Megyn Kelly refutes claims that her book states Donald Trump received debate questions early
Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly’s upcoming memoir hasn’t even hit bookshelves yet, but already it’s igniting controversy.
In a review of Kelly’s book, “Settle for More,” published Thursday in the New York Times, writer Jennifer Senior described Kelly’s recollection of the lead-up to the first Republican presidential primary debate in August 2015.
“Then, 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,’” Senior wrote, “This disconcerted her, because it was true: It was about his history of using disparaging language about women.”
Senior goes on to state that, in the book, Kelly never speculates where the leak came from.
According to Kelly, her book asserts no such thing.
Though never calling out the New York Times review specifically, Kelly responded to those claims on Twitter Thursday night, stating she made no such suggestion.
But that’s not the only issue Kelly had with the Times’ review.
Also in dispute are the circumstances surrounding Kelly’s illness the night of the debate.
“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,” Senior wrote in her review. “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,” Senior continued.
News of Kelly’s debate-night illness surfaced just days later, when Kelly appeared on Fox News’ MediaBuzz and told host Howard Kurtz that she suspected it was food poisoning.
On Thursday night, Kelly’s nebulous Twitter rebuke of the Times review suggested that she had been afflicted with nothing more than a stomach flu.
“Settle for More” also made headlines last week when leaked passages alleged that Ailes, the former Fox News chief, offered to advance her career in exchange for sexual favors.
Kelly’s account of what happened will be revealed when “Settle for More” is released on Nov. 15.
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