Trump’s anger, meanwhile, has only boosted the anchor’s profile – not that she was in need of attention. As Joe Muto – the former Fox News “mole” for Gawker, who wrote a book about his experience working for the channel as a liberal – stressed to the Guardian, Kelly’s performance should not have surprised anyone.

Kelly is a self-professed independent voter, known for frequently throwing hardballs at Republicans.

“I’m a Fox News anchor, and I have no horse in the race,” she told Variety in June. “I can give anyone a hard time.”

She once lectured Kentucky senator and 2016 candidate Rand Paul over his penchant for arguing with female reporters, and memorably asked another White House hopeful, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, to clarify why he thought it was trashy for women to swear in public.