Why Did Megyn Kelly Go On Vacation?

When Megyn Kelly announced that she would be taking her first vacation in six months on Aug. 12 during her prime-time show The Kelly File, rumors immediately began swirling. Some speculated that the move was in response to Donald Trump's comments about her following the GOP presidential debate, in which Trump said Kelly had blood coming out of her "wherever" when discussing the journalist questioning his past sexist comments. Both Kelly and Trump have refused to apologize for what they had to say. Her planned time away following the feud, however, has called into question why exactly she took vacation now. So, is Megyn Kelly taking vacation from Fox News because of Donald Trump? Given the way the network has responded, it certainly doesn't seem that way.

Following Kelly's vacation announcement, Trump injected his own conspiracy theories into her leave of absence, telling Newsmax TV that "people were very, very surprised that, all of a sudden, she decided to go away for 10 or 11 or 12 days." Fox News responded by defending Kelly and completely dismissing the idea that her leave of absence was anything other than some needed rest and relaxation with her family. A Fox News spokeswoman had this to say:

The conspiracy theories about Megyn Kelly's vacation rank up there with UFO's, the moon landing and Elvis being alive. Megyn is on a pre-planned, annual summer vacation with her family, which is much deserved. To imply otherwise as Donald Trump and his campaign operatives have is not only wildly irresponsible, but downright bizarre.

Likewise, Kelly's colleague Shep Smith also defended the journalist and laid the rumors of her leaving to rest. During an interview on Monday on Late Night With Seth Meyers, Smith called Kelly's questioning of Trump at the GOP debate "relevant" and incredibly telling. He echoed Fox News' statements about her vacation as well as his support of her. Smith said:

Miss Megyn does not need our help. We're all in 100 support of her, of course. All she did was ask timely, good questions. ... She's on a much-deserved vacation that had nothing to do with him [Trump].

When announcing her upcoming vacation, Kelly stressed that it had been far too long since she'd taken some time off. Her biggest goal, aside from spending time with her family, was to unplug and unwind without constantly checking her phone. So far, Kelly hasn't been completely disconnected, having tweeted twice while on vacation. She returns to Fox News on Aug. 24. In the meantime, fellow Fox News journalist Shannon Bream has been hosting The Kelly File in her absence.