Earlier this evening, CNN’s Don Lemon interviewed Donald Trump about the debate on Fox News Channel last night, and set off another Trump-related tempest. After noting that Kelly pushed Trump during the debate, and that she “pushed a lot of people” besides Trump, Lemon asked, “What is it with you and Megyn Kelly?” Trump’s reply was, er … colorful, to say the least [emphasis mine]:
TRUMP: Well, I just don’t respect her as a journalist, I have no respect for her. I don’t think she’s very good, I think she’s highly overrated. But when I came out there, you know — what am I doing? I’m not getting paid for this. I go out there, and they start saying this stuff [garbled]. But you know, I didn’t know there’d be 24 million people. I knew it was going to be a big crowd because I get crowds, I get ratings. They call me the ratings machine. So I have, you know, she gets out and she starts asking me all sorts of ridiculous questions, and you could see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her … wherever. But in my opinion, she was off base.
Kelly did ask Trump tough questions in last night’s debate, but she asked tough questions of Marco Rubio on abortion too, and of other candidates on stage as well. As the front-runner, Trump should have expected tough questions, especially given his track record of supporting nearly every progressive idea at one time or another, including Hillary Clinton being President. Kelly also asked Trump about his remarks about women, which appears to have particularly rankled him — and pushed him into validating Kelly’s premise in asking those questions in the first place. After all, it’s not often when a major party candidate takes a shot at a woman by reminding everyone of her menstrual cycle. I’m certain that will really impress women about their place in the Republican Party.
Trump was scheduled to speak at the Red State Gathering tomorrow, in the final slot at the event. Not long after these remarks, event organizer Erick Erickson announced that he had withdrawn the invitation:
I have rescinded my invitation to Mr.Trump. While I have tried to give him great latitude, his remark about Megyn Kelly was a bridge too far
That will undoubtedly anger some Trump supporters, but after last night’s debate performance and his thin-skinned whining afterward, I wonder if that group wasn’t already in decline. This might fire up the die-hard Trump troops, but suggesting that a journalist went after his target-rich record only because she was menstruating should be a disqualifier for most voters. It’s vastly worse than anything Todd Akin said, and will almost certainly have media outlets demanding responses from the other Republican candidates. It’s practically tailor-made for Democrats to hoist up the Republican War On Women banner, especially Hillary Clinton.
Get ready for plenty of Team Trump dog-in-the-manger, sour-grapes quotes in the morning, if not overnight. There may be some legitimate anger among a small group of RSG15 attendees tomorrow who wanted to see Trump at this event, but Erick has a solid case for not wanting to have this overshadow the event tomorrow, with more presidential candidates on hand to make their pitches. Erick will almost certainly address this in the morning, and we’ll see what the fallout is over the rest of the day.
Update: Carly Fiorina appears to be the first Republican candidate to respond to Trump’s remarks, perhaps fittingly so (via Twitchy):
That’s interesting, because Fiorina actually deflected a Trump question at her presser today at RSG15 by asking why the media wasn’t calling out Obama for his offensive comments about opponents of the Iran deal. Not this time, apparently.
But I also think that while Mr. Trump resonates with a lot of people with his bluntness, including me to a degree, there are just real lines of decency a person running for President should not trust.
His comment was inappropriate. It is unfortunate to have to disinvite him. But I just don’t want someone on stage who gets a hostile question from a lady and his first inclination is to imply it was hormonal. It just was wrong.
I have invited Megyn Kelly to attend in Donald Trump’s place tomorrow night.
Well, that would be interesting. We’ll see if she can swing that.
"Kelly did ask Trump tough questions in last night’s debate"
About the names he called some women, trying to resurrect the old "Republican War-on-Women" theme. Yeah. There's a hot issue.
Fox was trying to show how fair and balanced they were by putting Republican candidates on the spot. Does anyone think the MSM will show everyone how fair and balanced they are by putting Democrat candidates on the spot?
About the names he called some women, trying to resurrect the old "Republican War-on-Women" theme. Yeah. There's a hot issue.
So "hot" I've got frostbite.
Fake issue. Fake meme. The whole d*** political scene is a fake hologram...and Matrix.
Fox was trying to show how fair and balanced they were by putting Republican candidates on the spot. Does anyone think the MSM will show everyone how fair and balanced they are by putting Democrat candidates on the spot?
Lol...We know what the answer to that question is. With "friends" like FOX News, who needs enemies?
FOX News is finally exposed as per their "faux news" moniker. It's a subversive Trojan Horse, just like the GOPe.
We're killing ourselves.
More like we've been fooled, betrayed, manipulated, hung out to dry, and lied to by those who've masked and been misrepresenting themselves and intentions.
Over HALF this country has no major mainstream media that represents the truth, OR constitutional law. If it was EVER time to embrace "Conspiracy Theories" and the notion that there indeed is but ONE agenda supported by BOTH parties -- as well as EVERY major media outlet, it's clearly NOW.
We are at only the beginning of the nomination cycle. Kind of has the feel of a new season of WWE. Culminating in the 2016 election akin to Wrestlemania.
We are at only the beginning of the nomination cycle. Kind of has the feel of a new season of WWE. Culminating in the 2016 election akin to Wrestlemania.
Hulk Hogan -- as a white male and symbol of male power -- was coincidentally singled out as ANOTHER political sacrificial victim on the altar of the "War on Womym."
The Hulkster: "take you vitamins, eat your veggies and pray!!" Lol...
I go back to the WWF -- the golden age of cartoonish "professional" wrestling. But, oh yeah; The feel is WWE/WWF-ish. It's time to remove the clown-cars, feathery boas, and mid-ring screeching from the political arena and resume 'adult" business as usual: IOW, the SAME EXACT stuff...only buried in the smokey backrooms and basement of the the elites' sanctuaries and out of view of the public.
Trump dares expose THAT stuff and blow the lid off of the mirage that politics is NOT the WWF. Except that it is, only wearing blue suits, referring to Tea Party conservatives as %$#@! expletives, and whoring out the blood American vets, servicemen, AND America. Neatly. Silently. In Private.
