The front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination tweeted his intention after a scheduled Thursday appearance on FNC's top-rated program "The O'Reilly Factor" was canceled by the cable network.
".@Fox News has been treating me very unfairly & I have therfore decided that I won't be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future."A Fox News spokesperson confirmed that Trump's tweet was in response to the cancellation of his appearance with Bill O'Reilly.
Apparently,Trump boosts ratings for cable news whenever he gives an interview or makes a campaign speech, those surges are less pronounced on Fox News, which has the largest audience in cable news and is even more dominant among conservative-leaning viewers.
On Tuesday, Trump tweeted another attack on Kelly: "Do you ever notice that lightweight @megynkelly constantly goes after me but when I hit back it is totally sexist. She is totally overrated!"
Trump first made hostile remarks about Kelly after her tough questioning of him during the Fox News Republican debate on Aug. 6. The candidate did patch things up with Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes over the matter and backed off.
Although Trump's absence as a guest on Fox News Channel is unlikely to have much of an impact on the ratings of regular Fox News programming, a long-lasting boycott would be a major detriment to the outlet's upcoming primary debates.
The 24 million viewers who watched FNC's Aug. 6 debate set an audience record for a non-sports program on cable, and Trump's presence was the main factor in luring viewers. CNN's Republican debate drew 22.9 million last week.
FNC's sister channel Fox Business Network has a GOP primary debate scheduled for November. A rematch with Kelly and Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Chris Wallace is set for January.
But in the world of Trump and the topsy-turvy Republican campaign, those dates are far down the road.
Source: L.A. Times
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