NEW YORK — Donald Trump on Tuesday disputed Megyn Kelly’s claim that the celebrity billionaire tried to “woo” the Fox News host before he entered the presidential race.
{mosads}Trump told The Hill that “the last person in the world I would try to woo is Megyn Kelly.”
Kelly, the host of Fox News’s “The Kelly File,” told Vanity Fair that Trump, now the party’s front-runner, tried to win points with her by sending her press clippings about her and signing his name. She said he would also call to compliment her on TV segments.
“I didn’t know why he was doing that,” she said. “And then when he announced he was running for president, it became more clear. But I can’t be wooed. I was never going to love him, and I was never going to hate him.”
Trump denied those claims, adding that the campaign does send television anchors polling data.
It has been reported that Trump has sent private notes to the media, including conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. The article, which ran on the liberal-leaning Talking Points Memo, pointed out that the real estate tycoon subsequently ripped Hewitt after what Trump deemed a “gotcha” interview.
According to a Mediaite report, Trump complimented Kelly in 2011 on her moderating skills, saying, “You’ve done a great job and I mean it.”
Trump and Kelly clashed at the first Republican debate in August after the Fox News host pressed him on his controversial remarks about women. After that debate, Trump said Kelly was unfair; Kelly stood her ground in a subsequent broadcast.
On Tuesday, Trump said, “I’m not sure she can be fair and balanced because she has a thing with Donald Trump.”
Asked if he thinks they will get along during the Fox News debate later this month, Trump responded, “No. I don’t think we will.”
Like the prior Fox News debate, Kelly, Chris Wallace and Bret Baier will moderate the Jan. 28 debate in Iowa.
Despite having differences with Kelly, Trump said he “probably will” participate in the event.
Fox News did not respond to a request for comment.
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