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The Megyn Kelly Show
Iran Deal Risks and Fallout, with Curt Mills and Mark Halperin, Plus Jennifer Newsom's Wild Comments, with Damilare Sonoiki and Stepfanie Tyler | Ep. 1291
02:10:10
Megyn Kelly discusses the massive implications of the risky temporary ceasefire deal between America and Iran, President Trump teasing a possible “joint venture” deal with Iran to tax the Strait of Hormuz, and more. Then Curt Mills, executive director, The American Conservative, joins to discuss whether the ceasefire deal is possible to hold if Israel keeps bombing Lebanon, the truth about what happens next in the Middle East, Mark Levin and other war hawks now sounding sad and angry about the ceasefire deal, what happens to MAGA next, and more. Then Mark Halperin, host of "Next Up," joins to discuss the fallout and infighting the Iran war is causing on the right, why JD Vance will not face Marco Rubio in the 2028 GOP primary, who the 2028 frontrunners are on the Democratic side, and more. And Damilare Sonoiki, TV writer, and Stepfanie Tyler, founder of "Westly," join to discuss Jennifer Newsom’s shocking comments about why accidentally killing her sister makes her relate to prison...
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- [00:01]
Megyn Kelly
Welcome to the Megyn Kelly show, live on Sirius XM channel 111, every weekday at noon East. Hey, everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to the Megyn Kelly Show. Last night, President Trump and the Iranian government announcing a two week ceasefire following 38 days of major combat operations in what was dubbed Operation Epic Fury. This comes after President Trump announced, quote, a whole civilization will die tonight, yesterday morning if Iran did not, quote, open the fucking strait, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil supply once flowed before Iran shut it down. Iran doing this was one of the risks that our military fronted for President Trump before he began Operation Epic Fury. He apparently overruled them on those objections and did it anyway. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth this morning, declaring victory and referring to the conflict in the past tense.
- [01:01]
Pete Hegseth
Watch other presidents mark time and kick the can down the road. President Trump made history. From the strike that took out Qasem Soleimani, to tearing up the disastrous Obama Iran deal, to the precision campaign that obliterated Iran's nuclear sites in Operation Midnight Hammer, to the decisive military victory we just achieved in Operation Epic Fury. No other president has shown the courage and resolve of this commander in chief,
- [01:34]
Megyn Kelly
but Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Raisin Cain, reminding us a ceasefire does not necessarily signal the end of a conflict and that the US Military is ready to resume operations at a moment's notice and they may need to watch.
- [01:49]
Kurt Mills
Over the course of 38 days of major combat operation, the Joint Force achieved the military objectives as defined by the President. We welcome the ongoing cease fire. And as the Secretary said, we hope that Iran chooses a lasting peace.
- [02:04]
Pete Hegseth
But as Secretary Hegseth said, let us
- [02:07]
Kurt Mills
be clear, a cease fire is a pause and the Joint Force remains ready, if ordered or called upon, to resume combat operations with the same speed and precision as we've demonstrated over the last 38 days. And we hope that that is not the case.
- [02:24]
Megyn Kelly
President Trump, for his part, sounding thrilled and ready to do business with Iran. Here he is shortly after midnight on Truth Social, quote, a big day for world peace. Iran wants it to happen. They've had enough. Likewise, so is everyone else. The United States of America will be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz. There will be lots of positive action. Big money will be made. Iran can start the reconstruction process. We'll be loading up with supplies of all kinds and just hanging around in order to make sure that everything goes well. I feel confident that it will. Just like we are experiencing in the US this could be the golden age of the Middle east, unquote. Okay, I'm sorry, but like, I know that this is what President Trump does. He tries to put the most positive spin on very unfortunate situations. And that is what he's clearly doing here. It's as if we didn't bomb them to smithereens. It's as if we didn't start a war and bomb Iran for the past 38 days. And that cannot be undone with a sunny tweet or truth social, because already things are going south on this ceasefire. All right, I'll get to that in one second. By the way, it's still totally unclear what exactly has been agreed to and even what exactly we're willing to negotiate. And, and how, how open is the Strait of Hormuz? Because Fox News is. Jennifer Griffin, citing Iranian state media, is reporting that Iran allowed two tankers through, but, quote, they will block the strait as long as Israel attacks Lebanon. And this just, this just breaking from Fox News's Trey Youngst. Iranian state media reporting the passage of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz has been stopped after Israeli strikes in Lebanon. Now, the issue of Lebanon is very sticky because at first it appeared we thought that part of the ceasefire was Israel would stop bombing them, would stop bombing Lebanon. But then Israel continued bombing Lebanon and came out and said, we're not part of this. We didn't agree to that. It's not part of it. We can bomb Lebanon all we want. And then Iran said what we thought, Lebanon was part of it. And now here we are at 12:04 on Wednesday with the strait closed again because our good friend and special ally Israel is fucking up the ceasefire. Within 12 hours of it being struck. They're, they're bombing Lebanon. So the strait is closed again. Our special good friend that got us into this war and really doesn't want us getting out, really doesn't want it. Netanyahu is already taking political fire back at home saying, this is the worst situation that we've ever been in. Like, what you've done here, you've unleashed a war. Now you're going to end it on these conditions. I mean, the 10 point plan would be amazing. It would be amazing for Iran. We're like, sounds good. I know why we're like, sounds good. Because President poll numbers, President Trump's poll numbers are going through the basement. They're like on a nosedive. As fast as Artemis went up, his poll numbers are going down. So he had to get out of this and I support him getting out of it. Don't get me wrong, but I can see why Israel's concerned. Okay, here's. By the way, the ten point peace plan includes end to Israeli strikes in Lebanon. We haven't agreed to all of these things yet, I should point out, but they want the sanctions off of Iran. They want the Strait of Hormuz open. This is Iran, Iran's points. They want Iran to be able to impose a $2 million fee per ship going through the Strait of Hormuz. They want a guarantee that they won't be attacked again. They want a permanent end of war and they want a list lifting of all U.S. sanctions on Iran. Lifting of all U.S. sanctions. Now, Iran is not going to like that. I mean, Israel is not going to like that and they don't like that. So it's a very precarious situation. Israel doesn't like the deal. Israel appears to be violating the deal. Israel's bombing Lebanon. President Trump this morning telling ABC News's Jonathan Karl that the U.S. when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, well, we're, it's going to be a joint venture. It's now going to be a joint venture. So we don't know what's happening with the Strait. But this thing is very precarious. How is it going to be a joint venture between us and Iran in administering these tolls that are being slapped on ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, which, you know, used to be free. There was no toll. Iran wasn't using the Strait as a money making opportunity. And the Gulf Arabs are already objecting to this, saying we're not paying a damn toll. What is this? We didn't agree to this. How is this like, how is this better for us? Iran gets richer, our actual allies get poorer. How is this like a boon? And if we were to lift all the sanctions on Iran, my God, amazing. For Iran, you make all this money through the strait, the sanctions are lifted like great. An Iranian union RIP Telling the Financial Times the number being discussed that they're going to charge in the strait, which they now control, is $1 per barrel of oil passing through the strait, paid in crypto. Crypto, like all thieves require. According to the U.S. energy Information Administration in 2025, 20 million barrels of oil and oil products pass through the strait every day. Every day. Now, what is Iran going to do with $20 million a day going into its coffers? I guess we'll find out. The President also telling the New York Post that in Person talks with the Iranians at a summit in Iran will happen, quote, very soon. Steve Wyckoff and Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. and President Trump said that Vice President J.D. vance, who was supposed to attend, might not be now due to security concerns. So the one guy who we know is really against the whole war is now potentially going to be pulled from the negotiations allegedly due to security concerns. So we're not able to keep the vice President safe in Pakistan. We can't. Joining me now to discuss this and try to unpack it. I know it's confusing is Kurt Mills. He is the executive director of the American Conservative. Let's be honest here, America can still be a dangerous place and you cannot afford to wait for help when you need it. Sure, you could use a firearm, but in today's America, defending yourself with deadly force could have legal consequences. According to FBI data, 99.9% of all altercations do not require lethal force. And that's exactly why so many are turning to Byrna Burna is proudly American hand. Assembled in Fort Wayne, Indiana, these less lethal self defense launchers are trusted by hundreds of government agencies, law enforcement departments and private security companies. Over 600,000 burner pistols have been sold, most to private citizens who refuse to be victims. 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- [10:05]
Kurt Mills
Trying to be hopeful here I think on this. On the face of it, if this thing holds, it's not the worst thing in the world. With the war having started, so the war stops. The Iranian framework is ambitious for them, but it's better than the war continuing. And I will say you shouldn't necessarily judge a plan on who's upset today, but hawks in the United States like Mark Levin, Laura Loomer, the Israeli hard right, are aghast at this plan. And so given the course that they have driven civilization on as of late, it's not the worst thing in the world to see these people experience a little setback for their dark ambitions.
- [10:50]
Megyn Kelly
I'm happy. I like he can slap together whatever plan he wants to bring it to a close. I've said all along, I'll go along with it. Fine. But I also am not going to pretend that this is some big victory for the United States. It's just not. It really could be an amazing victory for Iran if they get some of these terms again.
- [11:06]
Kurt Mills
You know, I think that the messaging here has to be like a little careful. You don't want to encourage President Trump to go back into war. I think that the reality is if he signs a deal like this, if they're serious, if they send someone like the Vice president as opposed to sort of trudging out Kushner Wyckoff once again and they ink something and the Israelis are held into, held in check, which is these are all enormous ifs. You know, this is much, much better for the United States. It's much, much better for the administration. It's much, much better for maga, it's much, much better for Republicans than the war continuing. So, you know, I opposed this war from the start. I opposed the march to war. I opposed the assassination of Soleimani in 2020. But you know, of all the developments, seeing Trump talk about setting up some sort of toll booth, which is a joint vessure with the Iranians in the scheme of things, from annihilating civilization and potentially using a super secret weapon or a nuclear bomb on Tehran, which is what we kind of thought might happen last night. This isn't all that bad. So just trying to put a little spring cheer here.
- [12:15]
Megyn Kelly
No, I understand. I mean, it's just maybe we're in different businesses. My business is the truth.
- [12:20]
Kurt Mills
No, no, no. At all costs. They definitely are.
- [12:22]
Megyn Kelly
I don't try to manipulate the President and I just don't like. I'm glad it's coming to an end. Don't get me wrong. I much prefer this to annihilation of Iran. But I'm not willing to pretend that this is some huge victory for us. It's just not. Like militarily, we were amazing. Of course, our military is second to none. They were powerful, they were mighty, they were pristine. But the end result of this 38 days is the strait is now controlled by Iran. It wasn't before. It now costs a toll potentially to get through. It didn't before. The United States military, despite its incredible performance, has been proven to be incapable of controlling this particular enemy, which realized it has a much more powerful weapon than a nuke. It controls the Strait of Hormuz, or at least potentially it can. And that could bring world powers to their knees because as it asserted that control, the United States president saw his poll numbers go down precipitously and eventually said, okay, I give
- [13:27]
Kurt Mills
agree with all of that. I'm just. I'm just stipulating that this is not necessarily the worst possible situation. I do think the Iranian control of the strait may just happen, frankly, that the war may end with something functioning like an Iranian tollbooth. And although we didn't have this before the war, and this is why the war was a bad idea, I do think it wouldn't end the world either. $1 on every $100 of a barrel of oil, 1%, whatever you want to cut it, is not going to bring the global economy to its knees. We've obviously absorbed 10, 20, 30, $40 price hikes and swings in the recent weeks. So I think the goal here basically should be a durable understanding with the Islamic Republic of Iran that has negotiated ruthlessly in American interests and not on behalf of Israel. And I think that's all that really matters. And I think if we do that, then Trump will have his Middle east peace that he says he wants, even though he took a very circuitous route to it.
- [14:31]
Megyn Kelly
How are we going to have peace when Israel is still bombing Lebanon?
- [14:35]
Kurt Mills
We have to check Israel. I mean, the essential story here is that this war will never end. The nightmare in the Middle east will never end unless the United States says no to Israel. And it's not just a Donald Trump thing. It was a Joe Biden thing. It's been other presidents. I'm not, I don't mean to indicate that Trump has said yes to every single thing that Netanyahu's wanted. But, you know, no one said yes to an Iran war, joint U.S. israeli strikes. And the Israeli appetite is just getting more, you know, ambitious. Did the strikes this morning in Lebanon are the most severe by some metrics since the 1982 war. And so, yeah, it's a major problem myself, I think we should cut them off. I think we should not have a new memorandum of understanding with the Israelis. I don't think we should sell arms to them. I don't think we should necessarily even be allied with this country. It's a global pariah, and for good reason.
- [15:33]
Megyn Kelly
The Wall Street Journal just dropping a piece moments ago that reports Israel, which was not formally part of the Iran negotiations, was not happy that it got word of a deal at a late stage. They found out very late in the process, and they were not consulted. According to mediators and a person familiar with the matter, the extent of the consultation was President Trump calling Netanyahu Shortly before the ceasefire was announced, a White House official said Netanyahu agreed to participate in the ceasefire, said the official. The Israeli Prime Minister's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but mediators said Israeli officials were unhappy with the terms, including the planned inclusion of Lebanon in, in the agreement. Okay, so there was the planned inclusion of Lebanon in the agreement, but Netanyahu saying it wasn't included in the agreement and that's why he's going to continue bombing and bombing and bombing it. And now President Trump gave an interview moments ago to pbs, the White House reporter who he hung up on, who he told her, yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't included, it wasn't included. So now it's, it shifted from it's included and Bibi's pissed off to Netanyahu saying it's not included, we're going to keep bombing and they are bombing, to President Trump telling PBS it wasn't included. So clearly he's given Netanyahu this one, you know, cherry, okay, you can, you can continue to take out Lebanon, but the Iranians just closed the Strait of Hormuz and because of this particular cherry that was given to our special close ally Israel. So, I mean, it's not going well so far. Kurt?
