← The Megyn Kelly Show
The Megyn Kelly Show
Three Most Annoying Senators at Hegseth Hearing, and Pam Bondi Crushes Dems Today, with Victor Davis Hanson | Ep. 983
01:42:20
Megyn Kelly begins the show by discussing why Pete Hegseth will be confirmed as Defense Secretary after his excellent performance at the hearing yesterday, the significance of Sen. Joni Ernst already announcing her support for Hegseth, the three most annoying senators at the confirmation hearing: Tammy Duckworth, Mazie Hirono, Elissa Slotkin, their ridiculous questions and interruptions, how the female senators make other women look bad, smug CNN pundit Catherine Rampell dismissing Hegseth as just a TV host, Gretchen Carlson’s ridiculous comments pushing a false narrative, and more. Then Victor Davis Hanson, author of "The End of Everything," joins to discuss Pam Bondi crushing the Democrats at her Attorney General confirmation hearing, the hypocrisy from Hirono who refused to meet with her, the mistake by the left of underestimating her, petty and bitter Michelle Obama refusing to attend Trump's inauguration, Kamala Harris not giving the customary VP residence tour to JD Vance and...
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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. We have Victor Davis Hansen coming up in just a bit. And wait until you hear the latest reporting about Mayor Karen Bass and what she was up to exactly during the deadly Los Angeles wildfires. This woman is cold, stone callous. I mean, she does not seem to give an F. We'll show you the video and play you the sound. But first, these days, personal safety is not something that can be left to chance. Whether at home, on the road or just living everyday life, having a reliable way to protect yourself and your family is crucial. This is why Burna is the choice for many. I'm excited to tell you about Burna. Burna is a game changing, less lethal self defense tool. It's compact, it's powerful and it's easy to use. It provides the confidence to act in any situation. 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It's just a very clever, thoughtful alternative or addition to your firearm. Protect what matters most with Byrna. Visit by r n a.com that's by r n a.com Megan to receive a 10% discount and learn why thousands of people in law enforcement agencies are making the switch to Berna's less lethal protection. Berna Non lethal self defense. Always ready. Back at home now here in Connecticut after attending the Pete Hegseth hearing yesterday where the nominee for defense secretary knocked it out of the park last night after we said goodbye to you guys after a late taping following the hearing, the most important thing in this entire process happened. Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, who I told you on the show had been very much on the fence about Pete, came out and formally announced her support for him. It's done. He's going to get confirmed. It's over. He's in. You can start calling him Mr. Secretary. That's, that's my view. Unless something catastrophic happens between now and the time the full Senate takes its vote. We were looking at McConnell, we were looking at Collins, we were looking at Murkowski. McConnell's, of course, an enemy of Trump, and Murkowski and Collins are left wing Republicans. And then we were looking at Ernst. Well, the Republicans can afford to lose three, not four. Three. If it's three, it'll be 50, 50 vote in the Senate, assuming he gets no Dem votes. And then the Vice president, as president of the Senate, would cast the deciding vote. That would be J.D. vance, and he'd be confirmed. We're not even hearing any rumblings about McConnell and the other two. Now, they haven't officially said that they'll be voting for him, but Ernst was the pivotal character that there isn't a person, including you, Susan Collins, you, Lisa Murkowski, or you, Leader McConnell, who cares more about women in the military than Joni Ernst. There is not one. Not you, Kirsten Gillibrand, none of you. So if she's on board, there is no excuse for, in particular these Republicans who I just listed not to be on board. And I think they'll realize that. I don't think he's gonna get a dumb vote. I actually don't think he will. They. This is how it goes now. We used to get majority, even unanimous support for another party's nominees unless there was, you know, just something so obviously beyond the pale. And now we don't. Now you have to have majority control in the Senate in order to get your nominees through, or at least ones who have any sort of controversy, real or manufactured. And in Pete's case, it's mostly the latter. You know, we've talked about the things in his personal life which would come back to haunt any nominee. But let's face it, the, you know, the Democrats have elected a man as president who is accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women. They had no problem with it. They were about to elect a woman whose husband was accused of openly beating another woman, not to mention being a serial cheater, or at least a cheater with the family, nanny, whatever. Like their morals are situational. So Pete's going to be confirmed and you should get used to, to the phrase Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. You can go cry in your soup leftists over how that makes you feel. But what President Trump wanted, and by the way he won the election, was somebody who understood the warrior, who understood the fighting men and women, and that's Pete. He wanted the guy who could answer the questions that came from Senator Sheehy of Montana about how you load a weapon and what the ammo looks like and what the batteries are that you put in your night vision goggles, that that's what he wanted. And President Trump talks about how, and others have told these stories about how when he was in office the first time, he would call the generals in there and they would give him one set of advice and then he would call the enlisted guys in there and ask for their take. And this would upset some of these generals, not all of them, but some of these generals would get irritated that these lowly plebs would be listened to by the commander in chief. Well, it turns out Trump was way more interested in what those lowly enlisted guys had to say than the generals. And this pick reflects that. Pete's a major, he's not a general. But my point is he wanted somebody who had had actual boots on the ground, as Pete put it yesterday, dust on the boots, fighting experience where he was laying his own life on the line repeatedly for the country. That's what Pete has done, and that is the mentality he's going to bring back into the Department of Defense. It was interesting, one of the exchanges where Kirsten Gillibrand, and don't get me wrong, she was hysterical yesterday, very strange performance. But. But I will tell you that I respect Kirsten Gillibrand a lot more than I do a lot of these other Dem senators. There are a few who I actually like. I like Mark Kelly, too. He gave Pete some guff yesterday, but he's a good man. But Gillibrand has done a lot to help protect women in various spaces. And I respect a lot of what she's done. She's not generally this much of just an emotional mess. But she's wrong about Pete. You know, she kept saying to him yesterday there, there's absolutely no slip in the standards for women, absolutely none. They have to meet all the same tests that the men do. And Pete's response was to name specific groups and areas in which there were written or unwritten quotas for allowing women in. And he's looking at her and saying, senator, in the real world, the rules are being bent to look the Other way when it's a woman who fails this test or that she, she can't possibly refute that she doesn't, she can't possibly say that's not true. Which is what she was trying to do. She was saying there's no written standard that would give women a pass. Like women only have to score seven on the fitness test, whereas men have to score nine. Of course, I mean that's. Does that surprise anybody? They didn't put that in writing. But does it also surprise you that when in practicality they're under massive pressure from their bosses to allow the more women in, that they do look the other way when they're a little slower on the run or they have trouble managing their a hundred pound ruck. And the other things that Pete and the guys were talking about yesterday, like, let's get real, he's saying, I don't want that anymore. And the messaging from the top is going to be very, very different. I was amused and also irritated looking at some of the coverage of what happened yesterday. Every single newspaper and podcast, et cetera, that's not independent or openly conservative, talks about the allegations against Pete as though they're real, they're true and they've been established, whether it's the public or the drinking, the public drunkenness or the allegations that he allegedly raped a woman. Like they just talk about like accused of rape and signed a settlement. I mean, signed a settlement that said he must be guilty. Right. As if no public figure who's innocent and facing the threat