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Is Megyn Kelly Hosting The Seventh GOP Debate?

by Claire Elizabeth Felter

There's a moment Americans have been waiting for since the very first presidential primary debate back in August. No, it's not an announcement that front-runner Donald Trump is ending his campaign run, although some might still hold onto that small glimmer of hope. With the inundation of candidate debates week after week, viewers are naturally waiting for another chance to see news anchor and political commentator Megyn Kelly to ask the questions. And with a Fox News debate around the corner, how can you not wonder: Is Megyn Kelly hosting the seventh GOP debate?

The names are out and debate watchers can mark Thursday's Republican debate as the can't-miss event of the month. The night could even top witnessing Bernie Sanders throw the most epic side-eye at the last Democratic showdown. Fox News has announced that Kelly will indeed be moderating the network's second primary debate, scheduled to take place at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Kelly isn't hosting the shindig on her own, though she's totally capable of doing just that; Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Chris Wallace, the two who joined Kelly in hosting the network's first debate in August, will be by her side on stage once again.

The Thursday night event will no doubt look plenty different from the network's first hosting, despite the familiar faces who will be moderating. At the Aug. 6 debate kick-off, Kelly and her two co-hosts dealt with 10 — yes, 10 — GOP presidential hopefuls during the primetime round. The smaller pre-forum had seven more.

While the group has not downsized quite to the extent that the Democratic candidate pool has, the Jan. 28 main round will likely be close to half the number viewers saw in the summer. Fox News is expected to release the criteria for participating in the debate closer to the day of the event. The debate is also the last to take place before the Iowa electoral caucuses, which begin Feb. 1.

MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

And then there's one aspect of the upcoming GOP debate that no one will be able to predict. The likelihood that Trump will be in attendance at the seventh round is, well, really high. Kelly's gig in the moderating chair is now confirmed. How the two will coexist at the Iowa venue, however, is anyone's guess. You could say Trump wasn't a huge fan of Kelly's question at the first debate that challenged his past insulting remarks toward women, and the aftermath wasn't a blossoming friendship between the two.

Thursday evening's event may prompt a bit of déjà vu with Kelly calling out the questions, but the night will surely bring some surprises for viewers.