“I’m going to have something else in Iowa, we’ll do something where we’ll raise money for the veterans and the wounded warriors, we’re going to do something simultaneously with the debate”, he said.
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Trump had threatened a debate boycott all week, describing Kelly as a “lightweight” who is biased against him. Rand Paul, who was kept off the main stage at the last debate.
At a Tuesday evening press conference, Trump said he would “most likely” hold a competing event in Iowa during Thursday night’s debate, but left some wiggle room in his answer. Trump was outraged, and later said on CNN that Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever” with her angry questioning. In addition, Trump’s campaign staffer also said that the candidate would be participating in some sort of competing event, possibly with another network.
The incident leading to the decision started with Trump not letting up with his criticism of Fox News’ Megyn Kelly, standing firm in his position that she should not be a moderator for Thursday’s debate because she, in his opinion, has it in for him.
“I trust Ted to do what needs to be done”, Perkins told Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly.
Lewandowski told The Washington Post’s Philip Rucker that Trump is out and there is nothing Fox News can do to change Trump’s mind.
The GOP presidential front-runner reiterated his point on Tuesday afternoon, posting a short video to social media along with a poll asking “Should I do the GOP Debate?”
Over the weekend, Trump said Kelly has a “conflict of interest and bias” and “should not be allowed to be a moderator in the next debate”.
Trump made the announcement during a press conference after Fox News sent out a statement about his recent suggestions he would not participate.
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After the debate was over, Trump complained about the moderation and Kelly in particular, lobbing barely disguised misogynist insults at her, and then, of course, claiming he’d done no such thing. “I think she’s very biased and I don’t think she can treat me fairly”.
