Fox News Cancels Republican Debate After Trump Announces He's Skipping It

Fox News has canceled the Republican presidential debate it planned to host this coming Monday in Salt Lake City after Donald Trump said he would not be attending, which led to Gov. John Kasich also declining to attend. From Bloomberg News:

Trump's decision to skip the debate, and a subsequent announcement by Ohio Governor John Kasich that he would join Trump's boycott, led Fox News to cancel the debate set for Monday in Salt Lake City. Trump claimed to have been caught off guard by the event. “We've had enough debates,” he said on the network Wednesday. “Nobody told me about it and I won't be there.” He said skipping the debate would allow him to speak at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference running fromSunday to Tuesday in Washington.

In a statement, Fox News executive vice president Michael Clemente confirmed the cancelation, explaining that “obviously, there needs to be more than one participant” to hold a debate.

New York Magazine writer Gabriel Sherman noted, “Unprecedented how Fox lost control of debate story. Trump says on their air he's not debating. Then it leaks they canceled.”

While Fox has given Trump more interview airtime than any other Republican candidate, Trump has had a contentious relationship with the network over the course of the campaign.

Trump has clashed with debate co-moderator Megyn Kelly, temporarily boycotted the network, skipped a debate due to Kelly's involvement, and has repeatedly criticized Fox News' coverage. He went on a Twitter tirade during Tuesday's primaries in which he called Kelly “crazy” and “unwatchable.”