Donald Trump will not be on the debate stage Wednesday night, but that does not mean the former president will be without an audience when his rivals for the 2024 Republican nomination face the first major test of their campaigns.

And while the eight contenders who qualified for the debate won’t be battling Trump directly, they will have to compete with him for the attention of Republican primary voters on Wednesday night

Trump will be giving an interview to former Fox News host Tucker Carlson that Carlson is set to air at the same exact time the Republican debate kicks off in Milwaukee.

The interview is scheduled to appear on Carlson’s account on X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter, at 7:55 p.m. Central.

The first 2024 Republican presidential debate kicks off at 8 p.m. Central on Fox News — Carlson’s former employer.

“Whatever you think of Trump, he is, as of tonight, the indisputable, far-and-away frontrunner of the Republican race,” Carlson said in a video posted Wednesday afternoon to his X account. “We think voters have an interest in hearing what he thinks.”

Carlson said Trump approached him “about having a conversation for a far larger audience than he’d receive on cable news,” and that Carlson agreed to interview the former president.

Carlson teased a preview of the interview early Wednesday evening which included the former Fox News host questioning Trump about ex-Vice President and 2024 rival Mike Pence and asking Trump if he believes the country is headed toward a civil war and if he may be assassinated:

The full interview from Trump’s property in Bedminster, New Jersey is set to air on Carlson’s X account, which can be accessed here.