Donald Trump Dropped from High-Profile GOP Event After Offensive Megyn Kelly

Trump was scheduled to give the keynote speech Saturday night.

“You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes”.

Trump replied that he was battling a greater scourge – political correctness – and “frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it’s fun, it’s kidding”.

“Being Donald Trump made him the front-runner, but tonight his act wore thin”, Luntz said after the debate. “When they call, I give”, he said.

“But there are even lines blunt talkers and unprofessional politicians should not cross”, Erickson stated.

“I gotta tell you guys”, Erickson said. “Little (at)MacMiller, I’m now going to teach you a big boy lesson about lawsuits and finance”.

Trump has repeatedly mused about mounting a third-party run – a right-wing nightmare scenario that would splinter the conservative vote and virtually guarantee Democrats the White House.

Trump meanwhile backtracked from the comment about Kelly, stating that he was not referring to the body part most people had in mind from his remark on blood.

“Does he have a problem with women?”

Whatever his ceiling of support might be, Trump is getting close to it. Speaking of which, it shouldn’t have been that easy to get The Donald to admit he’s not really a Republican, which Fox co-host Bret Baier did with the very first debate question. “Friend Donald has to learn this is public life”, he tweeted.

Erickson hasn’t always felt as generous toward the Fox News anchor, however – or women in general.

Already it is unmistakably clear to Republican candidates, strategists and operatives that Mr. Trump is a formidable force, not an ephemeral phenomenon. “He just needs to tone it down”, said Delaney.

Earlier figures indicated that Fox had 16% of United States homes with TV sets tuned in while the debate was on between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Fox News usually has 1% or 2% of the household audience. “I think clarity is boring. I think Erick Erickson did the correct thing to disinvite him”. It deserves more, not simply because of what it tells us about Trump’s attitude toward women – who, by the way, account for more than half of voters – but about his fundamental fitness for the office he seeks.

The numbers from Thursday night’s two hour debate tripled the largest audience for any previous debate.

Nevertheless, recent polls have Cruz running between fourth and sixth among Republicans – far behind Walker, Bush and Trump.

Of all the cable news networks, Fox News understands the “entertainment factor” of presenting news more than its competitors.

“I don’t think Fox was fair”, the Republican front-runner told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.

According to an email obtained by the Associated Press, Stone wrote to Trump, “The current controversies involving personalities and provocative media fights have reached such a high volume that it has distracted attention from your platform and overwhelmed your core message”.

Trump launched an offensive against Kelly on Friday, making a series of posts on Twitter saying she “really bombed” and that she “was not very good or professional”. She added, “I stand with @megynkelly“.

The escalation over women’s issues represented only the latest in Trump’s series of controversial remarks. Trump’s Twitter feed is sprinkled with insults to women – and some men – that use words such as “dog”, “ugly”, “dumb”, “stupid” and “disgusting”.

Jack Staver, a business consultant from Woodstock, Georgia, said Trump’s rivals could benefit from emulating his style, even if it gets him into trouble.

“There was no question that I would like to say, ‘Oh, gee, I wish I would like to have a do over, ‘” said Trump. Until now, Mr. Trump was a sideshow, amusing but ultimately harmless.

He may not have imagined, however, that he’d be asked mean questions. John McCain’s war record last month, Texas Sen. “Where I come from, we don’t treat people like that”. That is not how we win elections.

On Saturday, South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham, who has persistently attacked Trump on the campaign trail, released a statement in which he said the Republican party was now “at a crossroads with Mr Trump” and applauded Erickson’s decision. “It was just wrong”.

“This is just another example of weakness through being politically correct”.

Other GOP presidential candidates – all of whom are trailing Trump in national polls – weighed in.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, while condemning Trump’s comments, became exasperated at repeated Trump questions during a news conference on Saturday.