Donald Trump Wanted $5 Million to Appear at Fox's Debate

Donald Trump did not appear at Fox News’ Republican debate on Thursday night (January 28) and now the network has released a statement about their discussions with him.

The Presidential candidate refused to appear in the debate if Megyn Kelly, who he has sparred with in the past, was the moderator. He also tried to get the network to donate a large monetary sum to his foundation.

“[Fox News chairman] Roger Ailes had three brief conversations with Donald Trump today about possibly appearing at the debate – there were not multiple calls placed by Ailes to Trump,” Fox News said in a statement (via Variety).

“In the course of those conversations, we acknowledged his concerns about a satirical observation we made in order to quell the attacks on Megyn Kelly, and prevent her from being smeared any further. Furthermore, Trump offered to appear at the debate upon the condition that Fox News contribute $5 million to his charities,” the statement continued. “We explained that was not possible and we could not engage in a quid pro quo, nor could any money change hands for any reason. In the last 48 hours, we’ve kept two issues at the forefront – we would never compromise our journalistic standards and we would always stand by our journalist, Megyn Kelly. We have accomplished those two goals and we are pleased with the outcome. We’re very proud to have her on stage as a debate moderator alongside Bret Baier and Chris Wallace.”