Political junkies can watch free, live streaming of the Fox News Republican debate in Iowa Thursday night — a debate that this week has dominated headlines not as for being the GOP candidates final chance to state their case to voters before the February 1 Iowa caucuses, but for the latest flare-up in the feud between Republican frontrunner and seemingly inevitable nominee Donald Trump and Fox News, the cable network that more than any other has served as the voice of the conservative movement and the Republican party.
As has been widely publicized, Trump, 69, has announced that he will boycott the debate , presumably to protest the presence on the moderator’s panel of popular, 45-year-old Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, who Trump has derided as a “lightweight journalist” after she confronted him during the first Fox News debate about his history of disparaging remarks toward women, referring to them as “fat pigs,” “dogs” and “slobs.”
Watch that controversial exchange from the August 6 Fox News Republican debate in the video below.
On Wednesday, taking as he so often does to his Twitter account, Trump insisted that his decision to pull out of the debate was not due to the presence of Megyn Kelly, but rather to a “childishly written” press release issued by Fox after the Trump campaign on Tuesday made the initial announcement that the real estate tycoon and former reality TV personality would skip the debate in protest of Kelly.
It was the childishly written & taunting PR statement by Fox that made me not do the debate, more so than lightweight reporter, @megynkelly .
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2016
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Of course, Trump’s tweet would seem to suggest that his initial declaration of the debate boycott was not sincere, and that it was only when Fox News issued its press release that he made up his mind to back out of Thursday’s event for real.
But will Trump pull an about-face and show up at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, Iowa, to take the stage with his mostly distant competitors after all? To find out, watch the Fox News free live streaming video of the debate, which will be accessible through the link in the final paragraph of this article. The debate is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern Time, 6 p.m. Pacific, on Thursday, January 28.
Despite his claim that he is not boycotting the debate to avoid Megyn Kelly, Trump on Wednesday also posted a tweet that appeared to use the derogatory term “bimbo” in reference top Kelly, while at the same time saying that he would “refuse” to use that word.
I refuse to call Megyn Kelly a bimbo, because that would not be politically correct. Instead I will only call her a lightweight reporter!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 27, 2016
The Fox News press release that apparently annoyed Trump read…
“We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president. A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.”
Trump announced Wednesday that he would hold an “event” in Iowa during the same time period as the Fox News Republican debate, saying that the “event” would be a fundraiser to benefit military veterans.
But several veterans groups have stated that they want no part of Trump’s event, or any money it may raise.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued a statement saying it would refuse to accept money from the Trump event, stating that veterans “need strong policies from candidates, not to be used for political stunts.”
Another veterans advocacy group, VoteVets.org, issued a similar statement, telling Trump, “Don’t hide from Megyn Kelly behind us.”
While Donald Trump invited all TV networks except Fox News to air his supposed veterans “event,” as of Wednesday night no networks had taken him up on his offer.
Fox News will offer viewers two ways to watch live streaming of the seventh Republican debate Thursday. Cable TV subscribers with login credentials can access the 24-hour Fox News live stream at this link . But Fox News will also offer a free stream of the debate, available to watch for anyone with no credential required. That live stream can be accessed at this link .
[Featured Image By Scott Olson/Getty Images]