Fox News Couldn’t Kill Trump’s Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger [+video]
By Joshua Green. A few hours before Thursday’s Fox News debate, a friend of Donald Trump’s confided to me that Trump was nervous. Not about the competition—he could handle them. No, Trump worried about Fox News, and in particular, debate moderator Megyn Kelly. She’d been hammering him all week on her show, and he was certain she was out to get him. He’d canceled a Fox News appearance on Monday night, the friend said, in order to avoid her. (Trump’s spokeswoman wouldn’t confirm or deny this.)
It turns out Trump was right. His toughest opponents Thursday night weren’t the candidates up on stage, but the Fox News moderators, who went right after him—none with more gusto than Kelly.
Kelly, the whip-smart queen of Fox News’ blonde stunners, went straight for the jugular. “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” she admonished Trump. “Does that sound to you like the temperament of a man we should elect as president?”
But Trump saw her coming a mile away and cut her off. “Only Rosie O’Donnell,” he barked, drawing cheers from the crowd. When Kelly tried to point out that he had insulted more women than O’Donnell, Trump, as he would all night, steamrolled right past her. “The big problem this country has is being politically correct,” Trump practically shouted, invoking conservatives’ favorite term of disdain. “I’ve been challenged by so many people and I don’t frankly have time for total political correctness and to be honest with you this country doesn’t have time either.” The crowd went wild.
Maybe they were cheering because the question was apropos of something Rachel Maddow would ask, and they were, after all, Republicans. But I think they were cheering because it was clear, at that moment, that Trump was going to be Trump, and wasn’t going to heed the pundits and phonies to tone down his act. According to a report in New York magazine, even his own daughter, Ivanka, was making that case. (Read more from “Fox News Couldn’t Kill Trump’s Momentum and May Have Only Made It Stronger” HERE)
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Trump Slams Fox News, Praises Drudge
By Elliot Smilowitz. Donald Trump thinks reader polls on Drudge Report and Time Magazine should carry more weight in judging public reaction to Thursday’s GOP presidential debate than a Fox News panel that ran immediately after the debate.
Speaking with Don Lemon live on CNN on Friday night, Trump lauded his winning performance in reader polls asking who won the debate, particularly the poll run by Drudge Report.
“I’m not saying I won, I’m just telling you polls that came out from Drudge,” he said. “What’s better than Drudge? He’s a fantastic guy. What he’s built is unbelievably respected.”
The Drudge Report poll asked readers who won the debate. Trump led with 45 percent of the vote. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) came in second with 14 percent, and no other candidate had more than 11 percent support.
Trump also cited coverage by Time Magazine, the New York Times and the Washington Post that he said showed him as the victor. (Read more from this story HERE)
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