Sean Hannity accuses Megyn Kelly of supporting Hillary Clinton 'Clearly you support her,' Hannity says of Kelly.

A brewing professional rivalry between two of the biggest stars on Fox News turned openly hostile on Wednesday, as Sean Hannity and Megyn Kelly traded insults over their vastly divergent approaches to covering the 2016 presidential race.

The unusually public exchange began when Kelly criticized Trump for refusing to conduct interviews in “unsafe spaces,” opting instead for the friendly confines of Hannity's show.


“Donald Trump, with all due respect to my friend at 10 o’clock, will go on 'Hannity' and pretty much only 'Hannity' and will not venture out to the unsafe spaces these days which doesn’t exactly expand the tent for either one of them,” Kelly said during a Wednesday broadcast of “The Kelly File."

Hannity tweeted at Kelly soon afterward, telling her to direct her ire at Hillary Clinton, adding: "Clearly you support her."

@megynkelly u should be mad at @HillaryClinton Clearly you support her. And @realDonaldTrump did talk to u. https://t.co/vsQiNMgHut — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 6, 2016





Later challenged on social media to "stand by your colleagues," Hannity took another swipe at Kelly, saying he would do so "when they stand by me."

Sure. When they stand by me. https://t.co/UrFbBVfEMI — Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) October 6, 2016





Hannity has been an outspoken supporter of the Republican presidential nominee, telling viewers in June that he’d be voting for the real estate mogul come November. His many interviews of Trump have been widely panned as open advocacy for a presidential candidate.

Hannity was featured prominently in a Trump presidential campaign ad in late August, prompting Fox to prohibit him from appearing in any future promotional materials for his candidacy. The New York Times reported on Aug. 21 that Hannity has informally advised Trump on campaign strategy.

Trump even mentioned Hannity during the first presidential debate at Hofstra University, using him to back up his unsubstantiated claim that he opposed the Iraq war prior to the 2003 invasion.

Following that debate, Kelly informed viewers that Trump was scheduled to talk to Hannity, adding what many took as a slight of her fellow Fox host.

“We’ve got Trump speaking to our own Sean Hannity,” she said. “We’ll see if he speaks to the journalists in this room after that interview.”

Days later, in a quickly leaked rebuke that seemed aimed at Hannity, Fox News executive Dana Blanton sent a memo reminding staff that unscientific online fan polls do not meet the network’s editorial standards. Hannity continued citing them in support of Trump.

In contrast to Hannity's unabashed support, Kelly’s relationship with Trump has been openly contentious, with the two sniping at each other as recently as Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, when Trump refuted Kelly’s observation that he was “surrounded by his team” as he live-tweeted the event.

.@megynkelly- I am in Nevada. Sorry to inform you Kellyanne is in the audience. Better luck next time. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2016

Trump has repeatedly attacked Kelly in strikingly personal terms since the first GOP presidential debate on Fox News, when she pushed him to defend his past remarks about women.

Afterword, Trump called Kelly a “loser” and a “bimbo” on his Twitter account, and described her as "sick" and "overrated." He also said in a TV interview that Kelly had “blood coming out of her eyes — blood coming out of her whatever.” Fox defended Kelly aggressively, and it reportedly took the personal intervention of former network chief Roger Ailes to get Trump to stand down.

Trump skipped a Fox-hosted debate in January ahead of the Iowa caucuses, saying that Kelly, a co-moderator, would be biased against him. He later attended a third primary debate hosted by Kelly without incident, but continued to criticize her in the weeks that followed for booking anti-Trump guests on her show.

"Donald Trump's vitriolic attacks against Megyn Kelly and his extreme, sick obsession with her is beneath the dignity of a presidential candidate who wants to occupy the highest office in the land" Fox responded in March.

In April, Kelly visited him at Trump Tower to "clear the air," she said on her show at the time -- and to tee up an interview with Trump.

The two seemingly made up in a Fox broadcast special in May that was seen by many as a way to test Kelly out with a broader audience, though the interview was full of softball questions and the ratings were a disappointing 4.8 million.

Kelly has been booed by live audiences on Hannity's program, but in May, she credited him as "somebody who behind the scenes tried to cool the temperatures off" during her feud with Trump.

"And he didn't have to do it," she said. "He did, so I'm grateful to him."

But Hannity and Kelly have differed not only in their approach to Trump, but also with regard to Ailes, who was ousted following allegations of sexual harassment. Hannity was an ardent defender of the former Fox boss, while Kelly remained pointedly silent.

Wednesday's exchange between the two Fox stars also comes as competition has continued to heat up within the network, with Hannity recently overtaking Kelly in cable news ratings among the prized 25 to 54 demographic for the month of September.

Kelly's contract ends sometime next year, while Hannity's is through 2020. The parent company of Fox News, 21st Century Fox, seems intent on keeping Kelly around -- but the two parties have yet to reach terms.

A Fox News spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.