He who must not be named! Donald Trump, as expected, was a no-show during the Republican presidential debate in Des Moines, Iowa, on Thursday, January 28. And during his absence, Fox News‘ Megyn Kelly allegedly called him “Voldemort.”
According to the Daily Mail, Texas senator Ted Cruz said Kelly, 45, referenced the Harry Potter villain while the two spoke off-camera. “Well, you know, you were joking just before we went on air that it was sort of like Voldemort, he who must not be named,” Cruz, 45, reportedly said to her afterward.
A Fox News rep, however, tells Us Weekly that Kelly actually asked Cruz why the candidates didn’t mention Trump too much during the debate. “‘You seem to be treating Trump like Voldemort – ‘he who shall not be named’ – did you plan that?'” she asked.
As previously reported, Trump, 69, boycotted the Fox-hosted debate because of his ongoing feud with the ‘Kelly File’ host. The show went on, however, as GOP presidential hopefuls Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Rand Paul, John Kasich and Chris Christie took the stage.
Trump may not have been present, but he was mentioned numerous times. Kelly directed a question about the front-runner to Cruz at the beginning of the debate.
Iowa was amazing last night. The event could not have worked out better. We raised $6,000,000 for our great vets. They were so happy & proud
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2016
“Let’s address the elephant not in the room tonight. Donald Trump has chosen not to attend this evening’s presidential debate. What message do you think that sends to the voters of Iowa?” Kelly said at the time.
“Let me say: I’m a maniac. And everyone on this stage is stupid, fat and ugly. And Ben, you’re a terrible surgeon,” Cruz responded, mocking Trump and his previous insults. “Now that we’ve gotten the Donald Trump portion out of the way, I want to thank everyone here for showing the men and women of Iowa the respect to show up and make the case to the people of this state and the people of the country why each of us believe we would make the best commander in chief.”
Trump, meanwhile, was busy throwing a rally for veterans at Drake University in Iowa Thursday night. “Iowa was amazing last night. The event could not have worked out better,” he tweeted on Friday. “We raised $6,000,000 for our great vets. They were so happy & proud.”