- [17:15]
Kurt Mills
Well, look, isolation always impairs judgment. And this is the problem with having non normalized relations with countries, even as countries with whom we have a fraught relationship, like with such as Iran, we effectively pass messages through a variety of interlocutors throughout this process. Oman, Qatar and now Pakistan. And so it's very easy, especially for a, let's say, detail phobic person like Donald Trump, to ignore these little details like Lebanon. And I believe it was either he or the administration who said today called Lebanon a separate skirmish. The region doesn't look at it like that. And that is going to be a problem for the ceasefire. That being said, it is a game of chicken. And the Iranians today are getting White House concessions that they're going to get sanctions relief, which is astonishing. They're getting White House concessions that there's a 10 point plan, that this is, that this is a durable 10 point plan to a workable 10 point plan. They're getting concessions from the President of the United States that they might get a toll booth. And you're getting the President of the United States to ignore the rage in Israeli media and Israeli politics. So I do think the Iranians themselves probably won't leave the deal. And so you're going to see a game of chicken in the coming days, Iranians seizing boats and Hormuz, I don't think it's fully open, although, of course, the Iranians maintain that it's open for, you know, non belligerence. And then you're going to see a game of chicken where, you know, does Netanyahu try to basically, you know, is Operation Eternal Darkness is what they're calling it? Do they try to kill as many people in Lebanon as possible before a more durable framework zings? And, you know, there's, there are talks. This is all this is. They're building the airplane while, while it's being flown. The talks are slated for Friday in Pakistan. We don't know the delegation, again, as iterated. I think it's a much more serious delegation if the vice president is there. Whatever you think of Wyckoff and Kushner, we have seen consistent smoke signals out of Asia that the Iranians would prefer to deal with Vance. I think they look at Wyckoff and Kushner as agents of Israel, frankly. And Vance, whatever you think of him, does not have that reputation, only bolstered further by the Times reporting this week that he opposed the war. And so, yeah, I think, I think a serious administration posture looks like Vance in Pakistan, commitment to the deal, peace like rhetoric from the president and be willing to say no to Israel if Israel continues to bomb Lebanon and Israel continues to propagate this war. An endless revenge tour for 2023. Look, they had a right to response after October 7th. I don't deny it to that. But if this is just the story of the 2000s forever and ever, I think that both parties need to look at cutting the Israelis off and looking at this is no longer a friendly or an allied country.
- [20:10]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. I mean, it's clear from that New York Times piece yesterday that what we'd been saying all along, what Marco Rubio said on the first day was correct. Israel got us into this war. President Trump got us into this war. But it was at Israel's behest and urging and convincing in the Situation Room, being treated like an equal directly across from President Trump on the sides of the table. Well, not even with President Trump, our commander in chief at the head of the table, sitting across BB like they are equals in an American situation Room. It's incredible. Mark Levin is unhappy, which makes me happy. And I'm sure you too, as you said at the top. But he's like, he and Lindsey Graham are both, of course, they're truly in love with President Trump right now. These original never Trumpers are very much in love with President Trump because he did this. But they're having to really reconcile with it, Kurt, because he's not ending it the way they want. They don't want it ended at all. They want it to keep going and going and going. So they're really wrestling. And I wanna show you some of that. Mark Levin was on Hannity last night and honestly, you can see, like, near tears, like really trying to control his emotions over the fact that President Trump is trying to wrap this up. Now it's thought six.
- [21:21]
Pete Hegseth
I trust President Trump. I know his heart. I know he wants to do the right thing. I know he has Lilliputians who are telling him to do something else. I know he has other advisors telling him to do something else. He's the most understanding, competent of the bunch. But I would say this, this enemy is still the enemy. They're still surviving. Their military may be destroyed, but the communist Chinese will still help them. The Russians will still help them to rebuild. And so this thing's not over. And it's not that I'm a warmonger, it's that they're a warmonger. It's not that I'm an interventionist. They're an interventionist. I agree with the president. We need to protect our country. We need to protect our homeland. They're not going to go away if there's not regime change. And we're going to have to figure out, and it's not going to be easy, how to keep our foot on their throat. And I pray this enemy drops dead. How do you like that?
- [22:26]
Megyn Kelly
I kind of like it. You see him at the end where he's blinking his eyes, he's doing deep breathing. I'm just going to show you one more Sat 7.
- [22:35]
Pete Hegseth
What do we do to enforce whatever it is we agree to? How do we enforce it? Are we going to have certain a rearrangement of our military? We're going to have another base there. But how are we going to do that? What about the people of Iran? What, are we going to just leave them there? There's nothing that we can do. And we're going to wash our hands over that. That, to me is morally very difficult, very difficult to accept.
- [23:02]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, I'm sure it is for Mark Levin. He wants us there forever. He would like us to be an occupying force full time in Iran after we continue this war for some untold number of months or years to accomplish all of his goals. And meanwhile, Kurt, what you have from Lindsey Graham is a demand that we get this before Congress now. We now, I look forward, he says, to getting this before Congress, you know, where he thinks it belongs, so that he can get to the bottom of who pushed this whole thing through this ceasefire and you know, how it went down. He says, I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran. One more before I toss it back to you. And that's Laura Loomer. Forgive me for citing this absolute fucking lunatic to you in the context of a serious discussion, but she tweets out, luckily, President Trump wasn't in charge of the negotiations. Trump understands the real danger and threat posed by this regime, which is why people around him, I'm sure we can all figure out who planted the New York Times story, stabbed him in the back yesterday by leaking private Situation Room conversations to the New York Times to pretend like they were against the war when many of those people are on the record supporting the war themselves. So this is a direct threat against J.D. vance, obviously, and all three of these folks seem to be saber rattling against the Vice President. Your thoughts on it?
- [24:31]
Kurt Mills
Well, look, I think the Vice President should relish the fight. I think he should make clear his prerogatives and his views on this. And I think it's going to be a Hollywood moment if he's in Pakistan inking a durable deal. These are all ifs. I don't know if he's going to be in Asia later this week, and I don't know if he is going to be able to get a deal over the finish line, but I think it would be a lot better than the efforts led by Wyckoff, Kushner, Rubio, the gang that was either ambivalent per the Times or in favor of the war. And so I think we could do a lot worse than that approach. As to the figures you cite, yeah, I mean, they're media figures, but they're also presidential advisors and they need to be treated as political entities. And the reality is that they are as much more actually as mutinous and ungrateful as people on the, I would describe as the principled America First, Right, are accused of being. They don't get, you know, one night of bombs not falling on the Iranians and it's congressional oversight, which all of a sudden Lindsey Graham is interested in. And all of a sudden it's, oh, Trump wasn't involved in the deal and ah, we need scalps in the Cabinet and we must coup d' Etat, the vice president. I mean, look, I just don't think people who questioned the war from the right were anywhere near this shrill.
- [25:57]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, no, of course. And notwithstanding the fact that they were being called anti Semites and neo Nazis by that same crowd, I mean, it's actually crazy the terms that were bandied about. There's a poll out today showing that the overwhelming majority of young people in this country, Republican and Democrat alike, and by young people, I mean under 50, it's not just under 30, oppose Israel, are skeptical of Israel, no longer believe, have a favorable opinion of Israel. It's 60% of the country, you know, writ large. But young people in particular, everybody under 50, the vast majorities in both parties are distrustful of Israel. And that same thing. I mean, it was a tweet exactly like that where I said months ago that the Republican Party was losing its young people to. In this battle that Israel kept going on and on in Gaza like the, you know, its opponents called the genocide, whatever you want to call it, that young Republicans believed it and were against Israel and that even Israel's fans should be in favor of Israel stopping the campaign in Gaza and of us stopping our focus on Israel because it was bad for Israel. This is back when I was very, very supportive of Israel and the psychopath Mark Levin actually called me a neo Nazi. And not just me, many others who said that same. That is just a fact. And now there's yet another poll showing. It's only gotten worse, Kurt. And that's what they're gonna have to deal with, that. This. Even if we could declare that we had won this war, this is a classic case for Israel of winning a war but. Or winning a battle, but losing the overall war. You may have won this particular thing, you may have decimated Iran's military, but in the. In the court of public opinion, Israel is a pariah.
- [27:44]
Kurt Mills
Yeah, I mean, look, I think Israel is tactically. Tactically masterful. I think they're able to do things that almost no country or intelligence service or military is able to do. I think they are intimidating. I don't want to take that away from them. But I think they are strategically chaotic and blinkered. And I mean, not only within the region where I think, frankly, by the native population, by the Arabs, they're viewed as effectively an air force base that they can torment, but they have no natural legitimacy and that potentially the countries of the region could just wait them out. That there may not be an Israel in 50 to 100 years because the contradictions of their own Society will cause them to collapse. And it's a perspective, frankly, that I am much more a subscriber to than I used to be. I mean, look, as I flagged earlier, the name of the military raid this morning into Lebanon, Operation Eternal Darkness. I mean, what kind of country uses this language? I mean, we've. We've lapsed into sort of lame militarism as well, but, like, Epic Fury is a kind of like, you know, like Gen X flare. Eternal Darkness is. They. They may as well just name it, you know, Operation Orgy of Murder. I mean. I mean, we're. We're that close to them just saying this, and it's very clear what they're doing here. They fear that the ceasefire may. May hold, and they're trying to kill as many as people as possible and kind of indiscriminately. I mean, the places they've hit are. Are not known Hezbollah strongholds, and they don't care. And I don't see how this actually serves Israel's interest. But I think they've been on this road since Netanyahu first became prime minister in the mid-90s. I think people didn't understand it at the time in America, but, I mean, Netanyahu himself became prime minister as a sort of ambivalent party to the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin. I mean, this is. This is a gangster figure that we should not be doing business with.
- [29:41]
Megyn Kelly
Two things found. The phone conversation between Trump and the PBS reporter. She writes, I asked about Lebanon still being hit and if he had seen that. Yeah, they were not included in the deal. That's contrary to the initial reports, but.
- [29:54]
Kurt Mills
Okay.
- [29:54]
Megyn Kelly
I asked why not. And if they should have been POTUS because of Hezbollah, they were not included in the deal. That'll get taken care of, too. It's all right. I asked. And you're okay with the Israelis continuing to hit them potus. It's part of the deal. Okay, now I don't. You just said it's not part of the deal. Everyone knows that. That's a separate skirmish. Okay, you gotta talk faster. I tried to then ask if he regretted the truth social post about wiping out a civilization and noticed the noted that there was a huge pushback to that. Then he hung up on me. Okay, so, yeah, he's saying it's not part of the deal. It'll be dealt with later. It's a separate skirmish. And this is. Yeah, that's what you were referencing, the separate skirmish comment. And then just one thing, just to elaborate on that Pew poll I just referenced 60% of American adults now have an unfavorable view of Israel. That's up from 53% last year and up from 42% in 2022. The share of adults with a very unfavorable view of Israel, which is 28%, has also increased nine points since last year. In it's tripled from 10% in 2022. 59% have little or no confidence in Netanyahu to do the right thing. That's up from 52% last year. And in both political parties, a majority of adults under 50 years old view Israel negatively. 84% of Democrats, 57% of Republicans. Amazing. 57% of Republicans under 50 now say that they view Israel negatively. That is just devastating.
- [31:29]
Kurt Mills
People wouldn't have believed it 10 years ago. People wouldn't have believed it three years ago. And it is the result of the seeds that Israel has planted and that Israel's leadership has pursued. I mean, this is a. This is a manic, blinkered, psychopathic country at this point. Not everybody. There are. There are people in that country who are great Jewish patriots who represent, I think, an older kind of Israeli patriotism, but the sort of seeds of Israel's, you know, natural militarism, and I will say it, terroristic elements were kind of there from the beginning. And I think the dark side has really come out with the Netanyahu project, And particularly since October 7th, they've really overreached. And then additionally, it's not just, you know, say what you will for the Russians. You know, the Russians invade countries, you can think what you will of that. You know, they don't ask other countries to pay for it. What is particularly psychotic about the Israeli thing is that they insist on being dominant in American culture and politics. And the reality is you don't have to care about Israel, but Israel cares about you. This is all the administration has been doing. I mean, where is a piece of domestic legislation to say, limit immigration, both legal and illegal? Where is Trump fighting on tariffs since the Supreme Court decision? The other elements, where is an industrial policy package? You don't see any of that. All the air, all the oxygen is sucked up on Iran and sucked up on Israel. And so this is why, again, I think there's a very reasonable chance, if you have me back on, we're going to be talking about a new war in three weeks. But I think this piece is worth trying. I think Lebanon is very worrying. I don't think it's necessarily a red line for the Iranians. You know, people portray everybody in the Middle east as, you know, sort of a unity team America of bad guys. The reality is, yes, Hezbollah is alive with Iran, but it's a wary alliance between Persians and Arabs, generally speaking. There's not a huge amount of trust there. And I do think the Iranians will not walk away from this unless the Israeli crimes in Lebanon are just unbelievably beyond the pair. Which they may be.
