Hot on the heels of Donald Trump’s presidential win, Megyn Kelly is revealing a bit about the early days of the new president’s campaign and her memorable showdown with him during the first debate. The New York Times review of her book, Settle For More, talks about some behind the scenes aspects of that first debate, even hinting that Trump might’ve gotten some of the questions leaked to him — a similar complaint that was made against his opponent, Hillary Clinton:
Ms. Kelly writes that her problems started in August, the Monday before the first Republican presidential primary debate. She had just done a segment on her show, “The Kelly File,” that infuriated Mr. Trump. He refused to make his own scheduled appearance on her show unless she phoned him personally.
“I almost unleashed my beautiful Twitter account against you,” she says he told her, “and I still may.”
Continue reading the main storyThen, the day before the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump was in a lather again, Ms. Kelly writes. He called Fox executives, saying he’d heard that her first question “was a very pointed question directed at him.” This disconcerted her, because it was true: It was about his history of using disparaging language about women.
The Times adds that Kelly doesn’t specifically call out Fox News for leaking the info, but there is speculation that Roger Ailes or “parts of Fox” were to blame. This coming out after the election is definitely a sour taste for many who were already upset, but it’s far from the most shocking accusation to be made in Kelly’s book.
For some reason, Kelly reveals she got violently ill before the debate even started, putting her moderating duties at risk and possibly hinting at something more sinister according to The New York Times:
Her story becomes more byzantine. On the day of the debate, Ms. Kelly writes, she woke up feeling great. Then an overzealous, suspiciously enthusiastic driver picked her up to take her to the convention center. He insisted on getting her coffee, though she’d repeatedly declined his offer. Once it was in her hand, she drank it. And within 15 minutes, she was violently ill, vomiting so uncontrollably that it was unclear if she’d be able to go on and help moderate that evening. It was so bad that she kept a trash pail beneath her desk throughout the debate, just in case.
Ms. Kelly never says outright that someone tried to poison her. (A stomach bug was going around, she notes.) But the episode spooked her enough that she shared it later with Roger Ailes and a lawyer friend of his. Foul play? Again: She reports. You decide.
There’s something to say about Russia in there somewhere, but it’s better to just leave it for you readers to figure out. Kelly’s book will likely have much more to talk about once it is released on November 15th. Until then, feel free to quesiton why these details were kept quiet until after Election Day.
(Via New York Times)