasing interviews on X, formerly known as Twitter, since getting fired by Fox News earlier this year. 

Carlson did not respond to NBC News' request for comment about the interview. Trump campaign spokespeople have declined to comment about the interview or any other form of debate counterprogramming they could engage in. 

Trump senior campaign adviser Jason Miller told NBC News that the former president will be at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, the night of the debate.

Trump previously had hinted that he might forgo the Wednesday night debate with his 2024 GOP rivals in Milwaukee and was exploring options for counterprogramming, people familiar with his deliberations told NBC News last month.

The former president indicated during a Newsmax interview this month that he wouldn’t sign a loyalty pledge committing to support the eventual GOP nominee, which is required to secure a spot on the debate stage.

Trump is one of 10 GOP presidential candidates who appear to have met the party's polling and fundraising criteria to qualify for the debate, hosted by Fox News.

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Former Vice President Mike Pence’s campaign announced this month that he had qualified for the debate. If Trump had decided to participate, he would have gone head-to-head against his former vice president after being indicted in two separate probes related to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

In a post to his social media platform, Truth Social, last Thursday Trump touted his poll numbers as a reason not to participate in the GOP debate. “People know my Record, one of the BEST EVER, so why would I Debate? I’M YOUR MAN. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he wrote.