Megyn Kelly opens up about Donald Trump's "bizarre behavior" in new memoir
Megyn Kelly’s memoir has new information about her strained relationship with Donald Trump, reports CBS News correspondent Jamie Yuccas.
The friction between the Fox News anchor and the president-elect has been well-documented. But according to the New York Times review of Kelly’s memoir, she writes that Trump was upset prior to the first Republican primary debate in 2015, phoning Fox executives, saying he heard the first question “was a very pointed question directed at him.”
“Folks were starting to worry about Trump…” Kelly writes. “Yes, it was his first debate. But this was bizarre behavior, especially for a man who wanted the nuclear codes.”
According to the New York Times, Kelly also alleges Trump threatened her with social media after taking issue with a segment on her Fox show. She claims he said, “I almost unleashed my beautiful Twitter account against you, and I still may.”
Prior to his candidacy, Kelly also writes Trump made an effort to shape her news coverage by offering a trip to his Mar-a-Lago resort and picking up the tab at one of his hotels. Kelly said she declined.
She alluded to that in an interview with “CBS This Morning” co-host Charlie Rose.
“Some think about this and they look at it, and they say, ‘why her?’” Rose asked.
“I think it’s very clear to him that he can’t control the editorial on my show, or from me in a debate or other settings,” Kelly said.
“Just that? That’s all it is?” Rose asked.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate beyond that,” she said.
According to the Times review, Kelly also describes an odd moment the morning of the first GOP primary debate in which her driver insisted on getting her a coffee. She said she declined, but he persisted, and later when she drank it, she became violently ill about 15 minutes later. Apparently, the incident rattled her enough that she mentioned it to Roger Ailes and a lawyer.
But late Thursday night, Kelly responded to the Times review on Twitter, saying “…I believe the reason I got sick the day of the first debate was I contracted a stomach virus.” And in another tweet, she said that her book also “…does not suggest Trump had any debate Qs in advance, nor do I believe that he did.”