Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson says former President Donald Trump’s absence from Wednesday’s debate will give the candidates who ARE there a chance to have a serious policy discussion.

Trump is skipping the debate and the New York Times reports he’ll be interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson instead. Hutchinson, a former Arkansas governor, spent five days campaigning at the Iowa State Fair and he spoke at the Des Moines Register’s Political Soapbox this weekend as the heat index topped 100 degrees.

Hutchinson says Trump so far has been the default position for most Republicans.

Hutchinson announced Sunday morning he’d qualified for this week’s debate in Milwaukee, after over 40-thousand donors contributed to his campaign. He had already registered with at least one percent support in a few polls, the other criteria for debate participation. Ten candidates have said they met the benchmarks for the debate, but the Republican National Committee has not confirmed the debate lineup.