Fox news host Megyn Kelly said that she wished her colleague, Bill O’Reilly, had defended her more during his interview two months ago with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump after the real estate mogul refused to take part in the Fox debate that she was moderating, Politico reported Thursday.
Trump said in January during a contentious interview with O’Reilly that he had “zero respect” for Kelly. O’Reilly’s interview came right after Trump announced that he would host his own event to benefit veterans instead of attending the Fox debate out of concern that Kelly would treat him “unfairly.”
O’Reilly defended the network in his interview, but did not push back on Trump’s direct critiques on Kelly. Kelly and Trump have gone back and forth during his campaign for the presidency, with Trump repeatedly questioning her journalistic abilities that publicly started after Kelly moderated a Fox News debate and Trump said she had “blood coming out of her wherever.”
“I do wish that O’Reilly had defended me more in his interview with Trump. I would have defended him more,” Kelly said during an interview for the March issue of More Magazine.
Trump, in response, tweeted that Kelly was “crazy.”
Crazy @megynkelly is now complaining that @oreillyfactor did not defend her against me – yet her bad show is a total hit piece on me.Tough!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2016
Highly overrated & crazy @megynkelly is always complaining about Trump and yet she devotes her shows to me. Focus on others Megyn!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 17, 2016
Rumors of tension between Kelly and O’Reilly have circulated following O’Reilly’s failure to defend his colleague, including a CNN report in February that referred to their relationship as a “serious rivalry.” The article further reported that the interview created squabbles behind the scenes and that Fox News chairman Roger Ailes was “furious” that O’Reilly didn’t defend Kelly.