that he will lose his job. Fox absolutely would have been in a position of having to fire him had this woman come forward and said, he raped me. I'm a conservative, I'm with this Republican women's group. And he came out here on a speaking engagement, which Fox doesn't love anyway. They don't love it when you do these things. So any excuse to like, you know, make a thing out of it. And Pete, while beloved at Fox, wasn't their top, top guy. So he was expendable. His, I think his calculation was exactly right that it was too risky to let this woman go out and tell the public, nevermind his bosses that he was a rapist. And then, you know, his defense is absolutely meritorious. However, it doesn't make him look good. The defense is it wasn't rape, it was consensual cheating on, you know, my. Yes, technically he was still with his second wife, but he was already with Jen at that point. So my soon to be third wife. All of that doesn't make him look good either. So I'm just saying the calculation in Pete's head for why he signed that settlement makes perfect sense to any thinking person. But in the press, it's, you got accused and you signed an agreement, so you're guilty, and they know that's not true. And I loved it when the one senator from Oklahoma was like, how many of you cheated on your wives? He was clearly intimating that he had cheated on his and is saying, if it weren't for my wife, I think he said, I'd be in jail, which I'd like to know more about. But he was clearly making the point that he had a very forgiving wife and that he had sinned. And look, there are a lot of marriages where people make really stupid mistakes and the couple decides to get past it. That appears to be what happened with Jen and Pete, where they started in a difficult position and they had difficulties, not surprisingly, at the start of their relationship. And then they got past them. They got past them. Now these people are saying, Pete's Christian conversion. I think he was always Christian, but he's leaned in. Is false, meant to justify, like, his bad behavior? Bullshit. Like, what's your evidence of that? How do you know? Why did he get the big tattoo? You know, the big cross on his chest? Was that just in case Trump one day nominated him to something so he could tell his story of embracing his Christianity and he could, like, like Superman, open up his chest and say, see, I'm a. I'm a true believer. Bullshit. If anything, that tattoo has caused him more trouble than it's helped him. So I just. What is your evidence that his leaning into Jesus is false? I don't see that. I see quite the contrary. If anything, I hear people rolling their eyes that he's become too much of a holy roller. Well, I've seen a lot of people lean into God in my life and read the Bible and have things change for them. And I have zero reason to doubt that that's what happened to Pete. And I think Jen, too. And I believed him when he said, he wakes up in the morning and the two of them pray together. And I think he'll pray not just to do a good job as Secretary of defense, but pray for our troops and our country and our president as soon as he is sworn in, which he will be. But anyway, I want to go over some of the media coverage, just the dishonesty, and get back to a couple of the highlights from yesterday, because the public has had some fun with some of these hysterical female Democratic senators. I'm not upset. You know, it's like, thank God we had, like, Joni Ernst up there, who was calm, cool, and collected and represented herself very well. You know, she was a more Margaret Thatcher type. She wasn't hysterical. And she's had firsthand experience with these issues. So she had reason to be upset if she wanted to be. In any event, let's start with the most. Like I did say, and I stand by that. Tim Kaine was the most disgusting. He was the most despicable. Like, when did you stop beating your wife? What? That's not even a thing. It's not even an allegation that Pete. Some wife beater. Okay. He got away with it. That's fine. I'd love to go back and see what Tim Kaine has said about, you know, Ted Kennedy, who, you know, let a woman die after he drove drunk and plunged her into Chappaquiddick. Into the lake in Chappaquiddick. Does he. Did he ask him when he started. Stopped beating the women in his life, when he stopped killing them? Like, I was he even around, like, because he, you know, he ran for. For vice president on the same ticket as Hillary Clinton. He's got a long connection to these old, extremely flawed top Democrats. Love to know his thoughts on that. In any event, the. This sort of the second in command for worst performance yesterday, but it's tight. I don't know, is it Duckworth is a Hirono, or is it sleeper candidate Slotkin? Sleeper candidate Slotkin of Michigan got under my skin more than any other. And it was mostly because as I watched her, I knew she was smart enough to know better. She's smart. You could tell. She's definitely smart, but so infuriating. It was like bamboo shoots under my fingernails listening. Like, Hirono was kind of amusing. Like, I hate you, but you're very amusing. Duckworth was very annoying and less amusing like a sad little lady, but, like, less amusing than Hirono. And then Slotkin was probably the most pernicious because she's got some gravitas in the way she approaches her messaging. But. And she worked for the CIA under George W. Bush, under Barack Obama, and I'm not sure if she was still there under Trump. I think she may have left. And she ran for office as a Dem in Michigan in 2018, and that's what she's been doing and now ran for Senate and she beat Republican Mike Rogers for the. For the Senate seat that could have been an R seat. She won it. Too bad because Mike Rogers would have been a far superior choice. So, all right, I guess I'll go through them in that order so you can go on the same journey I did. Let's start with Maisie Hirono, who you heard Michael Knowles say yesterday, no, no civilized country would make this woman a senator. But she did. And just what I wanted to do in this sound bite that we cut for you here is show you. Yes, she's a moron, but listen to how uninterested she was in any answers from Pete Heth. It was all performative. And Maisie, you're not a good performer. But just watch.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
I have read multiple reports of your regularly being drunk at work, including by people who worked with you at Fox News. Do you know that being drunk at work is prohibited for service members under the ucmj?
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Pete Hegseth
Senator, those are multiple false anonymous reports peddled by NBC News that run directly contradictory to the dozens of men and women at Fox News Channel who I work with.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
I'm not going to answer my question. Will you resign as secretary of Defense if you drink on the job, which is a 247 position?
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Pete Hegseth
I've made this commitment on behalf of.
- [15:54]
Megyn Kelly
The men and women serving.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
Will you resign as Secretary of Defense?
- [15:56]
Pete Hegseth
I've made this commitment on behalf of the men and women. I'm serv because it's the most important.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
Deployment answer to my question. So I'm going to move on. Would you carry out such an order from President Trump?
- [16:09]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I was in the Washington D.C. national Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those days.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
Would you carry out an order in my country in the legs?
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Pete Hegseth
I saw 50 service agents to get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fence again, church on fire and destroy.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the end the leg. Would you use our military to take over Greenland or an ally of Denmark?
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Pete Hegseth
Senator, one of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand. And so I would never, in this public forum give one way or another.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
Direct what orders the president gives to.
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Pete Hegseth
Me in any context.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
It sounds to me that you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland and take over the Panama Canal. DoD policy allows service members and eligible dependents to be reimbursed for travel associated with non covered reproductive health care, including abortions. Will you maintain this common sense policy?
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Pete Hegseth
Senator, I've always been personally pro life. I know President Trump has as well. And we will review all Policies.
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Senator Mazie Hirono
I'm not hearing answers to my questions, Mr. Chairman.
