As her primetime network interview with Donald Trump approaches Tuesday night, Fox News Channel's Megyn Kelly says Trump didn't make her popular by attacking her over the past nine months – Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes had already done that.
While she made the cover of Vanity Fair magazine in January following her famous dustup with Trump during the first Republican presidential debate in August, Kelly said Tuesday on Fox News Channel's
"The Five" that her popularity already was high before the fireworks with the now presumptive nominee.
"I've been on lots of magazines, covers of magazines well before Trump," Kelly said. "We work at the Fox News Channel, the most powerful news channel out there. And who am I surrounded by? Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Those are big stars by any measure."
Ailes gave her a "powerful platform" in the hour between those two popular shows, she said.
Trump's attacks on Kelly for questioning his treatment of women may have accelerated her exposure, she said, "But I don't give him the credit for that, to be perfectly honest."
Kelly said that when Trump goes after you, it isn't just Trump, but also his supporters. While most are "God-loving Americans," she said, some make "serious threats."
"I have three young kids, and I don't have Secret Service following me around," she said. "So that piece of it has been very dark. And, you know, I'm hoping that that's all over now."
Kelly said she'd eventually like to have Trump on her Fox News Channel show and talk about issues other than the usual discussion of his temperament or his position on trade with China.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.