In an interview with CNN’s Brianna Keilar on Thursday, Trump said Fox News “apologized” to him for a mocking statement the television network issued two days before the GOP debate. While the candidates talked about themselves, they also spent some time poking fun at Trump.
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The ironic part is that if this debate somehow lowers the buzz and enthusiasm around the primary and keeps caucus turnout low, it actually benefits Cruz, who is polling second behind Trump in Iowa. But Trump won the debate in another way: His absence from the debate appears to have hurt viewership, as he predicted.
“When you’re treated badly, you have to stick up for your rights”, Mr Trump said, explaining he was skipping the debate because he felt Fox News had dealt with him unfairly.
“It is a debate, sir”, was Wallace’s response.
Trump’s use of the term – which describes children born on USA soil to parents who are in the country illegally and is widely considered to be derogatory – marks the latest escalation of his attacks against Cruz in which he highlights the Texas senator’s Canadian birthplace.
“It’s not about Donald Trump, he’s an entertaining guy, he’s the greatest show on Earth”, said Sen.
The victor in a Trump-less debate is…
“I kinda miss Donald Trump, he was a little teddy bear to me”.
Practically speaking, there is no way Trump’s event could have out-rated the debate. While the debate was taking place, Trump was just miles away hosting a fundraiser for veterans at Drake University, where he ended up raising almost $6 million, which included $1 million of his own money, reported The Daily Caller. “I know you like to argue about the rules, but we’re going to conduct the debate”, Wallace said.
But a Fox News spokesperson told INSIDE EDITION on Friday that Kelly had not called Trump Voldemort.
And while scoring far above debates from prior election cycles, Thursday night’s debate performance is still nowhere close to the first couple GOP debates past year, which delivered a record 23-24 million for Fox News and CNN.
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Cruz, after a series of questions, said: “If you ask me one more mean question, I may have to leave the stage”.
