Megyn Kelly wanted Donald Trump at fourth GOP debate

Megyn Kelly, once a fan-favorite host at Fox News, has had her fair share of ups and downs, career-wise.

In 2015, Kelly gained national prominence at at 2015 GOP primary debate after she called out then-candidate Donald Trump over his "misogynist remarks." That moment happened in front of 24 million TV viewers.

She eventually migrated to her own morning show on NBC, but later found herself unemployed after joking about blackface during one of her shows.

Ultimately, she climbed back into the power-rankings of conservative commentators, especially in the podcast world, signing a deal with SiriusXM in 2021. She's landed several massive interviews, including Trump.

Kelly's longing for another debate moment with Trump came earlier this week prior to the GOP primary debate televised on NewsNation, a newer cable channel with a relatively small viewing audience.\

She hinted that she would love to have the 45th president show up. It certainly would have been a ratings boon for the channel, and for Kelly.

"This would be SPECTACULAR! Mr. President, you would be more than welcome and we would love to have you. Let’s give the people what they want - debate #4 on 12/6 airing on News Nation (& co-sponsored by the ⁦
@MegynKellyShow & ⁦@FreeBeacon!)" she wrote on X earlier this week.

This would be SPECTACULAR! Mr. President, you would be more than welcome and we would love to have you. Let’s give the people what they want - debate #4 on 12/6 airing on News Nation (& co-sponsored by the ⁦@MegynKellyShow⁩ & ⁦@FreeBeacon⁩!) https://t.co/DVvI6VfCTk

— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 17, 2023

Kelly was referencing rumors that Trump would show up to the debate. However, he never did.

The former Fox News host also questioned whether or not moderating the debate was even worth her time, given that the former president is stomping his opponents by comfortable double digits in virtually all polls.

RealClearPolitics noted:

“Does it matter at all?” she asked herself when deciding whether to moderate an undercard debate without the biggest name in politics.

Kelly decided to do the debate anyway, noting that while Trump is more than likely the nominee for 2024, a health scare or a complicated criminal conviction could theoretically take him out of the game.

"It’s not likely, but who am I to rule it out?" Kelly said.

Ultimately, the debate ratings were some of the lowest of all time, according to the New York Post. The broadcast dropped 47% from the third debate, which was also a little-watched event.