Tucker Carlson asked former President Donald Trump if he was worried about being assassinated during an interview released during the Republican presidential debate Wednesday.

The question was shared after a woman was recently arrested for threatening Trump and his youngest son.

Republican debate: Tucker Carlson asks Trump if he's worried he will be killed https://t.co/ZSCSFrMbLD

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 24, 2023

The questions

"It started with protests against you, massive protests, organized protests by the Left, and then it moved to impeachment twice and now indictment," Carlson said.

"I mean, the next stage is violence. Are you worried that they're going to try and kill you? Why wouldn't they try and kill you, honestly?" he asked.

NEW: It has been 20 hours since Tucker Carlson released his interview with Donald Trump on X and the video has amassed 240,000,000 impressions.

No one is more deserving of this feat than Tucker Carlson 🔥🔥

240M impressions.
680,000 likes.
195,000 reposts.

For comparison,… pic.twitter.com/1e8jdsLmRM

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 24, 2023

The interview

The controversial interview was released directly to X, formerly Twitter, at 9 p.m. Wednesday, the same time as the GOP presidential debate.

The interview quickly reached 100 million views and beyond as Americans sought to hear the latest from the former president.

The interview was also notable as it was held with Carlson. He was cut from Fox News, the network broadcasting the debate, earlier this year.

BREAKING: Tucker Carlson interview with President Trump rapidly approaches 100 MILLION views on X within hourshttps://t.co/SAOc6n9HKy

— Jack Poso 🇺🇸 (@JackPosobiec) August 24, 2023

Avoiding the debate

"And I’m saying, do I sit there for an hour or two hours, whatever it’s going to be, and get harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president? Should I be doing that at a network that isn’t particularly friendly to me?" Trump said about the GOP debate.

"But I just felt it would be more appropriate not to do the debate, I don’t think it’s right to do," he added.

Though Trump easily qualified for the debate, he is unlikely to sign the party's pledge to back the eventual nominee if it is anyone other than him.

The effort to derail the debate with his own interview also shows that Trump is not out to work with the party but is going directly to American voters with his campaign.

The approach has worked well in terms of the interview but it will be a few months before America sees whether his comeback bid is successful in winning the nomination for a rematch against President Joe Biden.