Megyn Kelly Possibly Tapped To Take Over Matt Lauer’s ‘Today’ Show Spot, Denies Donald Trump Had Questions In Advance


Megyn Kelly could be the next host of the Today show, replacing Matt Lauer, according to Vanity Fair.

An industry insider told Vanity Fair’s Sarah Ellison that Megyn Kelly’s recent announcement about her upcoming transition to NBC from Fox News is “all about replacing Matt Lauer in a couple of years.” According to this insider, NBC is keen to “protect the Today show” and will work to “build the Today show around [Kelly]” so that she can take over the hosting role after Matt Lauer leaves.

“I know she is going to be sitting in one of those chairs eventually.”

Megyn Kelly is currently involved in a public and high-stakes feud with President Donald Trump, intensifying when she asked the then-Republican candidate a question about his history of making disrespectful comments about women during the presidential primary debate. According to the Independent, Trump’s response has been taken by many people to suggest that Kelly was menstruating at the time.

To complicate matters, as a result of Megyn Kelly’s memoir, suggestions have been made that Donald Trump had some or all of the debate questions in advance, according to the Washington Post, a suggestion that Kelly fervently denies. The 45-year-old Fox News anchor has released her memoir, which sent the media into a frenzy.

Some media outlets wrongly interpreted the section of Megyn Kelly’s memoir, Settle for More, where she writes about her debate questions directed at Trump, who became the new U.S. president last week.

The question was asked by Megyn Kelly during the first Republican primary debate last year. The Fox News anchor took to Twitter to deny the rumors that Trump was given specifics about her question to him.

“For the record, my book Settle for More does not suggest Trump had any debate Qs in advance, nor do I believe that he did.”

The New York Times summarized the section of Kelly’s memoir as follows.

“The day before the first presidential debate, Mr. Trump was in a lather again, Ms. Kelly writes. He called Fox executives, saying he’d heard that her first question ‘was a very pointed question directed at him.’ This disconcerted her, because it was true: It was about his history of using disparaging language about women.”

The question gave birth to their long-running and intense feud. While many interpreted her memoir as a yet another jab directed at Trump, Kelly herself denied the rumors.

Megyn Kelly’s tweet came just two days after Election Day and was interpreted by some as her attempt to suck up to Trump, who is now the president of the United States.

If Megyn Kelly had leaked the question to Trump in advance of the debate or knew that someone else had leaked the question, it means the Republican candidate had time to prepare his response and thus had the edge over his Republican rivals.

Megyn Kelly’s memoir was published in late 2016, and the New York Times exclusively obtained an early copy of the book and was the first media outlet to sound the alarm, according to USA Today.

In the memoir, Megyn Kelly also describes her headline-making feud with Trump and with ousted Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, who many believe might have been responsible for the leaked question. Kelly described the day before the debate when Trump called Fox executives.

It was then that Trump found out Megyn Kelly’s first question as co-moderator of the Fox-sponsored debate “was a very pointed question directed at him,” the Fox News anchor writes. Kelly’s first question was about Trump’s history of calling women “fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals.”

Megyn Kelly also described in her upcoming memoir what it was like watching Trump’s first debate.

“Yes, it was his first debate. But this was bizarre behavior, especially for a man who wanted the nuclear codes.”

Trump’s rattled reaction to the questions also serves as evidence that he didn’t know the questions in advance. In fact, Trump criticized Megyn Kelly long after that debate took place, which suggests her questions were a shock to him and he viewed them as a betrayal.

Megyn Kelly also wrote that Ailes often used to call her and ask for her opinions about Trump.

“Was I being fair to Trump? Was I being too hard on him? He felt the bar for skeptical Trump coverage should be higher.”

The Fox-sponsored debate became the foundation of the feud between Megyn Kelly and Trump. Shortly after the debate, Trump took to Twitter to call the Fox News anchor “overrated” and “a bimbo.”

Trump then even came on CNN, Fox News’ main television rival, and gave a rather harsh description of Megyn Kelly, which many people feel suggests that Kelly was menstruating at the time of the debate.

“…blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her whatever.”

This description of Megyn Kelly has been making rounds in the media to this very day. Trump’s opponents often refer to his comments about Kelly as evidence that the president is a misogynist.

Trump even boycotted a Fox-sponsored debate in January, because he’d found out that Megyn Kelly would be one of the moderators. It remains to be seen whether Trump will boycott the Today show if Kelly eventually takes over from Matt Lauer.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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