- [33:46]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, which they may be. They're doing their level best. I think if Israel feels it can clear the deal, whether it's like carpet bombing Lebanon or otherwise, they'll do it. That's, that's what we're up against. And President Trump needs to remember he's the superior in the, in the relationship with Netanyahu and to act like it. Kurt Mills, thank you. Thanks so much. Coming up next, Mark Halperin is here. We'll get his take on the politics of this. We've got some early results back on some elections that took place yesterday. And he will analyze all of that for us. Let's talk about what's really happening right now. New data shows that financial stress is at an all time high for some. Many Americans are at a breaking point. Debt maxed out, no extra dough, no room to breathe. And some people are running out of options. Listen, if debt has been weighing on you, you're not alone. And when it comes to debt, waiting usually makes it worse. Interest piles up. Minimum payments keep you stuck. But you don't need another loan or bankruptcy. What you need is a strategy. That's why I want to tell you about Done with Debt. They build a smart, personalized plan around you. They know what it takes to get you the biggest reductions possible, whether you owe $10,000 or much, much more. Done with debt has one clear goal. Lower what you owe, so you keep more of your paycheck every month. Start with a free consultation. It takes minutes and you share your situation and find out what's possible for you. You don't have to stay stuck. Go to donewithdebt.com that's donewithdebt.com UnitedHealth Group is bringing in home treatment directly to patients, closing care gaps, identifying risks earlier, and improving patient outcomes.
- [35:26]
Damilari Sonoike
In 2025, patients received over 19 million home visits.
- [35:30]
Megyn Kelly
Learn more@unitedhealthgroup.com Commitment Day or night, VRBoCare is here 247 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. This just coming in via Yashar Ali, a great journalist online who's been covering this very closely and is himself Iranian American, the Islamic Republican. The Islamic Republic of Iran is threatening to continue keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed in and now to refuse to attend the peace talks in Islamabad unless Lebanon is included in the ceasefire. Both the US And Israel say Lebanon is not included. Now, Lebanon was included, according to the original statements about this deal. Remember, it was the prime minister of Pakistan who helped make it happen. He had been talking to J.D. he was one of the first to announce, okay, here's what's going to happen. And he said Lebanon was in the deal. Then Bibi Netanyahu got mad, reportedly via the New York Times. They say that Israel said they support the decision to stop attacking Iran for two weeks, but the cease fire does not, excuse me, include Lebanon. And that was Israel's position. Then Trump tells the PBS reporter, yeah, Lebanon's out. They're not part of the deal. Now, was the Pakistan prime minister completely wrong? Did he make that up? Or did we just bend the knee to Israel again, originally stating that Lebanon would be included in the ceasefire, but then when Netanyahu complained once again saying, okay, never mind, you can have your way, bomb them to smithereens. Well, if so, that may have been a miscalculation because now not only did Iran promptly straight close the Strait of Hormuz, but is threatening to continue keeping it closed and now refusing, threatening to refuse to attend the peace talks unless Lebanon is included. So, I mean, like, can I. So this is, I'm going to bring in Mark Halpern. Why Mark? He's host of NextUp with Mark Halpern, which is part of our MK Media Podcast Network. Go to NextUp halperin.com to subscribe to his show. You should do it because especially when political news like this breaks, he's the first place you want to go. Why? Why are we talking about Lebanon? Who gives a shit about whether the Lebanon was in the prime minister of Pakistan? And this is the betrayal. And Americans care about their own problems. They care about their wallet, about their 401k, about maybe being able to take a vacation this year, which they haven't been able to for the past four years thanks to Biden's inflation. And now we're going to spend weeks talking about the negotiations around the Strait of Hormuz, which most people didn't even know existed or couldn't offer an additional sentence about prior to 38 days ago.
- [38:48]
Mark Halperin
Well, first of all, how things been going? Megan, haven't talked to you in a while. Everything, everything's been a lot of news,
- [38:54]
Megyn Kelly
a lot of news.
- [38:55]
Mark Halperin
Well, look, first is on the, on the Israel front. As you know, the three most complicated relationships amongst human beings are landlord, tenant, mother, daughter, and any American president. And Bibi and I've actually been amazed at how under the radar the disagreements that have existed throughout the conflict have been kept. It's been relatively rare, but it's kind of come to a head now, not just over Lebanon potentially, but also over some of the other issues. I mean, one big question for me is if there are face to face negotiations, is Israel in the room, Are they in the city, are they involved at all? And then you've got the question of, I don't think there's any doubt that Donald Trump would walk away from this conflict with a different set of drop points than Bibi would. So it's going to be a thing. To your larger question, I really wish I could be cloned and I'd send my clone on a driving tour to diners in 30 states and ask people, what do you think about all this? Because there's no doubt in my mind that whether they're Bernie Sanders people or MAGA people or just regular people, most Americans would just scratch their heads at how much attention this is giving, how expensive it is and what the risk and reward is. Now, at the same time, the president's job is to do what he thinks right for America. And so other presidents have focused a lot of resources on this country, just in a different way. But it's not a winner. It's not a winner with voters. And even if this ends spectacularly well, and I think it still could, I don't think voters are going to care much about it because it is, as you say, just so remote from their lives.
- [40:32]
Megyn Kelly
So what is the likelihood that Trump turns on Netanyahu now? Because Trump was told a bunch of things by Netanyahu that did not turn out to be true. The New York Times made that clear in its reporting yesterday. And Trump put his neck out there for Netanyahu based on these representations, and it hasn't worked out so well. I mean, whatever happens with the resolution of this thing, Trump's hemorrhaging support among the key constituencies that put him in office. He is too smart to not know that. And he's going to turn on someone, Mark?
- [41:09]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, well, I think it really almost every answer to every political question, including the geopolitical question of how he'll feel about Netanyahu, depends on how it ends. If this ends with the strait open, even if Iran's making some money off of it, Iran's nuclear program and missile program largely defanged or entirely defanged, I think he'll be happy, the president will be happy, and I think he'll be rewarded for that by the American people and by the history if it doesn't end well. I've covered too many presidents who've been furious to Netanyahu, who feel that he's manipulated them, lied to them, led them down a path that they didn't want to go down, and they all just keep coming back for more. So I'm not sure that he'd make Bibi the scapegoat for. There's a lot of complex reasons why Netanyahu is not easily scapegoated by American presidents.
- [42:05]
Megyn Kelly
One of the risks here is that if Iran is controlling the strait as it wasn't before, but is now, thanks to our war, that this little fee we're going to be, the toll booth fee that now they're going to be slapping on these ships gets passed along. And one of the pressure points that Iran had over Trump was the increasingly high price of gas here in America. Gasoline and diesel up more than a dollar on the, on a tank of gas and up higher than that on diesel fuel. And that could potentially continue. It could potentially continue like that. That surcharge gets basically slapped down to the consumer level, mark. It doesn't usually stick. Stay with the person who controls the ship. So this isn't all necessarily rainbow and unicorns for us. Not to mention that already our Arab allies are suggesting those donations, those like investments in America that they promised at like the Middle east summit that President Trump went to. Yeah, those are off because they have a lot of work to do on their own countries now, thanks to the bombing campaign Iran unleashed on them and
- [43:09]
Mark Halperin
all the, all the kind of modalities of the agreement. You know, there needs to be agreements on sanctions, agreements on the strait, agreements on nuclear, agreements on missiles, on all these things. They can be done in a spirit of cooperation and trust, which seems far fetched given who we're dealing with, or they can be done, you know, through a lot of verification. I think the strait has to be open. The president seems, seems amenable to Iran making money off of the strait, which they didn't do before the war. So we'd be going backwards there. But he also said in one of the interviews he's done today that maybe the US could make money off of it too. I think that if there can be that kind of commercial relationship, that's the President's dream of how you bring Iran into the community of nations. Again, if you're Israel or.
- [44:04]
Megyn Kelly
But those nations are objecting. The Gulf nations are already saying we're not agreeing to that. Why would we agree to that?
- [44:09]
Mark Halperin
I think it's going to happen. Have to be multilateral. It's going to have to be. And, and I think it'd be smart for the United States to hedge against Iran going back to hostilely trying to control the strait. They're going to have to try to build something that, that has a lot of nations involved and that makes it mechanically impossible or difficult for Iran to use force to control the strait or the threat of force to control the strait. And also makes it in their center and give them incentives not to close it down. Which is why I think one administration official told me that's, that's how they are thinking about this. If Iran has a financial incentive to keep the straight open, they'll keep the straight open.
- [44:48]
Megyn Kelly
But the problem is what do you do when someone doesn't pay? What does Iran do? Yeah, when you know somebody says I'm not paying your toll, you actually don't control this, you don't own it, and I'm going to pass through without paying your 20 million dollar a day fee, whatever it is, then what does Iran do? Do they bomb that country? And what does it mean for us?
- [45:10]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, at the Council on Foreign Relations we call that the Rumpelstiltskin problem. I think that, that, that, that's why I think a system where other Gulf countries maybe benefit and maybe the United States benefits, I think that's going to be the, the thing that's most likely to stick, that people will feel like, well, they gotta pay because it's an international cartel that includes a bunch of countries. It's one of many issues that has to be worked out. But I go back to President Reagan used to talk about trust but verify. This is not much trust, but a lot of verify. And you heard that from Pete Hagseth, you heard that from the Vice President. They both in their remarks today have been significantly more focused not on trust, but on verify in all these things and significantly focused on the prospect that the whole thing could fall apart and that the military option would come back into play. So it's going to either happen or it's not. The strait is going to be open under acceptable terms or it's not. They're going to give up their nuclear material or they're not. And if you believe Pete Hagseth and the Vice President, I don't think they would say these things without coordination and without the President's approval. We've not given anything up. We've given them a few days to maybe rearm, maybe get stuff from Russia, maybe get stuff from China. But for the most part what we've given them is a chance to do the right thing and that's the way this was going to go no matter what.
- [46:36]
Megyn Kelly
Okay, so now what's going to happen with the very, very neocon right that is upset today? Very clearly Levin, Graham Loomer and Netanyahu, you know they basically see this as he does. For example, one of the 10 points in the 10 point peace plans proposed by Iran is lifting of all US sanctions on Iran. Now Israel definitely doesn't want that and none of that other contingent wants that. And they are all very disappointed there. You can see the struggle session because they're very proud of President Trump for doing this but they're very, very upset about the way this is, this appears to be wrapping up. So now what happens there?
- [47:20]
Mark Halperin
Well, it's a great question and I've been as fascinated as you've been listening to what they've been saying today because you know it's a little bit of whiplash for them. And Eric Erickson has said this, this can end with the negotiation. The military has to go back and finish the job. And, and, and, and he's, he's, you know, he's pretty level headed guy. I think it, I think it depends and again I don't mean to be boring and repetitive but it just depends on what the deal is. If, if there's some of these babies might be seen as splittable but I don't believe most of them are. The Gulf's open, the straits open or it's not the nuclear materials handed over. It's not they have missile capability or they don't. And I think that it look to me the best deal that's available right now is full turnover of nuclear get denounce any prospects of more nuclear really denounce and get rid of the, the, the ballistic missiles and the terror networks and open the, open the strait and give them an opportunity to be part of the community of nations. If that deal happens I think the neocons will be will be very happy if it doesn't happen. I think the president's fallen well short of the mark of what he said this was about. And I don't know that he can even do it. So I understand why they're upset today, but I think they may get what they want and if they don't, it will be clear for everybody to see.
- [48:47]
Megyn Kelly
What do you think President Trump's calculation is right now politically? Because he gave that contingent a lot.
- [48:58]
Damilari Sonoike
A lot.
- [48:58]
Megyn Kelly
Mark. Yeah, he, we'll go through it when we, we're going to take a break and we'll come back. I mean, he is down significantly with every constituency that put him in office. And so he's gone up with the very small contingent that includes the massively hawkish neocon. Right. But with every other contingent he's gone down. And so what is, what do you think his mindset is here coming out of that now? Now even that small contingent is unhappy with him, but they'll get over it because they're very grateful for the war. But he has so much work to do in regaining the support of the other groups.
- [49:38]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, well, he's not up for reelection and so where his support stands doesn't directly affect him. I think that there's time, although the clock ticks, for him to fix the problems by the midterms, not just by ending the war, but by doing some of the other things Republicans are talking about. He's got a great sense of instincts and a great sense of timing normally. But this is a complicated one and I think we don't know yet how this has gone as compared to his greatest hopes and worst nightmares. He's always going to as P.T. barnum, he's always going to sell this as a big success, but he has a chance to succeed, having done a difficult thing. But there's no doubt that China and Russia must look at this and say, huh, nice try. If this is meant to intimidate us, it didn't work. And even if gas prices, as he said, they will come down now, it's still not clear if the goal was to make the American people feel he accomplished something. He's far short of that right now. Could get there, but he's far, far short of it currently.
- [50:44]
Megyn Kelly
All right, more of that on the opposite side and the election results don't go away. Relief actor, loves hearing from pain free customers and they hope that they can help you next. One user Bill said, quote, I've been crawling under sinks and working long hours for decades. My back and knees took the punishment. I thought pain was just part of the trade, but relief factor surprised me. Within weeks, I was working without wincing. I could get down on the floor and get back up again without thinking twice. Bill knows hard work. He knows pipes, tools and long days on the job. What he didn't know is how good life feels when pain stops tagging along. Maybe it's back pain or knee issues that are slowing you down, but relief factor may be able to help. Relief factor is 100% drug free. It targets the inflammation that can cause pain so you can move better, feel better and actually enjoy life again. Try the three week quick start for just $19.95. Go to relieffactor.com or call 804 RELIEF. Let's see if you're next when it comes to getting out of pain. Mark Halperin's back with me now. All right, Mark, so before we get on to the election results from last night, which they don't, they don't portend that well for Republicans in the midterms, let me just give you these stats. Cook Political Report went through some of them. Men only. In March of 2025, Trump had a 54 approval rating with men. Now it's at 45. So he's lost 9 points with men, white, non, college, working class, whites. In March of 2025, Trump had a 56% approval rating. Now it's 52%. So it's minus seven. And I've seen other polls showing he's underwater too, like more disapproved than approve. So he's down. The point is with the white working class black voters. In March of 2025, he had a 28 approval rating with black voters. Now it's down to 18 Latinos. In March of 2025, he had A 44 approval rating. Now it's down to 32. Independence. In March of 2025, he Had a 41 approval rating. Now it's down 20 points to 20. No, sorry, sorry. Now it's down to 28 percentage points. So he's fallen double digits in a lot of these categories with every group, every group that put him in office. And this, honestly, the Cook Political Report is not nearly as bad as some of the other recent polling that we've seen or the aggregate of all polls that Harry Entin uses when he does his little summaries, which I know you've seen. So where does that leave, I guess really not President Trump, but yes, President Trump because he still has an agenda for three years to get through. But the Republican Party.
