Megyn Kelly claims Donald Trump 'threatened' her before Fox News primary debate

'He called me up and threatened me and made very clear to me that he was extremely displeased,' says the Fox News presenter

Megyn Kelly has claimed Donald Trump “threatened” her and rang her up “screaming” days before the presidential debate she moderated in the summer of 2015.

The Fox News host, who has had a long-running feud with the President-elect, claimed Mr Trump was upset after learning she had interviewed Harry Hunt - the author of Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald J Trump.

“Once he announced his candidacy for President one of the stories that broke about him was that in his divorce proceeding from his first wife Ivana, she had under oath accused him of raping her,” Kelly says on US talk show Dr Phil which is due to air on Tuesday.

"Trump was not happy with that interview," Kelly said. "He wasn't happy that I put the reporter on the show and four days before the presidential debate..."

“He called me up and threatened me and made very clear to me that he was extremely displeased. I told him flat-out 'Mr Trump, I'm sorry that you are unhappy, but you don't control the editorial on the Kelly File. And that was it: He started screaming at me; he hung-up the phone... and the next time we met was that Thursday night.”

Kelly, the host of The Kelly File, said this was the first time she had ever told the story.

Mr Trump and Kelly have had an ongoing feud which was brought into the public eye after she moderated the very first Republican debate in August 2015. During the debate, she questioned him about his record of demeaning, sexist comments about women.

The billionaire infamously responded by making a comment many believed to be a suggestion she might have been menstruating at the time. “You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever,” he said. On top of this, Mr Trump labelled her a “lightweight” and said he did not respect her numerous times and also said he thinks she is “highly overrated” as a journalist.

Incensed by the incident, he refused to take part in a subsequent January 2016 candidates forum which she was scheduled to moderate again. Kelly did however carry out a calm interview with Trump in May.

A representative for Mr Trump did not immediately respond to request for comment.