UPDATE: Megyn Kelly says her new book does not suggest Donald Trump received debate questions in advance, and discounted speculation that she was poisoned before the first Republican primary debate last year.
On Twitter, Kelly wrote, “For the record, my book Settle for More does not suggest Trump had any debate Qs in advance, nor do I believe that he did.” She added, “Also for the record, I believe the reason I got sick the day of the first debate was I contracted a stomach virus, just as Rand Paul did.”
In the New York Times review of Kelly’s new book, critic Jennifer Senior wrote that Trump may have gotten a heads up on a debate question during the Republican primary. The review also brings up speculation as to whether someone tried to “poison” Kelly before the first debate.
EARLIER: Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly publicly clashed with Donald Trump throughout his presidential campaign, and soon she’ll be taking readers behind the scenes of their quarreling — from her perspective, at least.
According to a New York Times review, Kelly’s new memoir, Settle for More (out Nov. 15), recounts many unsettling interactions with the president-elect.
In the lead-up to her co-moderating the first Republican presidential primary debate last year, for example, Kelly says Trump took issue with a segment of her show The Kelly File and threatened her on a phone call: “I almost unleashed my beautiful Twitter account against you,” he allegedly said, “and I still may.”
According to the Times review, Trump may have also gotten a heads up on her first question, which focused on his treatment of women.
“Then, the day before the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump was in a lather again, Ms. Kelly writes,” critic Jennifer Senior notes in her review. “He called Fox executives, saying he’d heard that her first question ‘was a very pointed question directed at him.’ This disconcerted her, because it was true: It was about his history of using disparaging language about women.”
In the book, Kelly writes, “Folks were starting to worry about Trump — his level of agitation did not match the circumstances. Yes, it was his first debate. But this was bizarre behavior, especially for a man who wanted the nuclear codes.”
Per the Times review, Kelly also writes about becoming violently, suspiciously ill on the day of the debate; about being harassed by Trump supporters on social media; and about Trump’s previous attempts to curry favor with her.
“This is actually one of the untold stories of the 2016 campaign,” Kelly writes. “I was not the only journalist to whom Trump offered gifts clearly meant to shape coverage. Many reporters have told me that Trump worked hard to offer them something fabulous — from hotel rooms to rides on his 757.”
Read Jennifer Senior’s full review of Settle for More at the New York Times.
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