- [53:41]
Mark Halperin
I'm working on a really good Harry Enton imitation, but I'm not ready to perform today. It's. It's really loud. It's really loud. I have to stand the data that you cite, which is consistent with private Republican data. So it's not, you know, liberal media polling and the historical reality of what presidents usually do in the midterms in terms of their party are very bad for Republicans. Now, there's three things they have going for them. One is they have a lot of money. And it's being reported today by Axios, the president, you know, hundreds of millions of dollars he's got squirreled away, he's going to spend on the midterms and they're going to start doing that. And Republicans will have a lot of money to spend. And that matters in elections like this. Two is things could get better. Republicans are talking about an agenda in Congress that might make things better. And the fact that Democrats may nominate in some of these key races unelectable candidates. And third is the battlefield is such that there are very limited number of seats that are winnable by Democrats even if they have a fantastic year. And on the Senate side in particular, I did this on nextup a couple episodes ago. This is a very daunting map. For Democrats to take the majority, they have to basically run the table in almost every winnable race, ones they currently hold and ones they want to win from Republicans. So there's reasons why Republicans are not saying, you know, everybody overboard, it's a disaster, every man and woman for themselves, but they're going to have to see improved conditions in the next couple months in order to not feel like it will be something of a wipeout. But I'll say again, they're just not that many House seats in play. They'll almost certainly lose the majority. But we may not see a schlacking. Now if it's Republicans controlling the Senate and Democrats controlling the House, which remains the most likely outcome, that's not great for the president's agenda on the face of it. But it might get more things done because you may be better off passing bills through a Republican or Democratic House that have appeal in the Senate. So from a point of view of accomplishing things may not be the things that the base wants, but for getting stuff done in his last two years, he may be better off losing the House.
- [56:03]
Megyn Kelly
I'm going to give you two words. Why Republicans must maintain control of the Senate.
- [56:08]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [56:09]
Megyn Kelly
Sam Alito.
- [56:10]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [56:12]
Megyn Kelly
That is why they must maintain control of the Senate. My Sources are saying he is the most likely to retire under President Trump, and I believe he's likely to do it. And you cannot get a justice confirmed to fill that slot with a Democrat controlled Senate. They just, I just don't know how President Trump will get one confirmed. I really don't. I think they'll reject everyone.
- [56:36]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [56:36]
Megyn Kelly
So, and, and even if Alito were to announce tomorrow, they, they'd have to run. They'd have to go, they'd have to go quickly because the Democrats will do everything within their power to slow it down. You could get it done. We're only in April and the election's not till November, but like, tick tock, you know, time, time is wasting. And so if there's any chance Alito really is going to step down, and I know Thomas is older and more people are looking at him. My, my own information is Thomas doesn't want to go and isn't prepared to go. So whatever it's, the Republicans would still have the majority even if we had a Democrat controlled Senate and President Trump couldn't get his choice through and then a Democrat won the White House and that seat turned blue. We'd still have five to four on the Supreme Court instead of six to three. But six to three is better.
- [57:25]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [57:26]
Megyn Kelly
As we've seen, some of these right leaning justices don't vote, you know, knee jerk with the conservatives who are before them. So you need a little buffer. Anyway, that's one of the many reasons. What would happen.
- [57:38]
Mark Halperin
I mean, if I agree with everything.
- [57:39]
Megyn Kelly
What would happen.
- [57:40]
Mark Halperin
I agree with everything you said, but one point, which is if, if Alito retired, you know, soon after Democrats took the majority, and again, I don't think they want, they're on track to do that right now. They basically have to win all of six races that are competitive and then another one. So I have to run the table on the six most favorable of the nine competitive races. They've got to run the table on six and then win one of the other three. I don't see that in the cards today. But here's where I disagree with you. I think if the President had a Democratic Senate and Alito left the slot shortly after Democrat took the majority, I don't think they can run at the clock for two years. If the President nominates someone who's credentialed, doesn't have to be a liberal, but if you nominate someone with a nice demeanor and a lot of credentials, I don't think Democrat.
- [58:32]
Megyn Kelly
Why not? Why can't they just keep saying no? He doesn't have the support. I voted. I voted no.
- [58:38]
Mark Halperin
I think the public pressure would be pretty overwhelming if it were, if it were someone who the White House could sell as obviously qualified. I don't know. Two years is a long time to say the Supreme Court can't have a full bench.
- [58:52]
Megyn Kelly
Mark.
- [58:52]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [58:53]
Megyn Kelly
Mark, they are so angry on the left about what's happened at the Supreme Court, right. With the, the seat was that was supposed to go to Merrick Garland and the shenanigans that the Republicans pulled in order to not get a confirmation hearing going for him. The fact this is not Trump's fault, but they're very angry about Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying in office, not retiring early. But they're just so bitter around the Supreme Court that there is zero chance they're going to vote to confirm a Trump nominee. Zero.
- [59:28]
Mark Halperin
I think if it were a senator who other senators like, they could get 50 votes because, remember, Republicans are only going to have, if they lose the majority, the Democrats are only going to be, it's, it's very hard to see them being more than 5149. 52, 48 is possible, but very unlikely. So if it's 51, 49 and, and you get, all you need to get then is one Democrat to flip. And if, you know, you still, you still would have to have the majority leader bring it to the floor and have a hearing. And you're right that the base of the Democratic Party would say, nope, let's just have four justices or eight justices for a while. But my, my gut tells me again, it'll depend if it's in the last year. I agree with you. But if there's two years or closer to two years than one year, and you can say we've got 50 votes to confirm this person and you'd only need Fetterman or one other Democratic senator and it were another senator who senators liked. I really do think it would be hard to run at the clock for two years.
- [60:29]
Megyn Kelly
Hard. But I think they'd do it. I really do.
- [60:32]
Mark Halperin
They'd certainly be asked to do it.
- [60:34]
Megyn Kelly
This is an issue that very much animates the left. In any event, we'll see if Alito, Justice Alito, we all love you. Those of us on the right love you. But if you are considering retiring, please, please do it soon, because we just, we can't let it get anywhere close, I think, to November. And the Republicans will keep a speedy process if he does step down, you know, between now and November to make sure the Republican Controlled Senate. John Thune and others over there will make sure it goes quickly and we get something.
- [61:04]
Mark Halperin
And don't be surprised if it does happen. If there is a retirement, whether it's Thomas or Alito. And I hear the same things you do about Alito being more likely. Don't be surprised if the White House has a nominee really quick. Not one of these. Okay, now let's figure out who we're going to. We're going to choose, but somebody pretty much locked.
- [61:20]
Megyn Kelly
Wait, when you said if it's a senator, are you thinking like, Ted Cruz, who's like. I'm thinking who's like an accomplished lawyer in the U.S. senate, who's on the right, who could be counted on. I think Ted Cruz's approval ratings would go through the roof if he joined the U.S. supreme Court. I think he's perfect for that job. I think he actually would be a very, very, like a constitutional conservative. I know he. He's always been loathed by some portion of the. Of the population, and now he's got some of the right against him because he's neoconi. But I think he'd probably do very well in that role. But anyway, your thoughts on that?
- [61:54]
Mark Halperin
Mike Lee, Senator from Missouri, who is former Attorney General of Missouri.
- [61:59]
Megyn Kelly
He might be ag.
- [62:00]
Mark Halperin
Yeah. But he could also be a Supreme Court justice. Those are, Those would be.
- [62:04]
Megyn Kelly
He's like, becoming the Marco Rubio of the administration. He could go from senator up for every AG to Supreme Court justice in the course of six months. Keep going.
- [62:13]
Mark Halperin
Those three are the ones that, that, that I think are the most likely. You know, that none of them are. Are as young as it's been. The, you know, the en vogue thing is to put somebody on the bench who's younger so they can, you know, be there for decades. But, you know, Ted's young.
- [62:31]
Megyn Kelly
I think Ted Cruz is my age. That's young. Katanji Brown Jackson.
- [62:34]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [62:34]
Megyn Kelly
Was 54. All the articles were like, she's so young. I'm like, I love this.
- [62:38]
Mark Halperin
Yeah, it's. It's. It's not. It's not old, but it's not, you know, 40.
- [62:46]
Megyn Kelly
It's not spring chicken decade. Yeah. Mike Lee's 52. So that's not what that is.
- [62:53]
Mark Halperin
Like, what would Don Lemon say?
- [62:54]
Megyn Kelly
Beanie with a propeller hat in Supreme Court age? Mark.
- [62:58]
Mark Halperin
No, Don Lemon would say they're past their prime. Right. Isn't that what he said?
- [63:04]
Megyn Kelly
I was wondering. How dare. How dare you? How dare you raise Don Lemon on this show? But I forgive it. Given the where it landed. All right, let's talk about last night. Marjorie Taylor Greene's seat was being filled. She resigned early. This is a district in northwest Georgia that is, I'm told, the reddest part of the Peach State. The Republican did win. His name is Clay Fuller. He defeated the Democrat Sean Harris in a special runoff. And the headline is that in a district green, last one by 29 points. And Trump won this district by 37 points. As of late Tuesday, the Republican won by 12 points. Suggesting storm clouds on the horizon. Mark, your take on.
- [63:55]
Mark Halperin
Doesn't suggest storm clouds on the horizon any more than we already thought based on the previous election results of 25 and 26. So it's not encouraging for Republicans, but I don't think it adds some new data point to what we already know, which you and I discussed, which is the president's approval rating is down nationally. The mood of the country is pretty sour. Republicans are perceived as the party in power, and if Democrats have good candidates, they can win or outperform where they performed last cycle. But we already knew that. So I'm not saying it's good for Republicans. I'm just saying I don't think it makes it worse than we already knew it's lining up to be currently.
- [64:35]
Megyn Kelly
Okay. Then there was the result that happened recently where there was a special election down in Florida in the district that includes Mar A Lago, where Trump, of course, spends most of his time. Part of his time. Last month, Republican John Maples, who Trump endorsed, lost a special election for a seat in a Florida state House district that includes Mar A Lago. And, and so he lost. And then North Carolina state Senate leader Phil Berger, a powerful leader in this state, narrowly lost his primary. So that's a loss in North Carolina and a loss in Florida for Republicans.
- [65:13]
Mark Halperin
Those, I think, are also significant when we're dealing with anything in a battleground state. And, and you know, it matters to the midterms, it also matters to the presidential because we've had several cycles in a row where the same seven states decide who the president is. Florida used to be one of those states that decided, and it's become in the Trump era, but very red state. If Florida becomes a purple state again, that has huge implications for the presidential. It really, it gives the Democrats the upper hand on the Electoral College. So if you look at the Hispanic vote, the black vote, the youth vote groups, where Donald Trump performed very well in 2024, allowing him to not just win the White House, but win Florida in a major way. You look at Ron DeSantis's dominance in the state, that's why that matters a lot. If you're thinking about the global national point of view in terms of South Florida, Democrats have done very well lately in South Florida. And again, that's used to be a Democratic stronghold. It's become very potent under Donald Trump. If that swings back, that's a big deal. And that speaks to the politics of Florida and the demographics of the country.
- [66:20]
Megyn Kelly
Hmm. What about the Wisconsin Supreme Court? We had that massive battle over that one seat a year ago. Elon Musk was giving out checks for a million dollars to people who had registered Republican or register vote. And you know, the implication was, hey, it should be Republican and you should vote Republican for this seat. Well, that went blue. That, that campaign by Elon did not work. The Democrat won that year by about 10 points and now they've had an additional election and they were. The headline is with 95% of the votes in that the Democrat endorsed Chris Taylor, defeated Republican endorsed Maria Lazar, that The Democrat had 60% of the vote. The, the Republican had 39% of the vote. So 21 point victory for the Dem. It's the fourth straight double digit victory for a liberal candidate on the Wisconsin Supreme Court dating back to 2020. And so now the Liberals have a 5 to 2 advantage on the high court, which is not great for Republicans. This is another swing state and the analysis here is that consolidated consolidating the liberal hold on the high court ahead of the next presidential election, when this swing state is sure to see challenges to election results, is a good thing for Team Blue. So how significant is that?
- [67:49]
Mark Halperin
That one's significant because of everything you just laid out and the history there. Wisconsin Supreme Court used to be a bulwark of conservatism against the legislature and against when they had Democratic governors. And Wisconsin is a state that Donald Trump won, but has in other ways seemingly been drifting blue. And it's key for the Electoral College. It's also, although Pennsylvania has kind of supplanted it as the ultimate battleground state, it's a very important battleground state, not just in terms of the presidential Electoral College, but in terms of the mood of the country in terms of what issues matter to voters. So it's significant for the people of Wisconsin. It's significant demographically. One of the things that Republicans point to in that race, as they did in that race that Musk spent so heavily on, is weak candidates. You always say that if you lose an election that the press is Making a big deal of. You say, well, we had a weak candidate and they did, but there's a problem if you keep ending up with weak candidates. You've got to have a party apparatus that figures out how the electorate can choose and nominate strong candidates. And I think. I think that excuse in that particular category of races, I think is run a little bit dry. Republicans can't say every time they lose a Wisconsin state Supreme Court seat, well, we ran the wrong candidate.
