In Donald Trump’s absence from the Republican presidential debate on Thursday (January 28), his rivals chided the billionaire front-runner for skipping the event and holding a competing fund-raiser for veterans across town in Des Moines, Iowa.
Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes had three phone conversations with Trump on the day of the debate, according to a network spokesperson. But the two failed to resolve a simmering feud that broke into the open this week after Trump demanded that the network remove anchor Megyn Kelly as a debate moderator.
“And I have to go a little step further and say that Fox has been extremely nice and at the last number of hours actually, and they’ve wanted me there and they said how about now, they called a few minutes ago — how about now? Can you come over? I said, hasn’t it already started?” Trump told his supporters at a veterans event he had set up just a few miles away from where the Fox News debate was taking place.
Trump at one point, according to the network, offered to appear at the debate if Fox contributed $5 million to his charities. Fox said it refused.
Trump filled to capacity a 700-seat hall at Drake University, where he told the crowd he raised more than $5 million for a veterans’ group in a single day. His campaign did not say which group was getting the funds.
“Is it for me personally a good thing or a bad thing will I get more votes? Will I get less votes? Nobody knows who the hell knows, but it’s for our vets and you know what? You’re going to like it, because we raised over five million dollars in less than one day,” Trump said.
Trump’s move to skip the debate could be a risky gamble ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses, which kick off the state-by-state race to pick the nominees in the Nov. 8 presidential election.
But his support in opinion polls, much of it from blue-collar men, has not wavered for months despite him insulting Mexican immigrants, threatening to deny Muslims entry to the United States and clashing with Republican establishment figures like Senator John McCain. (Reuters)