NEW YORK — (CNN) Donald Trump has resumed criticizing Megyn Kelly, threatening to disrupt the fragile, on-again-off-again truce between himself and Fox News.
Trump took to Twitter during Kelly’s Thursday night broadcast to criticize her guests, as “dumb puppets.” He also claimed that he didn’t watch her show — which is doubtful, given his tweets — and retweeted users who disparaged the program.
Trump kicked off Thursday night’s tirade by targeting Kelly’s guests, Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt and former George Bush speechwriter Marc Thiessen, who now serves as a columnist and Fox News contributor.
“Megyn Kelly has two really dumb puppets, Chris Stirewalt & Marc [Thiessen] (a Bushy) who do exactly what she says,” Trump tweeted. “Every poll, Time, Drudge, Slate and others, said I won both debates – but heard Megyn Kelly had her two puppets say bad stuff. I don’t watch.”
Trump also retweeted users who criticized Kelly’s show: “Donald, Megyn Kelly seeks ratings, not truth Not much of a journalist,” one wrote. “Such a played out segment as well, can’t stand to watch her anymore,” wrote another, who added the “#boycottKellyFile” hashtag to his tweet.
The tirade is sure to irk Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who had called on Trump to apologize for a similar series of tweets in late August stemming from Trump’s frustration with Kelly’s questions at the first GOP primary debate. “Donald Trump’s surprise and unprovoked attack on Megyn Kelly during her show last night is as unacceptable as it is disturbing,” Ailes said at the time.
Since then, Trump and Fox News have gone through several rounds of bickering. The latest saw Fox News canceling Trump’s scheduled appearance on The O’Reilly Factor — after a series of critical tweets — and Trump claiming shortly thereafter that he would be boycotting Fox News. The two parties made peace, though a planned meeting between Trump and Fox News executives never took place.
A Fox News spokesperson was not immediately available for comment late Thursday night.
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