Trump and Fox News lob bombs over GOP debate on Twitter: a retrospective
So Donald Trump's not doing Thursday's Republican debate in Des Moines, he said, because moderator Megyn Kelly doesn't treat him "fairly."
Fox News has stood by Kelly, issuing a press release mocking Trump's unwillingness to face her. The rest of the GOP field has since seized the opportunity to dump on Trump, and Fox News was all-too-willing to help.
The bickering unfolded, of course, on Trump's preferred platform of Twitter. Let's take a look back (all times are Eastern):
Tuesday
1:05 p.m.: Trump asks his followers: "Should I do the #GOPdebate?" Yes, they respond, at 56%. Trump does not listen to them.
5:34 p.m.: Trump calls Fox News' statement about him "pathetic."
9:11 p.m.: Fox News tweets their own Brit Hume: "What [Trump]'s not free to do and no news organization would allow is for him to dictate the terms..."
9:26 p.m. Trump shoots back with a campaign statement on the debate: "Roger Ailes and FOX News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn't play games."
9:28 p.m.: Fox News tweets former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani saying he he thinks Trump is "making a mistake in not showing up for the debate."
9:57 p.m.: Fox News quotes Chris Christie in a tweet: "The American people should wonder, you know if you're not willing to show up when everything's not going your way..."
10:04 p.m.: Fox News launches a series of Tweets from a call-in with Trump's main rival, Ted Cruz. Cruz says Trump "thinks so little of the men and women of Iowa," that he's "afraid," and "trying to hide from the voters of Iowa." Then, Fox News lets Cruz issue a challenge:
10:40 p.m.: Fox News quotes Ben Carson pooh-poohing the impact of Trump's absence, saying "The debate is about dissemination of information to the people...it doesn't matter if he's there or not."
10:48 p.m.: Fox News lets its own Geraldo Rivera come to bat: "@realDonaldTrump ... has no authority or right or privilege to dictate to us who we assign to a certain story."
Then, for the night, silence. Sweet, sweet silence.
Wednesday
5:13 a.m.: Fox News tweets a statement on Trump, just in time for the morning's news cycle, saying he is "still welcome" at the debate "but he can’t dictate the moderators or the questions."
6:44 a.m.: Trump, up and on Twitter at that hour, insults Kelly.
An hour and 18 minutes later, he calls Fox News' statement "a disgrace to good broadcasting and journalism. Who would ever say something so nasty & dumb"
10:03 a.m.: Fox News retweets a picture of Trump and a sandwich.
11:33 a.m.: Rand Paul rips Trump in a tweet from Fox News: "It's sort of a double win for me. Not only am I on the main stage (in Thursday's debate) but we don't have to put up with a lot of empty blather ..."
Follow Josh Hafner on Twitter: @joshhafner