NewsNation To Host Fourth GOP Presidential Debate, Megyn Kelly To Moderate

Megyn Kelly hosting the 9 a.m. hour of 'Today'
Megyn Kelly (Image credit: NBC)

NewsNation will host the fourth Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday, December 6, from 8 to 10 p.m. ET. Megyn Kelly, host of The Megyn Kelly Show on SiriusXM, will moderate alongside Elizabeth Vargas, anchor of Elizabeth Vargas Reports on NewsNation, and Eliana Johnson, editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. 

The debate will take place at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. 

It will air live on NewsNation, which is owned by Nexstar, and will be simulcast in the Eastern and Central time zones on The CW, also owned by Nexstar. Viewers in the Mountain and Pacific time zones can watch live on NewsNation or see it delayed on their CW television affiliate from 7-9 p.m. MT and 8-10 p.m. PT. The debate will be live-streamed on NewsNationNow.com and on Rumble, and will also air live on SiriusXM Triumph channel 111. 

“All of us at NewsNation are incredibly honored to be hosting a presidential primary debate and to be part of what will be another historic election season,” said Sean Compton, Nexstar’s president of networks. “We are also extremely pleased to have the opportunity to introduce more Americans to NewsNation, a 24-hour national news network committed to delivering outstanding journalism and first-rate political coverage and analysis.” 

Kelly has moderated five GOP primary debates, including the first in the 2016 election cycle, in August 2015, when she was with Fox News. Donald Trump was critical of her moderation, telling CNN days later, “There was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.”

NBC hosted the third debate November 8. Trump has not shown up for any of them. 

Michael Corn, president of news at NewsNation, said the network’s “mission is to provide fair and unbiased news coverage, and that’s the way we will approach this important debate. We take this responsibility very seriously and are proud to help inform and educate voters and to contribute to the democratic process.”

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.