Fox News host Megyn Kelly on Monday night delivered a blistering rebuttal against Donald Trump, addressing the presidential candidate's derogatory comments on her performance as a moderator of last Thursday’s GOP presidential debate.
"I certainly will not apologize for doing good journalism, so I'll continue doing my job without fear or favor," she said on her program. "This is a tough business, and it's time now to move forward."
Trump, who has made it very clear that he was not pleased with Kelly's questions at the debate, suggested on Friday that Kelly asked him tough questions because she was menstruating.
"You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her -- wherever," he told CNN's Don Lemon.
The next day, he claimed that he meant to say her nose.
On Monday, Kelly explained that she chose not to directly respond to Trump's insults.
"Apparently, Mr. Trump thought the question I asked was unfair and felt I was attacking him. I felt he was asked a tough but fair question," she said. "We agreed to disagree. Mr. Trump did interviews over the week that attacked me personally. I've decided not to respond."
As a moderator during Thursday night's first GOP presidential debate, Kelly asked several questions that dug into Trump's history of misogyny.
"You've called women you don't like 'fat pigs,' 'dogs,' 'slobs' and 'disgusting animals,'" she said.
Trump responded by claiming that "only Rosie O'Donnell" was the subject of his sexist insults and protested what he deemed "total political correctness." He also threatened Kelly, telling her: "I've been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be based on the way you have treated me."
Later that evening, he lashed out at Kelly, telling reporters that her questions were "unfair" and calling her out in a series of tweets. He even retweeted a tweet that called Kelly a "bimbo," and declared her the loser of the debate.
Many viewers, on the other hand, praised her tough and detailed questions toward Trump and the other candidates, and some even considered her the true winner of the debate.
Trump's latest comments toward Kelly caused conservative writer Erick Erickson to disinvite him from Erickson’s RedState conservative conference on Saturday. Over the weekend, GOP candidates swiftly condemned Trump's attacks and defended Kelly. On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called them "offensive" and "outrageous" and said that the GOP "is going to have to deal with him."
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