Update: 10:30 P.M.: Donald Trump’s campaign confirmed in a statement later Tuesday night that the candidate would indeed be skipping the upcoming Fox debate. “Unlike the very stupid, highly incompetent people running our country into the ground, Mr. Trump knows when to talk away,” the statement reads. “Roger Ailes and FOX News think they can toy with him, but Mr. Trump doesn’t play games.”

Update: 6:30 P.M.: In a press conference Tuesday night, Donald Trump told reporters: “Most likely I won't be doing the debate.” According to Maggie Haberman of The New York Times, Trump went on to describe his decision as “pretty close to irrevocable,” adding: “I don't want to be used.”

Earlier Tuesday, Ailes defended Kelly from Trump’s calls to have her removed as moderator, telling The Washington Post in a statement, “She will absolutely be on the debate stage on Thursday night.” Fox News also released a mocking statement of its own:

We learned from a secret back channel that the Ayatollah and Putin both intend to treat Donald Trump unfairly when they meet with him if he becomes president. A nefarious source tells us that Trump has his own secret plan to replace the Cabinet with his Twitter followers to see if he should even go to those meetings.

Blaming Ailes for the “wiseguy” press release, Trump responded in the presser Tuesday that “it’s time that somebody plays grownup.”

The original article continues below.

For all his bravado and bluster, there appears to be one thing that genuinely unnerves Donald Trump: Megyn Kelly. On Monday, the Republican presidential front-runner threatened to drop out of the upcoming G.O.P. debate because the Fox anchor is moderating.

“I mean, I don't like her. She doesn't treat me fairly,” he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during a wide-ranging interview that aired on Monday. “I’m not a big fan of hers at all. I don't care. She was—she probably was—I might be the best thing that ever happened to her. I don't know, because who ever even heard of her before the last debate?”