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Megyn Kelly
Yeah, because you won't listen. Because you refuse to just listen to the nominee who is trying to answer them, just not in the way you like. He actually did try to give you an answer about those drunkenness reports, talking about how it was an NBC hit job against him. It was a denial, madam. You just didn't want to hear it. And her thing about the Greenland and Panama, what she's really saying there is, I object to Donald Trump. I hate Trump. I hate what he's saying. Will you do what I want instead of what Trump wants? And Pete Hextheth is not taking that bait. Oh, I know. It's upsetting, isn't it, madam? You lost. You didn't get your way. And she's working things out on the bench from the seat up there. She was just. Look, she wasn't effective. She was kind of whiny and nobody paid any attention to her. She scored no points whatsoever. So, okay, I guess, you know, maybe she did a little high five with her staff. I did see Elizabeth Warren, when I was in the room yesterday, go over to Tim Kaine, and they were saying, good job to one another, the little tag team. Oh, we're the smartest. We got him. But let's get back to the most annoying. My list of most annoying senators at the Pete Hegseth confirmation hearings yesterday. Again, most smarmy, most despicable. That's Tim Kaine, but I'm gonna put Maisie Hirono in the third spot for most annoying. Since she was so pathetic, it was hard to be really annoyed as opposed to just kind of mocking her. In number two, Tammy Duckworth, Senator from Illinois, who was equally disrespectful of Pete Hegseth and equally uninterested in hearing his answers, and tried. She tried to, like, do a couple of gotchas against Pete, which we've captured a bit in this soundbite, which I'm gonna talk to you about on the back end. Watch here.
- [19:23]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Have you led an audit of any organization? Yes or no? I don't want a long answer. Yes or no, have you led an audit of any organization of which you were in charge?
- [19:31]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, in both of the organizations I ran, we were always completely fiscally responsible.
- [19:36]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Yes or no, did you need an audit?
- [19:37]
Pete Hegseth
And the way that.
- [19:38]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Yes or no, did you need an audit? Yes or no?
- [19:41]
Pete Hegseth
What are you afraid of?
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Senator Tammy Duckworth
You can't answer this question. Yes or no, did you lead an audit? Do you not know this answer, Senator?
- [19:47]
Pete Hegseth
Part of my leadership of these organizations.
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Senator Tammy Duckworth
Yes or no? I will take that as a no. What is the highest level of international security agreement that you have led? And can you name some that the Secretary of Defense would lead? There are three main ones.
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Pete Hegseth
I have not been involved in international security arrangements because I have not been in government other than serving in the military. So my job has been to.
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Senator Tammy Duckworth
No, the answer is, can you name one of the three main ones that.
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Pete Hegseth
The talking about defense arrangements. I mean, NATO might be one of one that you're referring to.
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Senator Tammy Duckworth
Status of Forces Agreement would be one of them.
- [20:21]
Pete Hegseth
Status. Status of Forces Agreement. I've been a part of teaching about Status of Forces Agreements.
- [20:25]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
But you don't remember to mention it.
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Megyn Kelly
Okay, it's so it's like a little fun memory test by Tammy Duckworth trying to do little. Like, let's let, let's play. Let's play. You know, my little guessing game. I'm your. I'm your high school history professor, and we're gonna see how well you can do on my little pop quiz for you. Then she got into asean. Remember this? Do we have this? Deb, we had a cut yesterday, I think. Can we bring it over? Where she tried to do a little. She did like a gotcha on him about this group of South Asian countries and whether it was really a test, I guess, to understand whether he knew this, you know, this abbreviation, right? This Asian. I remember when I heard it, I'm like, it's pronounced Asian. Because I had no idea what she was talking about either. Asean. And by the way, apparently that's not how you pronounce even the group that she was talking about. It is actually pronounced closer to Asian. It's this group of countries in Southeast Asia that very like, together they are individually they don't amount to much economically or otherwise, but together they're like about the size of the UK and they have more bargaining power. So sometimes they try to refer to themselves as a group, but it's more of an economic deal than a political or than a military deal. So, you know, amazingly, Pete hadn't studied up on his acronyms for every single region in the United States and I guess flunked her little test and she and leftists on Twitter lost their minds over this.
- [22:03]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
A little bit. And I'm glad that you mentioned it up. Mention it. Can you name the importance of at least one of the nations in the asean, in asean, and what type of agreement we have with at least one of those nations, and how many nations are in ASEAN by the Way, I.
- [22:18]
Pete Hegseth
Couldn'T tell you the exact same, but I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in Aukus with Australia trying to work on submarines with them.
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Senator Tammy Duckworth
None of those countries are in allies across. None of those three countries that you've mentioned are in Austria. I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations looks. And.
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Megyn Kelly
Just trying to make him look dumb. No, like, literally nobody knew about this group, that that's what they go by. You want to go through the names? The individual names?
- [22:50]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Sure.
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Megyn Kelly
I'm sure he'd be happy to talk to you about the individual names and what the strategic interests of the United States are with respect to each one or the together as a group. But because he didn't know her little acronym, she tried to make him look stupid, like he is a dumbass, and she failed. I mean, it's. It's one thing if everybody in the room is like, oh, my God, he doesn't know what NATO is. Holy. Right? Like, I mean, that's one thing. But this, where everybody's like, what's that? What's up? What. What did she say? I think it's pronounced ocean or Asian. What? She. That's. You tried and you failed. So she is my number two most annoying and irritating senator from yesterday. And then we get to number one. That's the sleeper candidate I was telling you about, this Slotkin. Okay, Now Slotkin is, if memory serves. I did look it up, and now I can't remember, but I think that she may have gone to Columbia. She's got one of these, you know, highfalutin backgrounds in education. And then she joined the CIA. Columbia. Yeah, Columbia. There you go. That explains a lot. And then she joined the CIA, and now she's a politician out of Michigan. So she starts off by trying to, like, bond with Pete. Like, I. I'm of the CIA. I guess she was fluent in, like, Farsi and one one other relevant language. Maybe I can't remember what it was. And. And that's why she got hired by the CIA. So in any event, it's not the same. I respect your service, but it's really not the same as being on the front lines being shot at. But fine. Okay. So she's kind of tries to put them. Them on par with each other. Like, we're both military people, so I completely get it. I get it. And I trust me, I believe you. I believe you that you care. I believe you that you care about the troops. Like, genuinely, I'm with you. And like, at first, I was a little fooled by it. And then as you watched her over the course of the seven minutes, you really just kind of wanted to punch her in the face. Don't punch her in the face. That's just an urge she made. She brought up rage inside of one. That's the point I'm trying to make here because she was just so nasty and passive aggressive and kept slipping in little deceptive pieces of information. We'll play you this sound bite here. Listen to the part where in particular, she tries to pretend that. That Trump said he was going to unleash the military on his, quote, enemies within. You know, we've covered that a lot on this show. That's not what he said. He was specifically asked by Maria Bartiromo whether if there were protests around the election that got violent, what would he do? And that in response to that, he said you might have to use the military and referred to some people as being enemies from within. But the left has been conflating these two terms ever since, trying to say Trump's going to unleash the US Military on American citizens who do not vote for him. So she slides that in there. She tries to belittle Pete as well. You'll listen. Watch.
