Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised on Wednesday that his ongoing feud with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly has nothing to do with having a crush on her.
On NBC’s “Today,” anchor Matt Lauer asked Trump why Kelly has irritated him so much.
“I personally am not a fan,” Trump said. “I don’t think she does a good job. I don’t think she’s a very good professional.” He said that Kelly’s primetime show on Fox would be better without her.
Lauer then suggested that Trump sounded like he might have a certain adoration for Kelly.
“It starts to sound little bit — and take this in the right way, Donald — like you’re a guy with a schoolyard crush,” Lauer said. “When we were in elementary school and junior high school, you know, guys often say the meanest things about the girls they like the most.”
Trump, who is married, swore off any crush.
“Trust me, Matt, there is no crush,” Trump said. “That I can tell you. As far as I was concerned, during the debate, she asked me questions that were totally inappropriate.”
Trump’s feud with Kelly goes back to the first Republican presidential debate, hosted by Fox in early August. There, Kelly asked him to defend his previous public comments about some women being “pigs” and other disparaging things. Trump went on a media tour after, charging that Kelly’s questions of him were “unfair.”
When Kelly went on a vacation thereafter, Trump said in interviews and on social media that it was probably because he attacked her. When she returned to her show on Monday, Trump posted negative messages on Twitter about her and her performance.
On “Today,” Trump also addressed another run-in he had with a member of the media.
At a press conference Tuesday night, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos was ejected after he shouted out questions to Trump, interrupting a reporter who had been called on.
Ramos was eventually let back in and he challenged Trump on his immigration policy proposals — to build a wall on the Southern border and deport illegal immigrants currently in the U.S.
“He was totally out of line last night,” Trump said of Ramos. “He stood up and started ranting and raving like a mad man. … He was totally absolutely out of line.”
