Trump announces event to benefit veterans during Fox debate

After Trump called on Fox News to drop Kelly from the debate, the news network hit back. “[Kelly] didn’t ask me a question, she made a statement last time, and I thought it was inappropriate, but everybody said I won the debate”, he told reporters on Tuesday. “Why do I have to make Fox rich?”

Trump found Fox’s statement “nasty” and “dumb” and seemingly a better reason to skip the debate than his previously expressed qualms with Kelly, who is slated to moderate the event. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz earlier said that if Trump is “afraid” to face questions, “that does not bode well for what kind of commander-in-chief you’d make”.

“I think the excuses are laughable”, Gingrich said, saying that missing the event wouldn’t be to Trump’s advantage.

Trump officially announced Wednesday afternoon that he would hold an event to “benefit veterans’ organizations” at the same time as the Republican debate.

He has continued to criticize both Kelly and Fox News itself in the wake of his decision.

He said: “Megyn Kelly’s really biased against me”. But he said he did not think bailing on the debate was good for America.

The seventh Republican primary debate on Thursday will be missing one podium and, with it, the political pageantry that is Republican frontrunner Donald Trump.

Trump called Fox News’ response a “pathetic attempt… to try and build up ratings for the #GOPDebate”.

“You can see there was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever”, he said.

Donald Trump is taking his ball and going home, refusing to take part in the next Republican debate because of a feud with its moderator, Fox News’ Megyn Kelly.

According to Fox News’ spokesperson, Trump’s campaign staff has been bullish with the network and campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been threatening with regards to Kelly.

Given Mr Trump’s unpredictable nature, some campaigns were preparing for the possibility he could reverse course and take the stage in Des Moines after all.

Trump, now the Republican presidential front-runner, has launched raging attacks against Kelly since last August, when she was one of three moderators at the first Fox-hosted debate. Trump has said that question was unfair.

“We’d love all the candidates in”, RNC spokesman Sean Spicer told CNN.

So maybe this would work out again, as Mr Trump was dominating the headlines once more – while his plan to hold a rally to support wounded veterans, while his opponents aimed their criticisms at an empty lectern, could prove a winning contrast, he said.

Mr Cruz, a conservative and a debating champion in college, challenged Trump to a one-on-one debate, and taunted him on Twitter using the hashtag #DuckingDonald.