- [26:00]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
You will be the one man standing in the breach should President Trump give an illegal order.
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Megyn Kelly
Right?
- [26:06]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I'm not saying he will, but if he does, you are going to be the guy that he calls to implement.
- [26:12]
Pete Hegseth
This order that Pete, President Trump is gonna be giving illegal order.
- [26:15]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
No, I'm not saying he will.
- [26:16]
Megyn Kelly
But if.
- [26:16]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Do you believe there is such a thing as an illegal order that Joe Biden or any other President Donald Trump could give? Is there anything that a commander in chief could ask you to do with the uniform military that would be in violation of the US Constitution?
- [26:30]
Pete Hegseth
Senate? Anybody of any party could give an order that is against the Constitution or against the law.
- [26:36]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Right, okay, so. And are you. So are you saying that you would stand in the breach and push back if you were given an illegal order?
- [26:43]
Pete Hegseth
I start by saying I reject the premise that President.
- [26:45]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I understand giving done your job.
- [26:46]
Pete Hegseth
Any illegal orders, but at all.
- [26:49]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Mike, this isn't a hypothetical. Was asked and did use uniform military to clear unarmed protesters. He was given the order to potentially shoot at them. Helos flew low in Washington, D.C. as crowd control. He later apologized publicly for those actions. Was he right or wrong to apologize?
- [27:08]
Pete Hegseth
Senator, I was there on the ground. I saw that.
- [27:11]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I understand and I respect that.
- [27:12]
Pete Hegseth
I've been there.
- [27:13]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I understand the level of threat involved.
- [27:17]
Pete Hegseth
In that moment, was he right? So he was legality and the Constitution.
- [27:21]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Was he right or wrong to apologize?
- [27:24]
Pete Hegseth
I'm not going to put words in the mouth of Secretary Esper, nobody else.
- [27:28]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
He said on himself, you don't have to. What are you scared of? Did he do the right thing by apologizing?
- [27:34]
Pete Hegseth
I'm not scared of anything, Senator.
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Senator Elizabeth Warren
And say yes or no. You can say no. President Trump said in November that he is willing to consider using the active duty military against the, quote, enemy within. Have you been personally involved in discussions of using the US Military active duty inside the United States, Senator?
- [27:54]
Victor Davis Hanson
I'm fine.
- [27:55]
Pete Hegseth
I'm glad we finally got to the topic of border security equaling national security because it's been abdicated and ignored for the last four years.
- [28:02]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
It wasn't my question. I'm just asking, have you been involved. You're about to be the Secretary of Defense, potentially. Have you been involved in discussions about using the active duty military inside the United States, Senator?
- [28:14]
Pete Hegseth
I am not yet the Secretary of Defense.
- [28:16]
Megyn Kelly
I'm just confirmed.
- [28:17]
Pete Hegseth
I would be party to any number of.
- [28:19]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
You haven't been in any of these.
- [28:20]
Pete Hegseth
Which I would not reveal what I have discussed with the president.
- [28:24]
Victor Davis Hanson
No, no.
- [28:25]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Just have you been in conversations. Do you support the use of active duty military in supporting detention camps?
- [28:31]
Pete Hegseth
Senator? Everything we will do would be lawful and under the Constitution. But I recognize.
- [28:36]
Megyn Kelly
Yes. What are you scared of? What do you. Oh, because you're a big bad, and I mean big bad CIA agent and you're so tough. You're tougher than Pete. Sure. Who served his country not just at Gitmo, but in Iraq and Afghanistan. You're a scaredy cat. What are you so afraid? Freedom. What a child. What an absolute brat. You. You know what? She was assistant secretary, like an undersecretary for defense under. Was it Obama or Biden? And so she's. She's bitter, she's jealous. She's never going to get this role. Sorry, sister. Somebody who's your age who actually took even greater risks than you did is going to be recognized now and is going to be running the agency that you were just a lower part of. I know you're going to have to suck it. You can't blame it on sexism under Obama. You can't blame it on racism. It's just you weren't good enough and he is. So go ahead and vote. No, he's still getting in there. And you can do your little histrionics when he comes in for his updates as the Secretary of defense, but he's getting through because somebody who's not hysterical, someone who does care about women's issues, someone who's fought her entire career to protect women in the military, Joni Ernst is going to vote for him. So you can suck it, Madam Slotkin, and enjoy what will almost undoubtedly be a short term out of Michigan, because that district did. She's right. She said at the beginning, go for both Trump and for her. But once they get a load of these antics, I just can't imagine Michiganders are going to stick in this woman's camp for another vote. We'll see. Could be proven wrong. Michigan's becoming more blue. We'll find out. Okay, so those are my top contenders. But overall, the women at the hearing embarrass themselves on the Dem side yesterday, which has led to all sorts of memes, showing Pete's face, face in the middle on X, and all these nagging, you know, hens around him like, na, na, na, na, na. Like, all guys are like, my God, me, when my wife won't. When I won't let her have the remote control, or when she. All these things. So here we put together our own little montage of the best hysterics from yesterday.
- [30:54]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I have many concerns about your record and particularly your public statements because they are so hurtful to the men and women who are currently serving in the US Military. Please explain these types of statements because they're brutal and they're mean. Everything you've said in these public statements is politics. I don't want women. I don't want moms. What's wrong with a mom, by the way?
- [31:17]
Senator Mazie Hirono
That sounds to me that you will comply with such an order. You will shoot protesters in the. It sounds to me that you would contemplate carrying out such an order to basically invade Greenland.
- [31:27]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Now, I've heard of deathbed conversions, but.
- [31:30]
Megyn Kelly
This is the first time I've heard.
- [31:31]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Of a nomination conversion.
- [31:34]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Have you led an audit of any organization? Yes or no? I don't want a long answer. Yes or no? Have you need an audit? Stated yes or no.
- [31:41]
Pete Hegseth
What are you afraid of?
- [31:42]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
You can't answer this question. Women who've earned their place in their units. You have not earned your place as Secretary of Defense.
