Early ratings provide no clear victor in Trump-Fox feud

Though Trump was mentioned and referred to occasionally throughout the debate, he dominated the online conversation surrounding it.

Donald Trump, a controversial Republican presidential front-runner, on Friday shunned the last primary debate before the Iowa caucus but relished the drama triggered by his snub of a top USA news network, taunting his rivals at a competing fundraising event schemed to chide them.

Mr Trump’s campaign said his Drake University rally raised more than six million dollars (4.2m) million for veterans.

We’ll find out soon if Donald Trump’s social media windfall trumps his absence at the Republican debate.

“I’m a maniac and everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly, and Ben (Carson), you’re a bad surgeon”, he said. Cable news networks CNN and MSNBC provided extensive coverage of his event. Trump accused Kelly of being unfair during the network’s first debate when she questioned him about derogatory comments he has made about women.

Trump, who did not attend the debate due to his feud with Kelly, held an event in Des Moines, Iowa, just five minutes from where his Republican rivals were facing off.

But many political insiders also surmised that Trump sought to avoid direct confrontations about his past statements, particularly his support of abortion.

Donald Trump shares the stage with the two past winners of the Iowa caucus at his counter-rally.

Trump skipped the seventh GOP presidential debate of the campaign and staged an event in Des Moines, Iowa, to raise money for military veterans.

Cruz has been running first or second in the polls in Iowa for the last couple of months.

Pew’s survey found that Republicans are watching the debates in higher percentages than Democrats or independents, and that GOP viewers are less interested in seeing candidates from the other party. It is barely larger than the number the last GOP debate drew on the Fox Business Network, and that is a platform with a smaller reach.

The Republican frontrunner ditched a live Fox News battle with other leading candidates after a row with the TV station.

He also stood by his previous calls for shutting down mosques in the U.S. if there were indications that they were being used to radicalise Muslims. It was stated by Fox News on Friday that Trump requested a $5 million donation as “a quid pro quo”, which means “something for something”.