President Donald Trump is praising journalist Megyn Kelly for saying he won the final presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Thursday night.
“Trump won this debate, handily. Biden wasn’t a force at all. Trump was substantive, on-point, well-tempered. Definitely helped himself, when it mattered most,” Kelly wrote on Twitter.
Trump replied, “Thank you Megyn!”
Thank you Megyn! https://t.co/sC71EEWIOd
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2020
Trump and Kelly traded jabs during the first Republican primary debate in August of 2015.
As moderator, Kelly pressed Trump on his remarks about women.
“You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs, and disgusting animals,” Kelly said.
Trump slammed Kelly after that debate.
“Wow, [Megyn Kelly] really bombed tonight. People are going wild on twitter! Funny to watch,” Trump wrote in a Twitter post.
Wow, @megynkelly really bombed tonight. People are going wild on twitter! Funny to watch.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015
In the days following the debate, Trump told CNN, “There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”
Two days after his interview with CNN, he appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” to clarify his comments.
According to Trump, when he said “wherever” he meant her nose.
In late August of 2015 Trump swiped at Kelly again and suggested he “liked The Kelly File much better without [Megyn Kelly]. Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation!”
I liked The Kelly File much better without @megynkelly. Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015
The president participated in an interview with Kelly in May of 2016.
During the interview, he told Kelly he thought her question about his remarks on women were “unfair.”
“I don’t really blame you, because you’re doing your thing. But from my standpoint, I don’t have to like it,” he said.
Kelly announced the release of her new podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show” last month.
Despite Kelly’s belief that Trump won the debate, a few post-debate snap polls are showing Biden won, as IJR previously reported.
According to data from the U.S. Elections Project on Friday, more than 50 million Americans have already cast ballots in the presidential election.