- [69:10]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, you had notice. All right, so finally, how do you like the chances at this moment when you think about J.D. vance versus Marco Rubio? Because there's a lot of debate about whose fortunes have risen, whose fortunes haven't, in the wake of this whole Iran thing.
- [69:28]
Mark Halperin
We've got a ton of reporting on this, and I just haven't had time to write it up. In part because of the war. Vance is not a sure thing anymore. But I don't believe there's any circumstances under which Rubio would challenge him. I think Vance may decide not to run because he's having a new baby and he's young enough to avoid this now if he doesn't feel it's his time. And if that happens, I think Rubio would be the consensus choice, not just of the president, which matters a ton, obviously, in Republican politics, but a lot of the donors, a lot of members of Congress, a lot of the consultant class, elected officials. So I think those two are remain head and shoulders above all the rest. I think the most significant thing, not really as a derivative of the war, but alone, but of longer running, is there's too many people in the party now, including the President some days, I'm told, who don't feel Vance should just have it handed to him, that it should be contested. And if the president doesn't endorse Vance, this is binary. If he endorses Vance, I think Vance will be the nominee relatively easily. If he doesn't endorse him not endorsing his vice president. That's what Ronald Reagan did, that's what Bill Clinton did, that's what Barack Obama did. It's not the norm. But if he chooses not to, it will be a big deal that if he chooses not to, and I think the. The blood will be in the water and lots of people run against him, but I don't think it'll be Rubio. I think Rubio is the nominee of fans, takes a pass, but otherwise I think he sits it out.
- [70:52]
Megyn Kelly
What are you hearing over on the other team about who's. Is anyone pulling Away from the pack.
- [71:00]
Mark Halperin
I did my latest 8 for 28 rankings of the most likely this week on next up and no one's pulling away. And I think you're seeing a lot of these folks start to get serious about what does it take to run in terms of raising money, in terms of scrutiny, in terms of time on the road. I still think there are two aircraft carriers potentially running guys who can build big national campaigns and handle the hurly burly. Governor Newsom and Governor Shapiro, I think remain the two most likely. After that, it's very wide open. And I Talked to over 30 strategists and elected officials, consultants about. About their views in reporting this out, and there's just not a lot of agreement. There are people who think Pete Buttigieg is strong and people think he shouldn't be on the list. Same with Kamala Harris. Same with Rahm Emanuel. I think right now it's pretty wide open. And part of that is because it's a weak field. And part of that is it's the first time we haven't had a Biden or a Obama or Clinton, you know, around. And so it's. It's pretty wide open. With the exception of Buttigieg and Harris, we're dealing with a lot of people who've never run before, and we'll just have to see what. What voters like. But I. I continue to say it's a bunch of people who want to be president but haven't really explained why.
- [72:17]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. Why? Why isn't it Andy Bashir? Some people ask me that question because now we hear these reports that Democrats are realizing they might need a white Christian male.
- [72:30]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [72:30]
Megyn Kelly
The Hara.
- [72:31]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [72:31]
Megyn Kelly
And if you're going that route, it's like right now you got. And straight. By the way, if you're going that route, it's Gavin Newsom like his only he doesn't. Only has a couple of real competitors if that's the route you're going. But Andy Beshear would be one of them. But people don't seem to think much of his chances. Why?
- [72:51]
Mark Halperin
I think that the main reason is because he's not a major league player. With respect to my friends in Kentucky, and it's a hardball state in terms of state politics, I think people don't see him as someone ready to step up and come in aircraft carrier.
- [73:09]
Megyn Kelly
He's the governor of Hafway.
- [73:10]
Mark Halperin
Yeah. Governor of Kentucky. Raise the money, be conversant with national and international issues, build the networks required to run for president. He just doesn't. He Just doesn't seem to many of my sources to be ready for the big time involved here. They big a big leap for someone like that. I'm very skeptical. I didn't. I don't have him this month. He's been on the list in past months, but I don't have him in the top eight right now.
- [73:35]
Megyn Kelly
Do you have AOC in the top?
- [73:37]
Mark Halperin
I do. I think, I think she's at 6, and I don't think she's going to run. And, you know, when I put the list together, I put a big premium on my reporting and instinct about who will run in the end because you can't run. You can't win if you don't run. And I think, I don't think she wants to turn her life over to the rigors of a presidential. I think she'll force Chuck Schumer in retirement. She'll walk into a Senate seat. And I think that'll satisfy her for now.
- [74:04]
Megyn Kelly
All right, so we got to listen to that. Next up. Which one was it? Which episode was it?
- [74:08]
Mark Halperin
What we call in the trades, Yesterday's Tuesdays. The current. The current episode.
- [74:13]
Megyn Kelly
Okay, good, good, good, good. Everybody go and download that. You got to hear Halperin's take. It's about to be your season. Mark Halperin, the silly season of politics is coming back. I'm stretching full force in just, just a few short months. So buckle up. Great to see you, my friend.
- [74:27]
Mark Halperin
Thank you for having me. Good to see you, Megan.
- [74:29]
Megyn Kelly
All right, and we're back in just a moment with some fun cultural stories that you may not have heard of. Now this Newsom, this Jennifer Newsom, the wife of Gavin. This woman's got a whole host of hot mess history and stories to bring you. I like she, she accidentally killed her sister. Like what? That's next. When the dollar's convertibility into gold ended in 1971, gold was fixed at $35 an ounce. Fast forward to today, and the US dollar has lost more than 85% of its purchasing power. Gold, on the other hand, has increased in value by over 12,000%. That's why major firms like Vanguard and BlackRock hold significant positions in gold. And that's why you may want to consider diversifying your savings with physical gold from Birchgold Group. It starts with education. Birch Gold just announced their Learn and Earn Precious metals event. This free online event rewards you for learning the basics of investing in precious metals. Sign up to get free silver on your next purchase. Get even larger incentives as you go. The more you learn, the more you can earn. But you have to act now as this special event only runs through April 30th. Text my initials MK to the number 989898 to see Birch Gold's Learn and Earn Precious Metals event. You can join it as long as you do it before April 30th. That's MK to the number 989898.
- [75:59]
Damilari Sonoike
Today, UnitedHealth Group is simplifying healthcare by
- [76:03]
Megyn Kelly
investing in tools to help patients know more and pay less.
- [76:07]
Damilari Sonoike
These tools help patients find providers and compare costs and save hundreds of dollars annually. Learn more@unitedhealthgroup.com commitment.
- [76:20]
Megyn Kelly
Turning now to some cultural news and there's a lot of it. Kanye west or ye is attempting another comeback return. Returning to the stage in Los Angeles with two sold out shows last week, proving those who want him permanently canceled are losing. But the UK is not giving up without a fight. Meantime, new resurfaced clips of Gavin Newsom's first partner, Jennifer Newsome are taking X by storm. And once you hear what she's saying, you will understand why. And the New York Times is looking into the trend of single women in their 40s throwing themselves full blown wedding style birthday bashes. We're talking gowns, vows to themselves, the whole production just without the groom. Joining me now to talk about all that and for their Megan Kelly show debuts, two hilarious voices on X TV writer Damaleri Sonoike. And he's a TV writer who has written for hits like Blackish and the Symptom Simpsons. And Stephanie Tyler, founder of Bad Girl Media and the new fashion brand Wesley. Welcome to you both. Thank you so much for being here.
- [77:25]
Kurt Mills
Hi.
- [77:26]
Stephanie Tyler
Thanks for having me.
- [77:27]
Damilari Sonoike
Thank you.
- [77:28]
Megyn Kelly
All right, so we got to start with this nutcase, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who is like, I mean we figured she was pretty woke and left being married to Gavin Newsom. But what's, what's going on? She casually references the fact that she accidentally killed her sister when she Jennifer was six years old, which I don't think most people knew. I of of course have since gone and looked up the story, which I'll fill in the blanks on after this sound bite. But listen to this as she as she's recounting her talks with young juvenile offenders at San Quentin prison. Watch this top 20.
- [78:10]
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
I had to be very raw when we interviewed the the young men who were juvenile offenders in San Quentin. I told them about my own loss
- [78:18]
Stephanie Tyler
where
- [78:21]
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
I lost my older sister a few days before my seventh birthday and I blamed myself for her Death. And I share that because they ultimately were accused of committing these violent crimes and sentenced for life. And I think it shocked them that this blonde lady who was the interviewing them had a similar story, was perhaps in the wrong place at the wrong time, but wasn't punished the way they were because clearly it was an accident. But theirs was probably an accident too. So anyway, I share that just because I guess I quite enjoy spending time with people and being real and unmasking and showing them that it's safe to unmask themselves.
- [79:13]
Megyn Kelly
Beautiful. Beautiful.
- [79:15]
Stephanie Tyler
What?
- [79:17]
Megyn Kelly
Everything about that was a record scratch, right? It's like wait, everyone who's in juvenile prison got there by accident. They committed just an accidental crime, all of them. There's absolutely no accountability. And then there's the story of the sister which is horrifically tragic. This is what happened here. I'm reading from Hindustan Times, but but I got it earlier from the New York Post. She was a six year old playing with her eight year old sister in Hawaii. The older sister was Stacy. And with other children on golf carts. When the family was vacationing In Hawaii in 1981, the cart Jennifer was in suddenly went into reverse. I assume she was driving, otherwise she wouldn't blame herself killing Stacy. Jennifer had not noticed that her sister had been hiding out, I guess crouching behind the vehicle. And she's had to live with that ever since in what she refers to as survivor's guilt. It's awful. I mean frankly that's the parents fault for letting six year olds be at the wheel of golf carts. But what do you make of the whole story there, Dominari? Because it's like she packed a lot in that 40 second sound bite.
- [80:31]
Damilari Sonoike
Well, yeah, I think it's tells you a lot about how those type of people, I guess you'd call them libs see the world which is that nothing is anyone's fault. Right. It's all an accident. And I think it shows that a lot of people's realities can't, A lot of people's politics can't survive contact with reality. Like if you've actually met people in prison or met people who have committed violent crimes, like it's usually not some innocent accident. You know, I think that just, it just shows how out of touch she is.
- [80:58]
Megyn Kelly
Right. And explains a lot about her husband's policies on crime, Stephanie. And a lot of the leftist policies on crime in general. They really don't think most people who are in prison belong there.
- [81:09]
Stephanie Tyler
Oh yeah. And I don't know. For me the first thing I thought of was Gavin says, like, he can relate to black people because he can't read. And now she's relating to prisoners because she killed her sister, which, I don't know. It's. I don't know.
- [81:25]
Megyn Kelly
It's a stretch.
- [81:26]
Damilari Sonoike
I just want to say I can read. You know, so I can read. And so I just don't relate to Gavin on that level. You know, it's tough for me because I. I do know how to read. And so when I. When I heard him say that, I was just, you know, it made me really just confused.
- [81:38]
Megyn Kelly
Oh, yeah. I mean, it wasn't just that he. He can't read it. It was like he's talking about his low SAT score. Like, I'm just like, you stupid. Well, I mean, that's what. That's what he thinks of black people. He didn't say it that explicitly, but he might as well have.
- [81:49]
Damilari Sonoike
Well, it's also funny because, you know, every. How often? You know, once every four years, these people go into the black church and they go into, you know, they go get chicken and waffles, and they go to 125th, you know, Martin Luther King or 125th in Lennox, in parliament, they just disappear for four years. And so it's just funny. It's like, oh, I know that there's an election coming up because you're pandering again.
- [82:09]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. All right, here's. Here's some more girl power. You're gonna like this, Stephanie. This is in case you were. You woke up feeling disempowered today. Jennifer Newsome is here for you in Sat 22.
- [82:21]
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Like, every problem that we have in society right now will be fixed when women come together and partner with our male allies and other allies. But when more women are in the rooms making decisions, changing the status quo and transforming not just our culture, but our society and our economy. I'll give you one example. Look at tech at Silicon Valley. Had more women been early on in those companies or at the tables of power making decisions, I don't think we would have so much or have allowed for so much sort of bigotry, racism, misogyny, and hate online. Think about who's the victims online. More often than not, it's women. Lgbtq, marginalized communities, women of color.
- [83:11]
Megyn Kelly
Thoughts on that, Stephanie?
- [83:14]
Stephanie Tyler
I mean, it's the same thing that Dom Laura already said. Like, there is. It's always the system getting you, and there's no accountability. Everybody's picking on us, the patriarchy, more women in the rooms. What does that even, even mean. I think when I was in women's studies, this is something that they talked a lot about, about like basically it was a failure to be a stay at home mom. You need to be out there working. And I just, I don't agree with like more women in the rooms. It's what we need to hold space so we can all talk about our feelings and nothing gets done. A lot of the times, the stuff that they're calling bigotry and you know, like oppression is just, is literally what it takes to, to move the ball forward in a business. And I don't know that they understand that. I, I don't know.
- [84:09]
Megyn Kelly
Plus, it's like there actually have been women in very big roles in tech virtually from the beginning. Sheryl Sandberg comes to mind, who had an early seat on the Google rocket ship and then went on to be Mark Zuckerberg's number two at Facebook. Now Meta for the, the vast majority of its existence. Elizabeth Holmes. They, they, they tried their luck with her at the helm of one of Silicon Valley's most storied companies. How'd that work out? Susan Wojcicki, who was running YouTube for many, many years, an offshoot of Google. It's a very, very large company. It's like I'm not sure these women were the antidote that she seems to think or she seems to be kind of clueless that they were even there. Dominari, like in her world, they just didn't exist. And that's why we had mean people in Silicon Valley.
