“I would not have done that”, Trump told Kelly in the pre-taped interview that aired on Fox News Tuesday.
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Kelly also gave Trump ample time to explain away nearly all of his transgressions, from his incendiary tweeting to his inflammatory rhetoric. The interview broadcast on Tuesday was decidedly not about policy.
In fact, Trump had a more conciliatory tone toward Kelly than he did during points before the primary, when his rhetoric even forced Fox News chief Roger Ailes to issue a rebuke. Kelly, as moderator, asked Trump about comments he had made to women, saying he “called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals”. Trump said that he has “a very big heart”.
But the brash celebrity businessman appeared somewhat sheepish in the interview when Kelly asked him about some of the insults he tweeted – or retweeted – her way, frequently including “bimbo”.
Megyn Kelly confronted Donald Trump on his use of the word “bimbo” in tweets directed at her and he responded, “Excuse me”.
Trump admired his older brother, Fred Jr., hailing him as “handsome” and “really smart”, but he died of alcoholism at the age of 43. He also suggested that it was the first moment he realised he could have a realistic shot at the presidency. “First of all, I didn’t think it was really a question”, Trump said. Considering that Trump is now a Fox News favorite because of his presumed GOP nomination, it wasn’t entirely surprising that Kelly (and the network) did not go too hard on him. “I don’t think that’s healthy”, he said.
“I don’t view myself that way”, he said.
Trump said his behavior wasn’t bullying, but “fighting back”. But it was Trump who got the most airtime.
The interview apparently represented some kind of detente between Kelly and the candidate, who previously blasted her as “crazy” and “lightweight” while struggling in the polls with female voters. “I don’t want that to happen, but I have fans – we have an unbelievable bond”, said Trump, whose supporters attacked Kelly on Twitter.
In an interview on Fox News Channel to plug tonight’s special, Kelly insisted that first-debate question “obviously…was relevant” because he’s going to have to answer Hillary Clinton’s campaign charge that he’s part of “the war on women”.
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TRUMP: “I thought it was unfair”.