- [31:49]
Megyn Kelly
Okay, the. The richest part of that is Elizabeth Warren, who is basically accusing Pete of lying in his comments about women when he's trying to say what I was saying all these times. He said, I've never complained about women in the military. My complaint was about women in combat in certain roles where We've lowered standards. And they opened up the cross examination with him, Elizabeth Warren did, by referencing comments pete made in 2013. By the way, I think it was on my show about women in combat and talking about how we can't lower the standards in order to facilitate it. And Pete responded by saying, I'm glad you brought up my comments from 2013, pointing out that for 12 years I've been contextualizing that, usually by pointing out that I'm talking about standards and she wouldn't have it. And what she was basically saying there was. She's like, I've heard of deathbed conversions, but I've never heard of a nomination conversion. Is that you're a liar, Pete. He said you're lying. You're just saying whatever you need to say to get a position that you want. And I will give it to her. Chief Liz A Lot is an expert in this particular subject matter. Remember Chief Liz A Lot who tried to get ahead at Harvard and elsewhere by saying she was Indian when she's not. And then when caught, she defaulted to, well, my ma, ma and my paw paw told me that my high cheekbones meant I'm an Indian. Okay, for the record, you maybe you can see them if you're watching this on YouTube. I actually kind of have high cheekbones. I do. Yeah. It's great. I've never had anything injected in them. This is all God given. And I don't think I'm Native American. I've never had the test. Chief lies a lot, but I don't. If somebody told me I were Native American because I have high cheekbones, I think I'd check it out. Before I started telling people at universities that I was so I could get tenure or hired or any sort of advancement. And then I'd probably be a little reluctant, start lecturing other people about honesty. Can you believe the mom? Mom, the paw Paw, okay, she's. She's basically. She's a Cherokee. She's full Cherokee, but no. Okay, let's move on to the media. You've got these absolutely smug again, like Slotkin, like snide over educated elite libs who are just sliding in the dagger on Pete in a way that, you know, I'm just an elite, know everything. And so I can tell you he's an idiot. You know, I totally respect your service. I believe you care. I. But what are you so afraid of? That was Elise or that was Slotkin. But now here's a woman named Catherine Rampel. And we looked up Slotkin. She went to Columbia and Cornell but now here comes this woman and I'm gonna let you know who she is. Her name is Catherine Rampel. She's on one of those insufferable CNN panels with the terrible Abby Philip, who again, is like mild mannered, but has never seen a Republican who's done the right thing. I just want to take control to say that Republicans are bad. They're even worse than you thought. That's Abby, Phillip. So she's running the panel. Katherine Rampel comes on. And you would think that Katherine Rampel would know a thing or two about Pete and his back, because I looked her up too. And guess what she has for her educational background? Well, she has a bachelor's from Princeton. Princeton? Hmm. How do we know that? School. In connection with this story. Oh, yeah, Pete went there. And unlike Catherine Rampel, both of whose parents went to Princeton, which, news flash, makes it a lot easier to get into Princeton. That wasn't the case for Pete. So she goes out onto. Oh, and by the way, her major was anthropology, where, okay, I'm sure she learned a lot that would qualify her to be opining on the Sec of Defense. Or not. But in any event, CNN thought she'd be an adequate commentator. Why? Because of her long history in military? No, she has absolutely nothing to do with the military. The Pentagon, et cetera. In fact, before she was at the Washington Post, she was at the New York Times as a theater critic. But here she is telling us why Pete was chosen for this job.
- [36:00]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
Yes, he was very articulate and polished.
- [36:02]
Megyn Kelly
And he's a TV host. That's his main qualification. I know in TV we sometimes get confused. Why do you denigrate this man's service? I don't understand. 20 years decorated, Scott. Ivy Leaguer. He's a TV host. That's all he is. That's not his qualifications. Not every member he serves deserves to be in charge of the dod. She said his main qualification is that he's a TV host. And I'm sorry, that's just baloney. Qualification is that he's a war fighter. And he's going to be the closest war fighter we've ever had to the enlisted people running the Pentagon in the longer clip. Then Abby, Phillip comes in and says you shouldn't denigrate the service of the generals who have been at the top of the Defense Department before by saying that. Scott Jennings. Scott Jennings. Like, how am I denigrating them? By saying he is closer to the enlisted men than anybody who's ever held this position. But that's Abby Phillip, there cannot be a discussion that doesn't wind in her fake fact checking with hard left spin. Signed Abby Phillip. Back to this woman, Katherine Rampel. All right, so she, the theater critic would like us to know that the only reason, the reason, the main qualification, those were her words. For Pete to have been nominated is because he's a TV host. So Scott Jennings says, why do you denigrate his service? Then comes Abby Phillip. She didn't do that. Okay, how is it not denigrating his his tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo the vast majority of his adult life by saying his main qualification for this job was his stint on Fox and Friends. You Katherine Rampel, because that is denigrating his service. His service is the reason he got the job. I guarantee you Trump is more familiar with Brian Kilmeade than he is with Pete Hegseth. I guarantee you he's been watching Brian Kilmeade for longer, has probably called and texted Brian Kilmeade over the years longer and knows him a lot better. But he did not nominate Brian Kilmeade because he wasn't just looking for a Fox and Friends morning host to run the Pentagon. It's Pete's lifetime of service while in the armed services and afterward working for veterans that got him this job. And perhaps Trump wouldn't know about him if he hadn't gotten a job on Fox. But that's what opened the door, not what got him the job. You're so disrespectful and disgusting. But that is what the elite thinks of our military and certainly of any Trump supporter. Nevermind, people are gonna wind up in the cabinet. It's absolutely disgusting. And this is what Pete and Trump and Pam Bondi, who we'll get to, she's on the hot seat right now. I've got some stuff on her are going to be facing when they take over that they're the chewing gum underneath the sneaker and they don't. They're too stupid and scared to really understand how things ought to be run. Just ask Abby, Philip. She will tell you why he doesn't belong there and the other people do. Okay, moving on. Who am I reminding myself of? Is it a Peanuts character? I just thought that'll. I'll think about it and you guys will think about it and you'll tell me. It's meganaganekelly.com okay, speaking of Fox, I know when you were gearing up for this confirmation hearing of Pete, which is truly one of the most, if not the most consequential of the Trump picks. What you were asking yourself, same as me, was what does Gretchen Carlson think? Gee, I really wonder who. But PBS decides that Gretchen Carlson's opinion would be really important to get right now. And this was her take some initial concern from Republican senators about these allegations against Hegseth. It seems as though many are prepared to vote to confirm him.
- [40:19]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
What does it say?
- [40:20]
Megyn Kelly
That an allegation of sexual assault does not appear to be disqualifying.
- [40:25]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
It says, the power of Donald Trump. That's the first thing that I would mention. But it also is frustrating for those of us who work in this advocacy space to see that even, you know, allegations of drinking too much or mismanaging other nonprofits that. That Hegseth ran, that those seem to climb to the top of the list ahead of any kind of a sexual assault or sexual harassment claim.