- [84:58]
Damilari Sonoike
Also, there's Ursula Burns. She was the first black and the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company of Xerox. But I think this, you know, when I see that clip, it makes me think about that 2024 map where you had all the arrows pointing, right? And you had the entire country shift, right? And I think a lot of that was driven by men. And I think when you see that type of dialogue of like, hey, you know, women. And look, obviously we all love women, we're all pro women, but it's like when you see that type of dialogue that's about just women, we need more women. Women. This I think about how, you know, how that's how you have a sneako Andrew Tate, a clavicular, like if you see the rise of all these manosphere, look smacking, bone smashing, you know, all this stuff, I think it's men feeling like they've been chased out or they've been painted as the enemy, right? Because if you're I mean, there are only men and women, right? I mean, well, I mean, people disagree about that, but.
- [85:50]
Megyn Kelly
Correct.
- [85:51]
Damilari Sonoike
You know, I'm not going to, you know, that's what I think. I think. But so when you're saying, you know men.
- [85:56]
Megyn Kelly
No, it's a fact.
- [85:56]
Damilari Sonoike
When you're saying, you know, woman, you're kind of saying, okay, not men. And I think even though your intentions might be good, what you're creating is this next generation of when you see, you know, like I said, the sneakos and the claviculars and you know, people feel this manosphere and this looks maxing and all this stuff how that come about, it's like, well, yeah, you spent the last 10 years saying, you know, you see what they did to Brett Kavanaugh, right? Like you spent the last 10 years kind of demonizing even if they try
- [86:20]
Megyn Kelly
to ruin the man's life.
- [86:20]
Damilari Sonoike
So I think it's, you know, I think so.
- [86:22]
Megyn Kelly
That's very interesting because she raises, she raises Andrew Tate in this next soundbite. Like she, she doesn't think she's the reason for Andrew Tate. She thinks she's the solution to Andrew Tate. Here's a little bit more from Jennifer Newsom. Shot 21.
- [86:36]
Jennifer Siebel Newsom
Boys that spend time online are moving a little bit are I'm trying not to be political here, but are moving to the right and being sort of influenced by the Andrew Tate's and some of that sort of alt right socialization online that we know is very, very dangerous. My husband and I were alarmed when our kids were watching sports online and my son knew about Andrew Tate and thought he was pretty cool and thought that his Republican grandfather, my father would like Andrew Tate. So that's scary. While we're working on legislation to hold tech companies accountable and help them be a force for good in our kids and families lives, to really provide all the best in class resources and support for youth so that they don't go down this rabbit hole of very, very dangerous and limiting narratives around ultimately what it means to be a girl and what it means to be a boy.
- [87:36]
Megyn Kelly
Okay. There was a lot in that one too, Stephanie. So first of all, we know her son is also was also into Charlie Kirk, which Gavin Newsom admitted to Charlie when they sat across from each other and her like I, I heard a very interesting New York Times profile on clavicular who for the listening audience, if you don't know, is a young, he's like 20, so called looks maxer. He invented the term. He's this like 6 foot 2, 180 pound guy who's like, it's very important for guys to be angular and muscly and like virile. Although he actually doesn't care about virality, according to the writer of this piece, because his is being ruined by the multiple medications he's on, which he openly admits include, like the medication to not lose your hair and I think possibly some steroids too, if memory serves, which affects sexual function. And he says it doesn't matter. Like, what's important is maxing out your looks. Anyway, the point is, after I heard this, I asked my own 16 year old and have you ever heard of clavicular? A boy. And my son's. My 16 year old's a boy. And he's like, oh, yeah, everybody knows who that is. I'm like, oh, really? And he. I was like, what? What do you know about him? And he gave me like two lines on him and then we moved on. He's not an influence in my son's life. I didn't think we need to censor the Internet. I didn't go to some tech forum talking about how these executives need to crack down on the Internet So that my 16 year old would never have to hear about who. It's like. You raise your kid with good values. You don't fear this kind of thing, Stephanie.
- [89:01]
Stephanie Tyler
Well, I just think this is also part of the pendulum. Doing pendulum things because probably when you live in a house with sorry, but a bunch of pussies, you're gonna think that people like. I mean, I'm not saying that Andrew Tate is a good influence by any means, but when, you know, that's the other side of the pendulum and when you aren't used to seeing that, there are probably some things that seem interesting to you. I don't know.
- [89:27]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, yeah. The more verboten it is, the more these kids are probably going to be attracted to a dominari, like, or at least interested in like clicking on it and seeing. Seeing what it's all about.
- [89:38]
Stephanie Tyler
Well, I mean, she said she changes the name of protagonists in stories from men to women, which. Or, you know, if it's a male protagonist that she's reading a story to her kids, she'll change the name to just be a woman or the pronoun to be a woman. And I don't know, that's also. That's like lying and weird. I don't. I imagine, yeah, the kids, not that she reads the Bible to them, but the kids grow up and they're like, oh, wait, it's Not Nora's Ark, Noah's Ark. Like, I don't know. It's so stupid.
- [90:11]
Damilari Sonoike
Yeah, it's like, I will say good. I don't think Cliff Hitler invented looks, Maxi. I don't think he would say that. But I think your point about verboten is very true. I often think about what I call, like, the Eminem principle, right? Who is the biggest rapper of the two 2000s? It was Eminem. And a lot of parents would say, hey, you can't listen to Eminem. You can't listen to Eminem. You're not listening to Eminem. He swears he does this. So do people, do they go and they try and download or buy Eminem? And I think you see a lot of that with anything in culture. It could even be Trump. Right? Trump is forbidden. He's bad. And it's like, okay, I want to check that out. And so I think this just shows that they don't have control of their household. They need to bring in legislation to keep influences out.
- [90:50]
Megyn Kelly
Now, on the subject of like, messaging to girls, you raised this a minute ago, Stephanie, about how it's still, notwithstanding our efforts on the right to normalize being a stay at home mom as a totally valid choice and, and just as empowering as going on to be a CEO, we still have work to do. The, the, the opposite message is still out there and certainly dominates the left. And they control, as you know, our media and our culture and our Hollywood movies and so on. Which brings me to Chelsea Handler and the following soundbite from this 51 year old woman in Sat.32. I like traveling a lot. I like hooking up with guys. I don't like to get too serious. I don't want someone in my space all the time. I just am not interested in that.
- [91:32]
Mark Halperin
You know, it's such a different way to live.
- [91:34]
Damilari Sonoike
Nobody's ever that honest about that.
- [91:36]
Megyn Kelly
Would you. Do you see yourself committing to, like, I don't know, marriage or being with somebody? You said you've never been with somebody for that long. Like, could you. I just think marriage is so outdated. Really, it's just a really silly idea. But, you know, since I've bemoaned marriage my whole entire public life, I would be really hypocritical for me to get married, which means I'll probably do it. You know, at some point I might just go, okay, fuck it. I'm, you know, I'm 50 years old, so I might as well just go get married. What, you know, what could go wrong at this Point. But I don't care about marriage. I don't care about that. Kind of like, I feel like that's a very patriarchal thing anyway. You're kind of like property a little bit. Oh, ah, it's. Marriage is patriarchal. It's much more fun to just hook up with guys all the way into your menopause years. As she is now 51 and has, I guess, absolutely no desire to have a deep, meaningful connection with another human who's her partner in life and potentially father to a children.
- [92:38]
Stephanie Tyler
Yeah, I mean, I guess I thought that was cool when I was 22 and also, you know, a liberal and, you know, still figuring out who I was, like, oh, I'll never get married, whatever. But yeah, I think when you're that age. And I just don't know if I believe it either, what she's saying, even the bit about how she's like, well, now I can't do it because it would make me a hypocrite. It's like you're so attached to the things that you believe and you won't. You're not willing to update those beliefs at any time because of how it'll make you look. I mean, so you haven't grown at all your whole life. You just still feel the you. Yeah. And then there's obviously other, you know, biologically, and we need shared resources. Obviously makes more sense, a mother to take care of children while a man can go work and make money and yeah, I could go on for a while on that.
- [93:33]
Megyn Kelly
But an outdated view of marriage, you become your husband's property. Delari, like, okay, what are, you know, 1700 called and they like your definition of marriage back.
- [93:43]
Damilari Sonoike
Yeah, it sounds a little bit like cope, you know, I know she dated 50 Cent, so maybe she just, you know, things didn't work out with her and her and 50 Cent. But I think also this whole idea of, you know, marriage is patriarchal. You know, when I grew up, I listened to a lot of. I still listen to a lot rap, a lot of hip hop, a lot of watched a lot of NBA basketball. And a lot of icons in those places are people who came from single parent households and came from poverty, you know, Tupac or different rappers and basketball players. And I look at all and I used to think that, you know, coming from a single parent household or whatever was some sort of, you know, projected that you would do well in life. As I got older, I realized it's actually the opposite. If you look at any, you know, any sort of linear or longitudinal study of people's success come from a stable two parent household, whether it's sports, it's music, anything, you know, increases your chances for success in life. So I think just this idea of preaching that it's this patriarch, it's this negative thing. Mary's actually this very stable thing. You know, it's a very great thing. It's, it's an incredible thing that's been invented that really promotes stability and prosperity.
- [94:40]
Megyn Kelly
That also brings it another one who, like, you can't go on the Internet. If you go on the Internet every day, you can't go very long without seeing another picture of Chelsea Handler naked and in an exhibitionist kind of way, like, she's desperate for us to see her without her clothes. It's like maybe if she had taken another route where she fulfilled herself with connections to others, including in a long term love relationship where if you do it right, your love only deepens and grows and becomes more profound over time and you don't feel the need to be affirmed by the Internet, she wouldn't be doing that all the time. Like, I, I, I do feel to each her own. If you don't want to get married and you want to live a life where you're still running around looking for your next date at age 51, okay, that's, that's fine. You know, but it's such a bill of goods to hold it out to young women. Stephanie is something that could really, like, that's something that's nine times out of 10 going to make them happy. It's, it's not, it's the opposite.
- [95:43]
Stephanie Tyler
Yeah. And I think it comes full circle as well to. Back to Newsom or his, his wife. Yeah. That stuff doesn't happen. His. Oh, yes. She's the first partner. Yeah. That's crazy. But it comes full circle because it's not an accident that some of these kids have ended up in these situations. It is literally what's taught ideologically. Oh. Marriage is part of the patriarchy and you don't want to be somebody's property and yada, yada, yada. So destroy the nuclear family. And then what happens? You have kids getting in. A lot of accidents are happening and you know.
- [96:25]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. A lot of people, A lot of
- [96:28]
Damilari Sonoike
people killing their brother and sister or worse.
- [96:31]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. Just act accidentally, totally accidentally. Where they, you know, joined a gang and shot somebody gang style for an initiation like we see in the south side of Chicago. Okay. Keeping it going. Yay. Yay. West is making a comeback. You know, he had a couple of very rough years with all the, you know, anti Semitism and praising of Hitler and all the stuff that he did. And then he came out with a, a full throated apology saying, you know what, I've got a problem. I'm bipolar. And when you are in this sort of manic phase, you think you can do no wrong and say no wrong. And you can, but you don't believe it when people tell you. And I think he's asking for another chance. You know, he's had a couple chances, but he's asking for another chance. And I think like most people are saying in sort of the left wing culture are saying no. The UK is literally telling him no. He can't even come into the United, United Kingdom, which is crazy because of his controversial views for which he's apologized. It's not like he killed anybody. And he's, but he's doing it his way down, Larry. He's like, okay, I'm still going to launch concerts. He's made $33 million after the first two. I think it is. So what do you make of this dynamic now where he's still officially canceled, but the people are the ones who ultimately decide whether you're canceled or not?
- [97:54]
Damilari Sonoike
I'm glad you asked that. I think, you know, when I think about the shift, I think about that era, right? We all remember that November, whatever day that was, 2024, when you saw those arrows pointing, right? And I think one of the biggest things that caused that shift, especially amongst young men, is that culture on the left of just trying to destroy people. Totally. Like, I'm very, you know, anti Semitism is awful. A lot of my close friends are Jewish. I, you know, a lot of my favorite artists are Jewish. But I think that this idea, there's this idea on the left that's just punished totally to just destroy someone. And I think that they had this idea of like, oh, cancel culture. It's not cancel culture, it's consequence culture. We just want accountability. And I think one thing that's really good about Trump, he never apologizes. One thing he knows about Trump, he never apologizes. And I think it's the right instinct because these people who are trying to cancel someone, they don't want, they want you to kill yourself. I genuinely think that they want you to die. They want you to just never be able to work again. To never.
- [98:47]
Megyn Kelly
You wouldn't behave differently if, if you, if you, if that were your goal, you would behave no differently than these leftist cancellation lovers.
- [98:53]
Damilari Sonoike
And they just, I think it's Just sick. Like, I think there's something. It's. It's not Christ. Like, if you think about the story of the Bible, it's about redemption, it's about forgiveness. It's about the prodigal son, you know, returning. And I think that this idea, like, you know, he's lost billions. He lost his marriage, he's lost, you know, just his business partnerships. And I think that it just shows that this idea that we were sold during the, you know, peak, what we call peak, woke peak cancer culture, that it's just about, you know, accountability and apologizing and growing. It's like, no, they want to see you destroyed. They want. And I think kudos to Kanye, kudos to people who keep going, who persevere through this, because I think that you cannot let them win.
- [99:29]
Megyn Kelly
Keep going is literally the best advice for anyone facing cancellation of any kind. Just keep going. You don't have to handle it with grace. You don't have to handle it well. You just have to keep going to win. Here's Nigel Farage. Stephanie over there in the UK on their refusal to allow him into the country. Sat 30.
- [99:50]
Mark Halperin
But I think if we start banning people from entering the country because we don't like what they say, I worry
- [99:58]
Damilari Sonoike
where that ends up.
