Monday in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump sounded off on his ongoing feud with Fox News Channel’s Megyn Kelly.
Blitzer asked Trump why he kept attacking the Fox News host, to which Trump said it was because she was using her prime time cable news show to do “negative hits” on him and he referred to it as her “obsession.”
Partial transcript as follows:
BLITZER: Why do you keep attacking Megyn Kelly of Fox?
TRUMP: Because every night on her show she does negative hits on me. Every single night. And frankly, if she didn’t, her ratings would drop down far lower than yours.
BLITZER: Do you think it’s presidential, though, to tweet about her, call her cry on Twitter?
TRUMP: I don’t care. It doesn’t matter to me.
Look, she hits me, she’s got a television show. She hits me. When it’s unfair, I hit her back. She was fair in the second debate, I thought it was fine. I mean, I thought she was okay. A little — could have done a little bit better, but that’s okay. But I thought she was fine in the second debate, and I said it. I told people. They asked me, what did you think of Megyn Kelly? I said, I thought she was fine.
Now, here’s the story. Every night, the show, it’s like an infomercial, always negative stuff, always negative stuff, always. Not fair. So I will fight back with Twitter. I will let people know she’s a third-rate talent. I will say what I have to say, it’s very simple. But it’s not fair that she — you know, let her not talk about me.
And by the way, seriously, if she didn’t talk about me, her ratings would go down like a rock.
BLITZER: Fox News issued an extraordinary statement.
TRUMP: I read the statement.
BLITZER: “Your vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and your extreme sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate.”
TRUMP: She’s got the obsession. She’s the one that puts me on her show every night. Look at her show. Look at the airtime I get on her show, and I don’t do her show. She wants me to do it so badly. Roger Ailes wants me to do her show so badly. They want to have a primetime special on Fox network where Megyn Kelly interviews me. I said, what’s in it for me? What do I get out of it? You’re going to get great ratings, what do I get out of it? They want a primetime special. I said no, I won’t do it. So don’t tell me about obsession. She should do somebody else. And I’m telling you, if she didn’t do me, watch what happens to her. Watch.
Now, in the meantime, she’s benefited greatly. She’s hotter now than ever before because of me. She should give me at least of half of her salary.
Follow Jeff Poor on Twitter @jeff_poor
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