- [40:53]
Megyn Kelly
Okay, he's not been accused of sexually harassing anybody. Did that come up yesterday? No. The best they had was somebody at one of those veterans charities may have allegedly harassed somebody at a strip club trip that Pete wasn't present for. And I believe it was Sean Parnell who was present and came out on the record saying Pete wasn't there. He was not there. So what are you talking about? Gretchen Carlson, you can only be talking about one thing, and that is the alleged rape accusation. Did you go through the report line by line? Because you know as well as I do, you know better than anyone that I will stand up for women, even those I can't stand if I think they've made a valid allegation. You know that better than anyone. And I spent a day going through that woman's police report line by line, and I'm telling you, that woman's not telling the truth. That's my strong legal and journalistic opinion, and I've gone through it episodes and episodes ago in great detail to explain why. Have you. How dare you get out there and wonder why this fake, clearly fake allegation is not disqualifying for him. Get talking about it. What have you looked at? When was she drugged? Gretchen? She was fine at 1:30 in the morning. She was fined at 4am According to three eyewitnesses, two videos, and her husband on the back end. Are those not reliable for you? This is not Pete Hegseth's word. It's independent eye and videotape witnesses and her marital partner saying she was fine, not drugged. When did Pete date rape, drug her and then rape her? It is an impossibility, which is why he was not charged. So shame on you. Shame on you for using the money you managed to extract out of Fox News for this nonsense to try to push these bullshit claims because you want to see your face on television. And by the way, when you do a zoom, don't go right in front of the laptop because it makes your face look huge. That's advice to Gretchen and everybody else for that matter. I just, I find that absolutely abhorrent. And just for the record, okay, just for the record, because I mentioned it, that whole Fox News thing, just as a point of clarification, when I came forward to talk about what happened between Roger and yours truly, it was not because I believed Gretchen Carlson. It was not because I believed for one minute that she had been harassed. Not for one minute. It was because I was worried others might be because she laid the allegation that he might be this thing on the table. But I don't believe that's why Gretchen lost her job for one second. Not for one second. She laid the allegation out there. And finally the company was getting ready to look into it. And in the wake of that, women started speaking up about what was happening to them. So I just want to be clear that it wasn't her particular circumstances that inspired me or I think most people over there to do anything. How dare she come out and try to disparage him this way. Someone who'd been a colleague of hers for quite some time. And I guarantee she. You never, she never saw him drunk. And if she says she did, it's not true. All of Fox and Friends co hosts have said never, never, ever. And we spent hours upon hours with him. I think all of the on the record character defenses of Pete have been under people's actual names stars that you would know. All the Fox and Friends morning crew, all the scurrilous allegations have been anonymous and behind the scenes. Too much time on her. She's irrelevant. Jimmy Kimmel had his own little meltdown about the situation. Watch here.
- [44:54]
Jimmy Kimmel
The main event in Washington today was the confirmation hearing of Trump's nominee for Secretary of defense, former weekend Fox and Friends co host Pete Hegseth. The hearing started at 9:30 this morning, or as Pete calls it, happy hour. Hegseth was hammered by Democrats on the Senate Armed Services Committee who argue that he should be disqualified based on accounts of excessive drinking, allegations of sexual misconduct, which are two of the qualities Trump looks for in a nominee.
- [45:24]
Megyn Kelly
Ha ha ha. That's hilarious. So funny. I mean, I don't remember him making jokes about Kamala's boozing, which was pretty obvious both before and after she lost where. Is that a funny joke? I'd love to see all the funny jokes about what her administration would look like. Is that gonna be surrounded by boozers? So she looks like the sober one, Jimmy. And again, like, it's just so fun to just sort of pretend that, haha, like, he's a rapist. Like, somehow, ha ha, ha. Like, it's. It's super fun to rip on Pete Hegseth as though. Yeah, we love serial harassers. That's not what's been alleged against Pete Hegseth. Sorry to burst your bubble. You know, there was a day and age in which you'd be more careful about that thing because you would be worried about getting sued. And Trump is trying to bring that day back. And the media is having a meltdown over it. Right. They don't like it. Oh, you're going to chill. Free speech. Oh, I'm going to chill. Defamatory speech. Right. Like, that's what I'm gonna try to chill. He's not worried. Pete's got better things to do. And yeah, he's probably. He's probably not going to sue Jimmy Kimmel. Here's another one with him where Kimmel's out there with this little bit about what Trump is allegedly saying about the LA firefighters. Equally untrue and just out of nowhere. Listen here. It's SOT 17.
- [46:49]
Jimmy Kimmel
I don't want to get into all the vile and irresponsible and stupid things our alleged future president and his gaggle of scumbags chose to say during our darkest and most terrifying hour. The fact that they chose to attack our firefighters, who apparently aren't white enough to be out there risking their lives on our behalf is. It's disgusting, but it's not surprising. Instead, I want to focus on thanking those men and women.
- [47:17]
Megyn Kelly
Oh, my God, they're not white enough to be out there fighting our fires, per Trump. What a lie. What a disgusting lie. I haven't heard Trump made any remarks about race and the firefighters. However, what the right has been objecting to in the wake of the devastation in Los Angeles is the obsessive focus by Democrats running that state, that city and that fire department on race, their obsessive focus on race. They're the ones who care about the skin color of the firefighters, his team. This is not a Trump thing. People on our side of the aisle have been saying that's ridiculous. Why are you focused on the race of the firefighters? Why are there 10 million articles and hits and social media posts about how LA had a problem of white firefighters that they're trying to solve. Could you see that? He spins the 180. Trump and conservatives say the fire department's not white enough. What? That's exactly the opposite of what happened. Everybody over here said, could we just have standards that everybody passes? Whether, by the way, it's not really a race thing, it's a, it's a male, female thing. For the people on the right objecting to this, like, just make sure it's like the military just. We have nothing against women, we have nothing against moms, by the way, but does anybody really think a nine month pregnant mother should be in combat? You need to have your head fucking examined if you think that's a good idea. It's about standards. That's it. It's the left that somehow thinks skin color should matter whether you're fighting a fire or in the military or playing the cello. Remember, Heather McDonald's been talking about how in like these orchestras, they always had like, from the beginning of time, they've had blind auditions in the top orchestras where you go behind a curtain, nobody can see you. They don't know if you're male, they don't know if you're female, they don't know if you're black, you're white, Hispanic, anything. And if you rock the audition, you're in the band, the orchestra. Well, now post George Floyd, they're getting rid of the, the drape. They want you to see the skin color. Because equity or C, that it's a woman. Because equity, it's ridiculous. It's his team doing that, not Trump. Trump is the antidote to that nonsense. So, okay, our media today, ladies and gentlemen, you're not surprised. All right, when we come back, we're going to get into Victor Davis Hansen and what he thinks about the Hegseth hearing and we're going to get into what they're doing to Pam Bondi this morning. Now Pam Bondi's getting through. There's no similar doubts being expressed by any Republican about Pam Bondi as Attorney General. Kristi Noem was also supposed to go today, but there's been a delay for dhs. But I'll show you what they're doing to Pam Bondi. In sum, they're taking all of the election denialism by Trump and putting it on her and trying to make her disavow. I mean, they're spending minute after minute on whether Trump lost the 2020 election. Meanwhile, she is there being confirmed as AG because Trump won the 2024 election. So why can we. Please think about the American people and what's important to them at this point? We've litigated this enough. Victor Davis Hansen is next. Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, believes that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. GCU believes in equal opportunity and that the American Dream starts with purpose. By honoring your career calling, you can impact your family, friends and your community. Change the world for good by putting others before yourself. Whether your pursuit involves a bachelor's, master's or doctoral degree, GCU's online on campus and hybrid learning environments are designed to help you achieve your unique academic, personal and professional goals. With over 340 academic programs as of September 2024, GCU meets you where you are and provides a path to help you fulfill your dreams. The pursuit to serve others is yours. Let it flourish. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University, Private, Christian affordable Visit gcu. Edu Joining me now, Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and authority, author of the End of Everything How Wars Descend into Annihilation. So, Victor, great to see you. We'll get to in one second what they're doing to Pam Bondi this morning, she's crushing it. She's doing very, very well. But let me just get your take first on what they tried to do to Pete Hegseth yesterday.