- [99:59]
Mark Halperin
I worry where that ends up.
- [100:01]
Damilari Sonoike
So I think it's a dangerous path to go down.
- [100:04]
Megyn Kelly
Pretty extraordinary. They're throwing people in jail for their opinions over there and now banning them from even entering.
- [100:10]
Damilari Sonoike
I mean, if you were a terrorist, you know, if you were a terrorist coming on a boat, they'd welcome with open arms.
- [100:16]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, exactly. Right, you go, Stephanie. I have one, I have one minute to break and then I'm gonna hold you guys over for a bit.
- [100:21]
Stephanie Tyler
That's actually what I was gonna say. They have no problem with these rapists with. I mean, they just welcome them and make every excuse in the world for them, but when it comes to speech, it's the end of the world.
- [100:33]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. And thank God we have people like Nigel Farage over there trying to stand up for what's right. But the majority opinion in the UK has already gone. It is gone. So Kanye, yay. I don't think that's the place for you. I think you got to stick to America where we're, we're not as tolerant as we used to be or as we should be, but we still are the most tolerant nation you're going to find on Earth. Okay, stand by because we got to get to this crazy story about these 40 year old women throwing themselves weddings when it's really just their birthday. And also the latest on Brian Gnome. What a, what a doozy of an update. You can only imagine. We'll tell you what happened next. Don't go away. Hey, everyone, it's me, Megyn Kelly. I've got some exciting news. I now have my very own channel on Sirius xm. It's called the Megyn Kelly Channel. And it is where you will hear the truth unfiltered, with no agenda and no apologies. Along with the Megyn Kelly show, you're gonna hear from people like Mark Halperin, link Lauren, Maureen Callahan, Emily Jashinsky, Jesse Kelly, RealClearPolitics, and many more. It's bold new, no BS news only on the Megyn Kelly Channel, Sirius XM111 and on the Sirius XM app. Back with our guests in a minute. But first, I want to bring you this breaking news we told you in the first hour of our show today about how when the Pakistani prime minister announced the ceasefire that had been reached between the United States and Iran, he mentioned that one of the terms was the bombing of Lebanon by Israel would stop and that then it didn't stop. And Bibi Netanyahu, who said that's not one of the deal terms, notwithstanding what the prime minister of Pakistan who helped broker this deal reportedly said. And then President Trump spoke with the PBS reporter on whom he hung up, but not before saying, no, Lebanon's not part of the deal. Well, now Iran is weighing in in a post online by its foreign minister that reads as follows, the Iran US Ceasefire terms are clear and explicit. The US Must choose ceasefire or continued war via Israel. It cannot have both. The world sees the massacres in Lebanon. The ball is in the U. S. Court and the world is watching whether it will act on its commitments. And he is retweeting the announcement by that Pakistani prime minister and he has highlighted where he writes, along with their allies, the US along with their allies have agreed to an immediate ceasefire everywhere, including Lebanon. So he is citing the very same thing that we cited to you, the statement by the prime minister of Pakistan as evidence that this was part of the deal. And saying this, it's up to us that we have to choose ceasefire or continued war via Israel. But we're not going to have Israel attacking Lebanon and continue the ceasefire. That's where we are at 2:01pm Eastern on Wednesday, April 8. We'll get back to you. First, we resume our cultural panel. Two great follows on X. That's how we found them. Damilari Sonoiki and Stephanie Tyler, thank you both again so much for being here. I want to kick this piece off with Brian Noem, who is Kristi Noem's husband. Absolutely no, we're, we're taking a break. Announcements. We're going to have a trial separation. They're just going to, you know, grit it out because it seems Safi, as she's known for a long, long time, I mean, I think most people believe that it's been an open secret at the White House. There's no way. Everybody at the White House knew and Kristi Noem didn't know. She's been having, reportedly, they deny it, a long affair with Corey Lewandowski. I don't know what's going on with this marriage, but I do find this fetish bizarre. And the updates on him are kind of riveting. All right, so here's the latest. He paid a lot of women who are part of this so called bimbo vacation fetish to like talk dirty with him over the phone, like a FaceTime, I guess, and to wear their little outfits and to let him wear his little outfits too as some sort of like kink. And I've been in touch with one of these women who's given me like a bunch of information on him, including, we broke earlier this week that he told her he had entered sex rehab, I believe, out in South Dakota. Obviously it didn't work out. And now there's one who is speaking out to the Daily Mail. Here she is in a an on camera sound bite that she gave to them about what would happen. Her name is Nicole Racano and she is an only fans Barbie doll fetish quote model. Those breasts are in the N category. There are 38 n Stephanie. We did not know that N even existed in the broad department. I'm sure it's special order, but here is what she has to say about her conversations with the married Brian gnome. He was like, I want to be your slave. I want call me Slave. And I was like, okay.
- [105:48]
Stephanie Tyler
That's why his name has been Slave
- [105:49]
Megyn Kelly
for five and a half years. So I call him slave babe. He would say, hi, boob. God, your boobs are so good. You're so perfect. You're the boss. It was just a fun bimbo fantasy girlfriend. There was no kind of like wanting to be a girl or anything. There was one thing, it was only very small. He was like, I'd love to be a bimbo like me, right? And he just said he liked a pink thong. I think I was pretty special. To him. I don't think he bought other girls rings, red bottoms, Louis Vuitton purses, fillers. You know, I don't know, though. There could be more. He did. He did. I'm sorry to tell you. Yeah, Nicole, he did buy others. Because I have it on good authority that there's at least one man whose very large breast implants he paid for. And I've seen pictures of those, that chest now totally deflated with the enormous implants out, and it's a nightmare. I think he was buying quite a few people breast implants, fillers, gifts. And so I don't know, like what, what was going. Like, was this all Kristi Noem salary plus his insurance job paying for this? I don't know. I hate, hate to think it was our tax dollars, but it appears to have been. And here's a little extra element for you, Stephanie. She produced a text exchange between the two of them where he wrote to her, would love to marry you. And then he added, how are you going to pay off? And she replies, all paid. And. And he writes, how? And then he responds back to her, use my amex. I'm not sure what this means. But then he gushed and further messages, quote, I seem to be falling in love with you. I do love you. I effing want to pay it because you're the one that I love. I would love to marry you. So there's been quite a discussion in the wake of this revelation that he's got this fetish about whether this is cheating or whether it's a harmless online fetish kink, no different from, like, the way, you know, your whatever older brother used to look at Playboy back in the day. It's just as harmless as that. You tell me whether you agree.
- [108:01]
Stephanie Tyler
I don't think it's harmless. I don't get it. First of all, I do not understand any of that appeal, but I don't think it's harmless. I think there is something deeply perverted happening on both sides of that. And, you know, one person is enabling it again. How? Don't know. But no, I think that's far from harmless. It's disgusting.
- [108:26]
Megyn Kelly
Sorry, but what do you think, Damari? Because, you know, he. I don't know that he ever took those texts or, you know, I love you's to a physical encounter. So far from what we know, it seems to have been enough for him to don the little hot pink biker shorts or this woman says thong himself and put on the big fake boobs and. And like, get off on like dirty talk with these ladies.
- [108:54]
Damilari Sonoike
Yeah, you know, I'm kind of of two minds of it. I think on the one hand, you know, if you're not harming anyone, you know, to each their own. People have different interests. I like to play basketball, I like to go to Equinox and lift weights. I've never thought about what I would look like with gigantic mommy milker, you know, titties. But, you know, to each their own.
- [109:11]
Megyn Kelly
Not even in the past week. You didn't even like give it a
- [109:13]
Damilari Sonoike
second's thought, like there was that one time. No, I think that, you know, but on the other hand, I do think this type of deviance, first of all, you're in a. It shows poor judgment, right? You're taking pictures. Your wife is in a very senior government position. This creates, you know, material. You could be compromised by it. So it shows poor judgment. And I also think about, I mean, so we're both true crime, you know, we both love true crime. I think about btk, right? Btk he was really into that stuff. He was into wearing, you know, putting on this, you know, weird. Taking these weird pictures and putting on women's clothing. And like not everyone who cross dresses, you know, is a serial killer. But it just, you know, it does give a little bit of pause.
- [109:53]
Megyn Kelly
I mean, I think the vast majority of American spouses, male or female, would easily classify this as cheating. You know, you're telling another person you love them, you're asking to see them. I'm sure it was naked. I'm sure she wasn't wearing her little. Looks like a wrestling cinchlet that most of these women wear, you know, like teeny tiny little strips over the N size breast. N, N. We're down in the middle of the Alphabet. I think it's absolutely cheap.
- [110:19]
Damilari Sonoike
Madison Cawthorn. It makes me think about what Madison Cawthorn said about there's being weird stuff going on. You know, I live in la, people are like, you know, there are these eyes Wide shut parties and you hear that about D.C. but just this weird stuff.
- [110:28]
Megyn Kelly
And he.
- [110:29]
Damilari Sonoike
Madison Cawthorn said it's on both sides, you know, these weird, just weirdness. And I think as you elevate in society, there's just this weird stuff, you know, I don't know how to deal with it.
- [110:39]
Megyn Kelly
Oh, in news to the stories I could tell you now, like I can't name who it is, but trust me when I tell you there is a pair of news individuals out there that is big time into the swinger parties and like it's just crazy because these people are on people's screens every night as like, okay, legitimate, serious news people. And like, the compromise that people have on them is amazing. I just have to leave it at that. It's just a little tease for you. I would not besmirch them by revealing it I don't know firsthand. I'm happy to tell you, reliably informed by more than one person that this is true. So that's sadly, Kristi gnomes marriage. Good luck to her. They should just get a divorce. She clearly wants to be with Corey Lewandowski. He's also married, like me. Like, I realize some people are totally against divorce. They, they don't believe in no fault divorce. But like, it's here for a reason. Like, get out of that marriage. They're all relatively young. They're mid-50s. You have your whole life, you know what, 30, maybe 40 years ahead of you. Get a divorce. Go live the life you want to live. I don't, like, I can't imagine staying in a marriage where like, you've got that going on while you're at work. You gotta worry about your husband stealing your little outfits and shoving big balloons down them and then getting off with some bimbo model online. It's a nightmare. Um, okay, now back to Chelsea Handler. She's not the only one who is living well into her life without getting married and I guess just happy that she hasn't. There is a new thing where you, if you are 40 years old or having a big birthday, let's say it's 40. That seems to be the age for these women. Instead of throwing yourself like a massive birthday party, like rent the villa in Italy or whatever people do, you throw yourself a wedding. So these are single gals who never got married and they're throwing themselves wedding, complete with the wedding gown, the veil, the band, like everything. Here's one, here's some video of it. But we, I think we have a real soundbite, don't we? Of one of the gals. No. Do we not have that cut? Okay. It's just the video. So here's this gal having. It looks like a wedding, but it is not a wedding because there is no groom and that. Or spouse of any kind. And that pretty much undermines the entire possibility of the word wedding. So you tell me whether this is something that's very promising or very sad. Because I have to tell you, when I started to read about it, at first I was ready to totally mock them. Then when I read, I was like, oh God. So this, this is in the New York Times. That was profiled just a couple days ago. Brittany Allen, a content creator based in New York. Initially she did not set out to plan a wedding like celebration. But she quickly realized that many of the elements she wished to include in her, I guess 40th birthday, such as speeches from guests and a slideshow of baby photos, felt like moments that happen at a wedding. So Ms. Allen decided, why don't I just do all the things I've waited for? She posted several videos of her weekend long celebration on social media which she called her quote, wedding, birthday. She was walking down the aisle. She said, this is for anybody who's wanted to do that. While Canon D is playing on the violin and looking out at all your favorite people tearing up while they watch you. It's fucking epic. I have zero regrets. She said, wear the damn white dress. I'm feeling single tear vibes for her. Stephanie, I don't know. This is a person who, I feel like she ne. She kind of wants to get married. This gal, she couldn't do it and now she's, she's marrying herself.
- [114:37]
Stephanie Tyler
It's weird. I don't get it. And why, why a wedding though? I thought the patriarchy was bad. Why are we doing a wedding? Why not just have this elaborate birthday party party if you want all the attention on yourself and you want to show baby photos? I mean, I, I genuinely can't understand it. I've always hated my birthday. Personally, I don't. It makes me feel weird. Maybe that's part of my trauma or something. But I don't like getting gifts and opening them in front of people. It just is weird. So this idea. Yeah, you're gonna go put on a white dress. Like, it's just so strange. I don't get it.
- [115:12]
Megyn Kelly
I know, it's so. It feels narcissistic and so self indulgent and you know, egotistic in a way. I don't know. What do you make of it, Damilari?
- [115:20]
Damilari Sonoike
It feels like cope honestly, you know, if you wanted to get married and you did it and it's tough because she, I mean, she looks beautiful. I don't know why she wouldn't be married, but what you said about marrying yourself. So I live in LA and there are a lot of people who are influencers. And I remember I had this one influencer friend who would talk about, you know, dating myself. I'm sure Stephanie, you've noticed that people talk about. I'm just, I'm dating Myself right now. And I was like, well, you know, take yourself on a date. I'm like, you can't take yourself on a date. A date, you know, means multiple people. And I think every time I've ever met somebody who's doing the oh, I'm taking myself on a date. I'm dating myself. They just got through, like, the most devastating breakup. Just, like, just a horrible, terrible breakup. And so it's a level of cope. And so I think this is probably a similar thing where it's like, things didn't work out for you in that department, and so now you're like, oh, well, I can still do it myself. But look, you can't date yourself. You can't marry yourself. So. And these people are young.
- [116:09]
Megyn Kelly
Are people dating? Like, do you see? Because I fear that people are not dating. They don't know how to do it anymore. They, like, so obsessed with the online dating. Like, are people dating?
