President Trump will appear on his son Donald Trump Jr.’s online show Triggered this week.
The Trump campaign has launched a suite of online programming, including Triggered, as it tries to excite its base, but Thursday’s show will be the first time the president has appeared.
It comes as the president returns to the rally circuit on Saturday and campaign officials look to take the attack to Democratic nominee Joe Biden, drawing a line under three weeks of negative headlines and questions about the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests.
A campaign adviser said the forum was guaranteed to generate a big audience, saying the decision was based on “the combination that would get the most eyeballs, since Don’s show is routinely the most-watched on Team Trump online.”
Guys, unlike CNN and Chris Cuomo when he interviews his brother, I’m not pretending to be a journalist here. This is just me having a fun conversation with my dad. Tune in on Thursday night, it will be a good one.
I may or may not ask @realDonaldTrump about aliens. ?? https://t.co/aOlm3D5vsu
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) June 16, 2020
The news was later confirmed by the younger Trump, who teased CNN in a tweet.
“Guys, unlike CNN and Chris Cuomo when he interviews his brother, I’m not pretending to be a journalist here,” he wrote. “This is just me having a fun conversation with my dad. Tune in on Thursday night, it will be a good one. I may or may not ask @realDonaldTrump about aliens.”
The online programming is hosted by senior campaign officials, veterans of Trump’s Make America Great Again push, and prominent Republicans.
Regular faces include Donald Trump Jr., campaign manager Brad Parscale, and Lara Trump, who is married to the president’s other adult son, Eric.
Donald Trump Jr. described the approach to his show, named after his recent memoir Triggered, in typically blunt terms.
“We hope you like it. It’s an unconventional format, basically me hopped up on caffeine doing a rant,” he said last month. “But if you like it, we’ll do a lot more of them.”
Officials described the programs when they launched in the spring as an attempt to stay connected with core supporters during a period when in-person campaigning had to be suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And they claim the episodes regularly draw audiences of more than 1 million people.