- [51:59]
Victor Davis Hanson
Well, that was a gift. I mean, you would think they'd be quiet given all what's happened, the election and what's going on in Los Angeles, this confederacy of dunces. And yet they never learn. They decide they're going to make a big show and then they'd embarrass themselves with these crazy questions. And it just, he was calm. He answered the questions. He was funny. They were embarrassed. They got angry. They should never get angry. And it ensured his confirmation. Any Republican senator that would not vote for him is going to be politically dead. Because you know what they're going to do? They're going to say, you voted for Pete Buttigieg. You voted for this incompetent Austin. You voted for all this, these comic characters that Biden. And now you're going to vote against this decorated. It's not. So he's going to be confirmed. And that, that was good. But it was Kavanaugh re Dukes. That's. That's what it was.
- [52:59]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, they definitely tried to smear him on the woman thing, by the way we put this together Tim Kaine was their real attack dog on the women allegations. And, you know, Tim Kaine has found God because he was the one who was like, women, women, women. You cheated, cheated, cheated. But he was BFFs with Bill Clinton and Doug Emhoff. We put a little bit of that together in a butted sound bite.
- [53:21]
Pete Hegseth
Look, watch. Fully investigated and completely cleared. So you think you are completely cleared because you committed no crime. That's your definition of cleared. You had just fathered a child two months before by a woman that was not your wife. I am shocked that you would stand here and say you're completely cleared. Something you said back In, I think, 2002 about former President Bill Clinton, that he should resign if the scandal, the Lewinsky scandal turned out to be true. You still hold true to those words you said back then. I had some feelings of disappointment back then, but, you know, and that's now 20 years old. And when I'm talking to people on the campaign trail, they're not asking me about old controversies. Past controversies aren't that important to me now. Yeah. I mean, so do you think your feelings have changed? It was a feeling I had at the time, but now I'm thinking about what do we do to help this country be strong.
- [54:11]
Megyn Kelly
Oh, so gee. Aw, shucks. Tweeted out yesterday by alter Frog on X. Go ahead, Victor.
- [54:17]
Victor Davis Hanson
Well, he. He used to kind of appear semi quasi normal, but now he's gone full Tim Waltz. He looks like Tim Waltz, he acts like Tim Waltz. He's as crazy as Tim Waltz, and he's kind of emblematic of that whole party. It's kind of like they're older people that want to be, I don't know, hip or something. They want to be in the aoc and that these younger people have hijacked their party, destroyed it, and they're kind of deer in the headlights. So they kind of go through the motions of, you know, objecting, but they're silly. And he was another gift to Pete Hegseth.
- [54:53]
Megyn Kelly
He did go full Tim Walls. That's exactly right. So then yesterday and today, and the audience probably knows this, but just in case, you know, these, these nominations, they start in committee, so you have to go before the relevant committee to your position. Like, yesterday, it was Armed Services. Today, Bondi's in front of Judiciary, and then they will recommend your nomination out to the full Senate floor or not. But, you know, typically, yes, they will. And then the full Senate gets to vote on it. So Blumenthal is on both of those committees because he was There yesterday with Pete. And by the way, once you hit a certain age, gentleman, I'm this a pro tip for you. Do not dye your hair black anymore. At a minimum, do the salt and pepper situation. I had no problem with the salt and pepper. Do the salt and pepper. I get it. But do not do all pepper because it just looks dumb when we know you're in your 70s and your face looks 70s and that's fine, but stop trying to look like you're a young man of 30 on top of your head. It looks bad. Okay, Dick Blumenthal, no charge for the free advice. He reappears today and is going after Bondi on a similar theme we heard with Pete yesterday, which is Trump is lawless and will be asking everybody in the Cabinet to be lawless with him. And will you be the bulwark against him? They. They went after Pete for that. And now here's Blumenthal going after Pam Bondi, our next potential Attorney General, with the same line of questioning in Sat. 37. Can you say no to the President.
- [56:20]
Victor Davis Hanson
Of the United States when he asks you to do something unethical or illegal?
- [56:28]
Pam Bondi
Senator, first I need to clarify something that you said, that I have to sit up here and say these things. No, I don't. I sit up here and speak the truth. I'm not going to sit up here and say anything that I need to say to get confirmed by this body. I don't have to say anything. I will answer the questions to the best of my ability.
- [56:51]
Megyn Kelly
And let me ask you pretty good. What did you think of it?
- [56:56]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah. The subtext or reductionist truth behind that is I have 53 senators and you don't. So I can say whatever. I can say whatever I want and nobody's going to be stupid after what Merrick Garland said and did the last four years with lawfare. And it got confirmed by the Republican, some Republicans. And anybody who objects and agrees with you is going to get primaried and they know it. And they're not going to vote anywhere near you. And I'm home free and I can say whatever I want to you. How do you like that? That's what it was. And she's absolutely right. She's not going to play that game. And she should have. You know, I think they're going to get even more emboldened as these go on, because I think the Republican wavering people, there's two or three of them, are going to look at this and they're going to say, man, I cannot be allied with these Nuts. That is political suicide. If I have reservations about Hexaf or Cat, I cannot say anything because these people are crazy and I've got to stick with my team. So I think they're all going to get confirmed and that's going to embolden all of them to go back on the attack like Bondi did and Pete did. So I expect that they'll go after Cash. When they get to Cash Patel, and I know Cash pretty well, it's going to be a lot of fireworks. So I don't think he's. Well, here, take that.
- [58:17]
Megyn Kelly
So he came up. He came up in this exchange. I think this. They were talking about him in a couple of these. All right, so first, this is. There's Senator Whitehouse, who tried to go after. On whether it's appropriate for prosecutors to start with a name and look for a crime. And then you'll. Well, I'll show you Maisie Hirono who was like, she was definitely talking about Cash Patel. But watch this with Senator Whitehouse.
- [58:43]
Victor Davis Hanson
It would not be appropriate for a prosecutor to start with a name and look for a crime. It's a prosecutor's job to start with a crime and look for a name. Correct.
- [59:00]
Pam Bondi
Senator? I think that is the whole problem with the weaponization that we have seen the last four years and what's been happening to Donald Trump. They targeted Donald Trump. They went after him actually, Starting back in 2016, they targeted his campaign. They have launched countless investigations against him. That will not be the case if I am Attorney General. I will not politicize that office. I will not target people simply because of their political affiliation.
- [59:32]
Megyn Kelly
Victor, I'm just sorry, but isn't it right, Isn't it so great to hear a nominee who's two steps ahead of them? You know, like, I see what you're trying to do and screw you, because you're the ones who did this.
