- Gingrich, on Fox in his role as a Donald Trump surrogate, had questioned the stories of women who’ve come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault.
- At that point, Megyn Kelly glanced up and past the camera, with the look of someone who wasn’t quite sure she’d heard what she thought she’d heard, and needed an instant replay on reality.
- Trump himself – whose relationship with Kelly this year has ranged all the way from ice cold to lukewarm, and back again – had yet to respond, as of this writing.
New York–There are times when words do not do complete justice to a moment. Tuesday night’s Newt Gingrich-Megyn Kelly showdown is one of those times, which is why we’ve included the clip above of its final moments. (Here’s the full interview, from the top.)
Gingrich, on Fox in his role as a Donald Trump surrogate, had questioned the stories of women who’ve come forward to accuse Trump of sexual assault — and the relative importance of the controversy itself, relative to Hillary Clinton’s alleged misdeeds.
Kelly pushed back. “As a media story, we don’t get to say that 10 women are lying. We have to cover that story, sir,” said the Fox anchor.
“Sure. OK. So, so it’s worth 23 minutes of the three networks to cover that story, and Hillary Clinton had a secret speech in Brazil to a bank that pays her 225,000 [dollars], saying her dream is an open border where 600 million people could come to America – that’s not worth covering. . .”
“That is worth covering,” interjected Kelly. “And we did.”
Gingrich was still speaking: “. . .I mean, you want to go back through the tapes of your show recently, you are fascinated with sex, and you don’t care about public policy.”
At that point, Megyn Kelly glanced up and past the camera, with the look of someone who wasn’t quite sure she’d heard what she thought she’d heard, and needed an instant replay on reality. (We know this look well.)
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“Me? Really?” she said, laughing.
“Well, that’s what I get out of watching you tonight,” said Gingrich.
Cue crosstalk.
KELLY: “You know what, Mr. Speaker, I’m not fascinated by sex. But I am fascinated by the protection of women…”
GINGRICH: “OK.”
KELLY: “. . .and understanding what we’re getting in the Oval Office…”
GINGRICH: “OK.”
KELLY: “…and I think the American voters would like to know…”
GINGRICH: “And therefore we’re going to send Bill Clinton back to the East Wing, because after all, you are worried about sexual predators.”
“Yeah, listen, it’s not about me,” said Kelly. “It’s about the women and men of America. And the poll numbers show us that the women of America in particular are very concerned about these allegations and in large part believe that they are a real issue. And don’t dismiss the women…”
It wasn’t clear whether he was responding to the first half of Kelly’s farewell, or the second.
Trump campaign’s social media director had some early thoughts on Twitter: .@MegynKelly made a total fool out of herself tonight- attacking @realDonaldTrump. Watch what happens to her after this election is over.
Gingrich tweeted it out himself in the effort to make sure people had seen the faceoff.
Trump himself – whose relationship with Kelly this year has ranged all the way from ice cold to lukewarm, and back again – had yet to respond, as of this writing.
