Many in media doubted Donald Trump this week when he said he’d boycott a GOP primary debate hosted by Fox News, but they were again proven wrong by a candidate who has so far confounded even the most veteran political reporter.
“Is Donald Trump’s announcement he’ll skip GOP debate a ploy?” NJ.com reporter Brent Johnson asked in a headline, noting that the GOP front-runner has proven this election to be entirely unpredictable.
The New York Times’ James Poniewozik added elsewhere on social media, “Prediction: Trump changes mind, ends up doing Fox debate, but successfully makes 2 days of news cycle all about whether he does the debate.”
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes agreed, saying, “And Fox comes away with a huge ratings victory. [Fox chief Roger Ailes] and Trump both walk away happy. Seems most likely.”
Trump grumbled for days about skipping the Thursday GOP debate over the network’s decision to include Megyn Kelly as a moderator. His feud with the evening news anchor dates back to Aug. 6, when she asked him during the first primary debate to respond to allegations he has a sordid history of sexist behavior.
The casino tycoon went on the offensive after the August debate, and accused Kelly of being unprofessional, unfair and “not nice.”
The back-and-forth sniping between Fox and Trump has gone on for several months now, but things intensified as the Thursday debate drew closer, and a second showdown between Trump and Kelly became a highly anticipated event. Trump, still flirting with the idea of bailing on the debate, asked his followers on social media Tuesday if he should participate even if they didn’t remove Kelly. Fox immediately responded with a sarcastic note mocking him as thin-skinned and petulant, and that apparently made up Trump’s mind for him.
His campaign announced later that afternoon he’d “definitely” skip the Fox event, and that he’d hold a counter-campaign rally at the same time as the debate.
But few in media seemed to take him seriously, and suspected that the whole thing was likely a stunt to boost ratings and keep media attention on Trump’s campaign.
“Trump and Fox News basically just hyping ratings at this point,” CNN’s Dylan Byers said, giving credence to the notion that the Fox and Trump feud was anything but authentic.
The Huffington Post’s Igor Bobic characterized the spat between the network and billionaire businessman as a nothing but “fake fighting” meant to promote the debate.
After news broke that Trump would appear Wednesday evening on Bill O’Reilly’s show, CNN’s Brian Stelter said with a raised eyebrow, “They’re televising the war that they’re a part of.”
Even Kelly didn’t buy Trump’s announcement that he’d sit out the debate, and said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t come.”
As it turned out, however, Trump was serious about skipping the debate. By Thursday evening, his counter-event, a charity to benefit U.S. veterans, was overbooked and sparking fears over crowd-control issues.
