Trump thanks Megyn Kelly for saying he won debate ‘handily’ after tweet goes viral

President Trump thanked journalist Megyn Kelly for saying he won Thursday night’s presidential debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden “handily” in a tweet to his more than 87 million followers on Friday morning.

“Trump won this debate, handily. Biden wasn’t a force at all. Trump was substantive, on-point, well-tempered. Definitely helped himself, when it mattered most,” Kelly wrote in a tweet that began trending late Thursday.

Thank you Megyn! https://t.co/sC71EEWIOd

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2020

The note of thanks comes more than five years after Trump and Kelly clashed during the first Republican primary debate in August 2015.

At one point in the debate watched by more than 24 million people, Kelly asked Trump about his derogatory past comments about women. Trump took exception to the question and attacked her for months on social media, with Kelly refusing to respond.

Wow, @megynkelly really bombed tonight. People are going wild on twitter! Funny to watch.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2015

I liked The Kelly File much better without @megynkelly. Perhaps she could take another eleven day unscheduled vacation!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 25, 2015

Trump eventually sat down with Kelly for a FOX TV prime-time special in May 2016.

The former Fox News and NBC News host launched the “Megyn Kelly Show” podcast last month. It has risen to the top of Apple’s news commentary rankings.