Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders is desperate for attention.
And he’s willing to go right into the lion’s den to get it.
Fox News Channel says that Sanders will appear on a televised town hall on April 15, making him the first Democratic candidate to venture onto Fox for this type of event in the current presidential cycle.
It’s an important booking for Fox, after the Democratic National Committee announced last month that it would not hold any of its presidential debates on the network.
Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum will co-anchor the town hall, which will be held in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Scheduled for the day taxes are due, the forum will focus on the economy and jobs, Fox said on Wednesday.
It will air at 6:30 p.m. EDT. That avoids the prime-time hours where opinion shows hosted by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham reign, and where Fox gets most of its viewers.
Sanders’ decision was met with surprise and dismay among some liberals, many of whom let their opinions profanely be known online.
Carolyn Fiddler, political and communications strategist for the progressive website Daily Kos, called Sanders’ decision to do another Fox town hall “unfortunate and dismaying” and said it’s certain to upset many Daily Kos followers.
Town halls are attention-getters for cable networks and can draw big audiences. CNN has already held eight such events for the 2020 nomination fight and has five more scheduled. MSNBC has only held one town hall, with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, but candidates have appeared for interviews on MSNBC programs.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.