Just days before Iowa kicks off the US presidential race, Republican front-runner Donald Trump has decided to pull out of the crucial debate hosted by Fox News on Thursday, taking his on-off battle with the television network and its female anchor Megyn Kelly to a new level.
Pundits are sharply divided on whether the unprecedented move would help or harm Trump in Iowa, where he has been locked in a dead heat with Senator Ted Cruz even while leading the Republican field nationally by a wide margin.
Trump, who has been in a state of war with Kelly ever since she treated him “unfairly” in the first Fox presidential debate last August, accused Fox of “playing games” and announced that instead of joining the debate, he would host a parallel event to raise money for Veterans and Wounded Warriors.
Fox News hit back, with Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes defending Kelly, who would again be one of three moderators at the Thursday debate. In a statement, Ailes said: “Megyn Kelly is an excellent journalist, and the entire network stands behind her. She will absolutely be on the debate stage on Thursday night.”