- [116:19]
Damilari Sonoike
Well, Stephanie dating, I don't talk about
- [116:22]
Stephanie Tyler
my personal life anymore because I had someone close to me, literally. It was like cancellation by proxy. So I just stay away from that. But I mean, yeah, I.
- [116:32]
Damilari Sonoike
Of course, the Internet loves cancellation by proxy. I've experienced that. I think I hear about Gen Z not really dating. And if that's true, I think I can understand it. If you saw what happened, Aziz Ansari got canceled for a bad date. I think that everyone's nervous. You used to be able to meet people. I mean, I think unfortunately, the three places that you meet people, friends, and romantic partners, it's school, church, and work. As you get into adulthood, you're not in school anymore. Church people are just less religious and less. Going to church less. And work. Everyone's remote. And work has been h R ified where, you know, if you, you could, it could be a big risk.
- [117:08]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah.
- [117:08]
Damilari Sonoike
So, yeah, I do wonder. I do wonder people, maybe they're not dating. Maybe that's why, you know, people are having these strange. Yeah, I'm.
- [117:16]
Megyn Kelly
I feel bad for her. Like, when back. Back in my day, there wasn't online dating. And the only way you would get a date as a guy is to ask for it. And the system was still set up such that the onus was pretty much on men to do the courting and on women to decide whether they would accept the invite. And that was a system that worked for, like, thousands of years. Like, it worked very well. Everyone understood what was expected of them. There was nothing weird or inappropriate about a man doing it. And the woman, generally women, would know that you should Be polite in saying no if you, if your answer is no. This is like still a social risk by this guy. But like, it wasn't a devastating event for the man either because they took lots of shots. It was the system for meeting people. And I almost feel like online dating really screwed up the system for meeting people to the point where even that doesn't work anymore. People are sick of it, they don't like it, and they've. Now they've come up. There's like a couple generations that just don't even know how to do it anymore.
- [118:15]
Damilari Sonoike
Elon, with the birth rate stuff. Right. I think that ties into what's going on with Elon's sort of fascination with birth rates. And it's, you know, it's a, it's a strange time, you know, I think the past 10 years. And also going back to what Ms. Newsom said about sort of, sort of anti male rhetoric, you know. What do you think, Stephanie?
- [118:34]
Stephanie Tyler
No, that's exactly what I was going to say, actually is just this feminization of men and making men feel like they can't be forward or, you know, it's, it's scary out there, I'm sure, because you can get canceled for just about anything. I mean, I guess we're past the peak of that. But for a while there, I mean, I think Dom and that was literally a bad date that he got canceled for a woman. Couldn't say no or whatever. So I just think we've put men in a bad spot. Where. Why, why try it? You know, there's consent, but it's like, oh, well, it was forced coercion and there's just all this new talk around it. Can't it. I don't know, it just doesn't. I feel bad for men.
- [119:23]
Damilari Sonoike
Yeah, the age gap stuff too, where it's like, oh, well, you were born, you know, I'm two weeks older than you, so that's this predatory, you know, the Gen Z. I think I sound like an old man, I guess.
- [119:32]
Megyn Kelly
Well, that's why we're seeing the rise of people like Andrew Tate, because, you know, when you've completely feminized and emasculated a generation of men, then you see somebody come along with, you know, testosterone coming out of his ears. It can seem like the antidote, you know, it's like, oh, okay, someone who's. If you divorce Andrew Tate from all those videos you've seen of him being very abusive toward women and you just sort of hear his Persona, you know, you might not know he's got that other very dark side. And you just see somebody who's like sort of radically male and tough and testosterone filled. It can feel like an antidote. So I, I understand it. I just feel like we, we need to get back to like men and boys, you know, older boys, whatever, teenage boys learning how to just ask somebody out, take the L if it's a no, put themselves out there. And for women to understand this is a gift. This is a great system. It doesn't mean that you can never do it as a woman. But generally, gals, if you are the pursuer, you're losing. Men are biologically designed to pursue. And we're, you know that they're kind of going after the prey. It's like the lion and the gazelle. And if you're pretending to be the lion and he's the gazelle, it's not good. It's not a good long term formula. Girls, you don't want to wind up with a gazelle. Okay? So anyway, I feel sorry for the 40 year old fake brides. I hope. I think the solution to their problem is getting introduced to somebody and not, not faking a wedding. Last but not least, we got to talk about what happened on with the SNL Saturday Night Live crew, which sat down with Vanity Fair for an interview where they all kind of piled in and they started talking about their lives. And this one cast member took a left turn that was so bizarre that they wound up having to strip it from the, from the piece. It was. Okay, so her name is Chloe Feynman and she starts to launch into this story about abusing a little boy at the camp where she was a counselor. And everyone, even on the SNL cast, was horrified at this story to the point where Vanity Fair had to sterilize the story before they put it because it's video. They do like video vignettes for their website. They had to sterilize it and take out most of her admissions to try to make it sound a little less disturbing than it was. But they then also posted the full video. So everybody found out anyway. You know, they tried, I guess, to bury it elsewhere, but everybody found it. And now there's a backlash against Vanity Fair for doing this and against this bizarre person, Chloe Feynman, for speaking about this incident so cavalierly and for doing it in the first place. Here is the uncensored clip. No, I was fired as a camp counselor for hitting on the camp counselor. No, I pants a boy. Oh, honey, I think you're on a list somewhere. And he wasn't wearing underpants. Oh.
- [122:36]
Stephanie Tyler
And then a giant school bus drove
- [122:38]
Megyn Kelly
by, and they were like, you can't, like, because he would, he would lift my shirt all the time. What happened? It was Berkeley. How old was the child? He was like six. No, it was a different time. Like, he would be like, hey, can
- [122:52]
Stephanie Tyler
I have a hug?
- [122:52]
Megyn Kelly
And I'd go to hug him, and then he'd like, lift my shirt like a dick. And then I was like, I'm gonna get back at you. And so we were on a hike and I was like, hey, Ollie, go look over there. It's a hawk. And then I yanked his pants down. He wasn't wearing underwear.
- [123:05]
Stephanie Tyler
His little ding a ling was out.
- [123:06]
Megyn Kelly
And then these two twins were like, ollie, I didn't know you didn't wear underwear. And then I was fired. This is horrifying. My. My executive producer has corrected me that they posted the whole video first and then there was outrage. And then they took it down and reposted an edited version, which is stupid too. Of course people were going to notice. And so what they took out in the sanitized version was they removed her mentioning that the boy was six. They removed her mentioning, and I quote, that his little ding a ling was out. The original video showed that one castmate saying, oh, honey, I think you're on a list somewhere. I don't think that made the final cut. Removed her saying that he wasn't wearing underwear and that a giant school bus drove by and saw him in his humiliation. And they also took out the horrified shots of the cast members gasping and covering their faces when she told the story. So I actually think this is deeply disturbing. She was, I, I. The way she tells it, she was a counselor, so she was clearly an older person. I don't know what the age was. You know, usually counselors are like teens. So she was much older than this little six year old. Being pantsed by anybody, much less someone you perceive as a grownup, is truly an act of degradation and humiliation. And this little boy also didn't have underwear on, so he was completely exposed, which she makes light of by the use of the term ding a ling and by casually bringing this up where this kid may have, like, truly lasting trauma as a result of this being done to him and being exposed, literally exposed, not just in front of other campers, but in front of an entire busload of students. So this is disgusting. Disgusting. She's disgusting. And my own take on it is, it would be bad enough if she did this and had to walk around with the shame of this and the fear that it might come out, never mind to bring it up yourself on camera and try to get others joining in and laughing at this kid's humiliation. Domillari well, it's interesting.
- [125:21]
Damilari Sonoike
I, so I saw this story. Honestly my first thought was the fact that they try to sanitize it, right? Because this is the same vanity fear that refuses to put Melania on the COVID You know, if they had anything that made anyone look bad of the wrong political affiliation, they would have promoted it everywhere. I think I need, I need more information.
- [125:39]
Megyn Kelly
Interesting.
- [125:39]
Damilari Sonoike
I was just like, you know, you're running cover, right? Like they would if they had something they made, you know, some hot mic moment that made you look bad. I don't think they would go and you know, trying to scrub it from the Internet. I think they post it everywhere, facts. So I think that was my first thought. I think I need more information. You know, was she 12, you know, was she 13, you know, or was she like 18, 19. I think the age and I think, look, I try to be consistent in a certain way and like I do think she's probably getting piled on right now. It's, you know, and I do think that, you know, if I, if I say she was 16, she was 16. She was, she was a minor. The guy, the kid was lifting up her shirt. I, I'm very reluctant to join in on pylons, I will say because I feel like, you know, it's like with the yay thing. Right. I think that when people are, when you're, when you're, we're in the middle of a pylon, it can be a very difficult time. And so I will extend her grace in the sense that she was a minor. I don't think she should have promoted it, you know, in an interview. And I think it says a lot about Manny. Fear. They try to scrub it. Because isn't many fear also journalistic? Aren't they also like a journalistic? You know, they have like a.
- [126:41]
Megyn Kelly
So they would have us believe.
- [126:42]
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
- [126:43]
Damilari Sonoike
I mean allegedly.
- [126:43]
Megyn Kelly
Right.
- [126:43]
Damilari Sonoike
And so it does kind of. They do that for other people. They do that for other folks who, you know, because I guess I don't think they would.
- [126:50]
Megyn Kelly
I, I just think she, she's got, I don't, I don't care about piling on this person. I don't know her. And we're talking about.
- [126:57]
Damilari Sonoike
It is a very traumatizing.
- [126:58]
Megyn Kelly
It is of a six year old boy.
- [127:00]
Damilari Sonoike
Well, I mean Lena Dunn got canceled
- [127:01]
Megyn Kelly
for much 16 is not 10. You. I have a 16 year old. I have a 14 year old. I have a 12 year old. I know exactly what the maturity levels are. And you are well past the point of knowing better at 16 that this would be extremely humiliating and hurtful to do. And I don't care that he was trying to pull her shirt up. Stephanie. It's. He was six. When you're six, you actually don't have good judgment. You're very young. You do stupid things a lot when you're six. And it takes a grown up, an authority figure, like a counselor to talk to you about why they're inappropriate, not do something far more inappropriate to you. Right. Like, I get it. Like, okay, I want to teach him a lesson that he shouldn't do this. You could, you could teach anybody you want to. Why don't you stab him in the leg? He'll never forget. He'll always know. Don't do that. Like, there are boundaries to how we teach lessons. Any normal 16 year old would know. Public humiliation of this little boy is not it. And even if you want to give her grace, in my view, okay, you did something dumb at 16. You allegedly didn't know that he wasn't wearing underwear. She's not sorry. She's not sorry at all. Stephanie. She's like, she thinks it's funny to this day. And she's clearly an adult now.
- [128:20]
Stephanie Tyler
Yeah, yeah, she definitely thought it was funny. At least that was my interpretation of the video. But I think at 16, you what, you start driving when you're 15 and you can get your learner's permit and you're responsible for a machine that can kill people. I think you're. I think you're mature enough to know that you shouldn't be pulling down a trip child's pants. That's, you know, maybe like a 16 year old and a 16 year old are messing around with each other. I think, like, I had brothers, but, you know, they do that stuff. But yeah, you're in charge of a group of children and you are the authority figure. So, yeah, I don't, I'm not giving her as much grace as you.
- [129:00]
Megyn Kelly
I think she's not getting canceled. She's not getting fired from snl. She's not losing anything. We're just casting judgment on her, which I'm fine doing because this is disgusting and nobody should consider this okay behavior. She's 37 years old now. I mean, by 37, you should know that this is completely unacceptable and that you are going to be shamed by society if you do this. Chloe, even by the SNL crowd, which I'm sure likes her and was like, not really of the mood to like, shame a fellow castmate, but they were put in an awkward position too, so this is wrong. Okay, I, I, yeah, sorry.
- [129:40]
Damilari Sonoike
Okay. With that caveat, I thought there was maybe some sort of call to fire her or rep, you know, some sort of. I think we're just casting judgment. Yeah, I can agree it was. It's a foolish thing to do.
- [129:48]
Megyn Kelly
It's a very foolish, good old fashioned judgment.
- [129:51]
Damilari Sonoike
I think I'm just so used to the woke, to the, you know, to that impulse of like, okay, well they got to lose their job now. They've got to, you know, I think we can sit here, we can say that was a terrible thing to do and that was very silly.
- [130:00]
Megyn Kelly
No, she told the story publicly. She wanted it consumed and commented on, obviously, or she wouldn't have done that on camera. And so I'm happy to oblige her. I think you're disgusting. I think this was beyond the pale. You were a disgusting bully. You owe that boy an apology and you should ask all of us to forgive your terrible behavior because you seemed proud of it and you were cavalier about it in a way that could encourage others to do the same to another six year old boy. So shame on you. I, I don't know whether this person's a mother. She certainly doesn't sound like one because trust me, once you have a six year old boy, you would never want this done to him. So shame on her. And honestly, good, good on the castmates for feeling free to express their horror. All right, on that note, I gotta run. It was a pleasure, guys. I hope you enjoyed your first appearance, but not the last on the MK Show.
- [130:47]
Damilari Sonoike
Thank you.
- [130:48]
Stephanie Tyler
Yeah, thanks for having me.
- [130:49]
Damilari Sonoike
Thanks for having us.
- [130:50]
Megyn Kelly
All right, we'll do it again. Domari, Stephanie, all the best. And we are back tomorrow with Michael Knowles and Anna Kasparian. Oh, that'll be a fun one. We'll see you then. Thanks for listening to the Megyn Kelly show. No bs, no agenda and no fear.