MSNBC Airs Fox News’ Ted Cruz Town Hall – Before Fox News
Megyn Kelly’s interview is scheduled to air on her show tonight, but MSNBC preemptively aired portions of it
Brian Flood | April 4, 2016 @ 12:31 PM
Last Updated: April 4, 2016 @ 12:50 PM
Fox News taped Megyn Kelly’s exclusive interview with Ted Cruz this afternoon under the assumption that it would air as scheduled, tonight at 9 p.m. during “The Kelly File,” but MSNBC somehow scooped FNC’s own town hall.
Kelly interviewed Cruz on the road in Madison, Wisconsin, where an NBC affiliate apparently gained access to the event. MSNBC aired 12 minutes of the interview with anchor Tamron Hall providing commentary.
During the broadcast, you could hear background noise and Kelly’s interaction with the crowd. You could also hear a director or stage manager giving directions. Hall spoke over Kelly for much of the 12 minutes.
A source familiar with the situation tells TheWrap that this was a Cruz campaign event moderated by Kelly – not a Fox News event in the way most MSNBC or CNN town halls are created and run by the networks.
The same source says that neither the campaign nor Fox News issued usage restrictions before the event – not written or verbally. However, NBC stopped filming once a Cruz campaign staffer asked them to stop.
Fox News announced Friday that tonight would feature a series of conversations with the Republican candidates for president, with all three taking place in front of a live audience.
Greta Van Susteren will interview Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 7 p.m. during “On the Record with Greta Van Susteren,” followed by “The O’Reilly Factor.” Kelly’s interview with Cruz airs at 9 p.m. and Sean Hannity‘s “Hannity”will stage an hour-long interview with Donald Trump at Pabst Theater in Milwaukee at 10 p.m.
Ted Cruz v Donald Trump Timeline: Their Insults About Wives and Rat Sex (Photos)
This week began with nude pictures of Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, and ended with Ted Cruz calling Trump a rat and just barely avoiding the word "ratfucking." Let's review.
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It all started with an anti-Trump Facebook ad targeted at Mormons from the super PAC America Awesome, which featured a photo of Melania Trump posing naked for GQ.
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Taking offense to the perceived slight, Trump threatened to "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife Heidi. "Be careful, Lyin' Ted," he warned on Twitter.
"Pic of your wife not from us. Donald, if you try to attack Heidi, you're more of a coward than I thought. #classless," responded Cruz.
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On Wednesday, a story accusing Cruz of having affairs with five women appeared in The National Enquirer. Cruz denied the story, calling it "complete and utter lies" and "a smear that has come from Donald Trump and his henchmen."
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While accusing Trump of planting the story, Cruz tried to talk around the word "ratfucking," derogatory slang for an especially dirty kind of political sabotage.
“He’s a man for whom a term was coined for copulating with a rodent,” Cruz said of a former Trump ally. “Well let me be clear, Mr. Trump may be a rat but I have no desire to copulate with him. And this garbage does not belong in politics.”
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On Friday, Trump issued a statement on Facebook, denying the accusation that he planted the Enquirer story.
"While [The National Enquirer was] right about O.J. Simpson, John Edwards, and many others, I certainly hope they are not right about Lyin’ Ted Cruz," he wrote.
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This week in disgusting presidential politics
This week began with nude pictures of Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, and ended with Ted Cruz calling Trump a rat and just barely avoiding the word "ratfucking." Let's review.