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Is Megyn Kelly Moderating The Next GOP Debate?

by Cate Carrejo

The next Republican debate is coming up Thursday, and the candidates and moderators are preparing to duke it out on stage in South Carolina. Popular Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly won't be moderating the January 14 debate — instead, Fox Business anchors Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo will moderate the showdown. The debate is being hosted by Fox Business, so it's no surprise that the network is sending its own anchors to be the moderators. However, Fox News is hosting another tussle between the top Republican candidates just two weeks later on January 28, and Kelly will be moderating that debate.

Kelly, who appears on the cover of the newest Vanity Fair, certainly made news during her last stint in moderation, during which she incited the fury of Donald Trump. Kelly blasted Trump for his numerous comments over the years about women in the media, which he claimed was unfair treatment. In a CNN interview days later, Trump made his now-infamous "blood coming out of her wherever" comment, implying (or accidentally implying) that he was the victim of Kelly's menstrual hormones.

More recently, Kelly and Trump have made headlines again. In Kelly's Vanity Fair cover story, she claims that Trump attempted to "woo" her with praise before he announced his presidential run. Trump vehemently denies this allegation, saying that "[he is] sure [Kelly] can't be fair and balanced because she has a thing with Donald Trump," whatever that means. Trump is already saying that he and Kelly won't get along at the upcoming debate, so don't be surprised if any animosity comes up January 28.

The Fox Business debate will once again feature both undercard and main stage setups, but this time, there's a major shakeup in the rules. Only the top six national pollers, the top five Iowa pollers, and the top five New Hampshire pollers will be featured on the main stage. Many of the recurring characters in the undercard debates have now dropped out of the race, including South Carolina senator Lindsey Graham and former New York governor George Pataki. To fill out the undercard debate, some of the under-performing candidates who have squeaked their way onto the main stage could get bumped down. This means that John Kasich, Carly Fiorina, and Rand Paul could been in trouble. Fox Business will look at polling data through January 11, so the podium lineup should be released soon.

The debate begins Thursday at 6 p.m. ET with the lower-tier showdown, and the grownups go on stage at 9. The last Fox Business debate was streamed online, so even if you don't have cable, you can still tune in to watch Cavuto and Bartiromo question the candidates. And don't all you Megyn Kelly fans out there worry — she'll be back in just a few weeks.