- [59:45]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah, it is, and I agree with you. But, you know, I kind of grew up with watching J. William Fulbright and all those guys and Frank Church. I didn't agree with them politically, but compare it. These are dunces compared to those guys, those old Democratic stalwart guys that were young during the Truman era and they came into their own in the 60s and 70s. They were kind of misguided, but they were well spoken, they were logical, they were professionals. These people are just. I don't know what's happened to the Democratic Party. I don't know if this older generation was suspect to begin with or when the party was hijacked. By the woke people. They had to make the necessary adjustments. But they are an embarrassing lot, they really are. And I mean to say what he did about finding that, that old Soviet Berea, give me the man and I'll find you the crime. That's what he was alluding to after what Merrick Garland did without no one. The thing about Merrick Garland, his delegate, this was all cord and we know that about Fanny Willis and Bragg and Letita James and Smith. But in every one of those cases there was one truism that Donald Trump, if he had said he was not going to run for reelection, none of them would have indicted him. And they will never indict anybody else for those crimes. They're non existent crimes. They will vanish and evaporate into the atmosphere. No politician will ever be charged with saying that his real estate is somewhat more than they think it is. And therefore he got a loan which he paid back with interest on time to the profit and satisfaction of the lender. And he's going to. Nobody's ever going to be prosecuted. They know it. So she was really good. I thought she was excellent. And I think they're all going to follow the cue of Bondi and Pete Hexa. I mean they set the establishment how to deal with these people, their children and I think they're going to be treated such.
- [61:48]
Megyn Kelly
I think that's right. Be aggressive, like don't. You don't need their votes. Like you said, I have 53 senators and you. Don't be aggressive and stop letting them try to control the narrative about Trump in a way that's trying to sink him before he even gets started in the eyes of the American people. He, Trump or his nominees. This one was White House again and this is clearly about Cash Patel because you'll hear Bondi reference Cash in her answer. SOP 40.
- [62:17]
Pam Bondi
Senator, to cut to the chase, you're clearly talking about Cash Patel. I don't believe he has an enemies list. He made a quote on TV which I have not heard. I saw your sign or Senator Durbin's sign about Cash, but I know that Cash Patel has had 60 jury trials as a public defender, as a prosecutor. He has great experience in the Intel Department, Department of Defense. I have known Cash and I believe that Cash is the right person at this time for this job.
- [62:54]
Victor Davis Hanson
And I'm questioning you right now about whether you will enforce an enemy's list that he announced publicly on television.
- [63:00]
Pam Bondi
Oh, Senator, I'm sorry. There will never be an enemies list within the Department of Justice.
- [63:07]
Megyn Kelly
So you're right, Victor. When he gets in there. Oh, boy.
- [63:11]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah. I mean, he has the. He knows he has a 53 votes thing about Cash is he gets the. He, he can say things and he writes things that can be taken out of context, but what they don't. I've known him for about 15 years. He's got a photographic mem. He really does. And he was schooled by Devin Nunes about. And he's a brilliant guy and what he's going to do, and I think everybody knows it, he's going to bring back all these guys and women that are in their 40s, 50s and 60s that were driven out by the Mueller, Comey McCabe, Ray regimes when they got sick of the weaponization. So he's going to be surrounded by professional FBI people that were dissidents and wanted to restore the reputation of the FBI. It's going to be restoration. And, you know, the other thing real quickly, Megan, is that this is all going on when Joe Biden, their president, our president, but especially their hero, is now pardoning 1500 people. He pardoned his son. And they know what's going to happen maybe while these confirmations go on, because Biden is running out of time. And we know he's going to try to pardon. I think he'll pardon Liz Cheney, Benny Thompson. I think he'll pardon probably some more Biden family members. And he's made a mockery of that. And then we have the whole incompetency going on in Los Angeles and the whole destruction of LA and the culpable blue state model. So the backdrops of this hearing is not good for progressivism is what I'm trying to say.
- [64:50]
Megyn Kelly
Well, some of those names you just mentioned came up because Mazie Hirono, is she the dumbest in the Senate? I mean, that's a hard call. Yeah. I mean, I, I await your nominee for a fellow contender. I think she might, she might be number one. She's a Democrat from Hawaii. She started to get into with Bondi whether she's going to prosecute a bunch of different DOJ officials in there under Biden, including Jack Smith, Merrick Garland or Liz Cheney. Bondi refused to take the bait, saying, I'm not gonna answer hypotheticals and saying, quote, no one has been prejudged and nor will anyone prejudge. Which is the right answer. Right. It's like, I'm not gonna give them a sweeping pass if they, if they've done something and we get in there and we find out and Liz Cheney's been accused of some serious ethical violations during the course of J6 and the committee hearing. So who knows? So that's how she answered it. And then here's Hirono on Trump's enemies.
- [65:48]
Senator Mazie Hirono
You, as Attorney General, should investigate one of his perceived political enemies. Would you do so?
- [65:56]
Pam Bondi
Senator Hirono, I wish you had met with me. Had you met with me, we could have discussed many things and gotten to know.
- [66:02]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I am listening to you now. Could you respond to the question?
- [66:06]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah.
- [66:07]
Pam Bondi
You were the only one who refused to meet with me, Senator, but what we would have discussed. Discussed is that it is the job of the Attorney General.
- [66:14]
Senator Mazie Hirono
I'm very happy to listen to your.
- [66:18]
Megyn Kelly
So good. Right. Given what we heard yesterday. You didn't meet with me, Mr. Hegseth. You didn't meet with me either. Or me either. And now you get this woman, you know she refused to meet with Pam Bondi.
- [66:29]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah. I don't know what they. They thought they were going to be very schooled and prepped, and Schumer had them all in and said, this is an occasion for us to make the argument that Trump is satanic and these people are incompetent, but they really didn't research it. Anybody who knew Pete Hecseth or Pam Bondi or met them or knows them or seen them in action, they're very quick on their feet, they're witty, they're smart, and they're perfect. I mean, they're masters of optics. They've been on television. So just the appearance of her and Pete, the way they handled the questions, the way they answered, didn't they understand what they were doing when they asked these stupid questions and they. They showboated and performanced art when Pete, you know, I'm not a general Senator. Didn't they understand that these people were far more capable in that venue than they were? But it's just that they're in an echo chamber and they're so arrogant, but they're ossified, calcified hacks, and they don't understand it. And they're up against a new generation of really smart people who have mastered the medium of television and impromptu repartee. And they just had them for dinner. It was embarrassing.
- [67:40]
Megyn Kelly
And you know what else? You know what else? Here's the other piece of it. You're so right. Totally agree. They're bitter about this victory, and it's manifesting in their snarky, petty little questions. And in other ways. We just this week saw a couple of reports. Number one, guess who's refusing to go to the inauguration. Michelle Obama to the.
- [68:08]
Victor Davis Hanson
Promises, promises.
- [68:09]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. Of Joy Reid, who's like, Michelle gets it. Love, my girl. So Michelle Obama's not going to go. And Kamala Harris has refused to invite the next second family, JD Vance and his wife Usha, to the residence where she stays. Where the vice president stays for a tour or just for a nicety, you know, which is, I guess, traditional. She. She hasn't done it, and she won't do it. Notwithstanding the fact that Usha Vance, who has three very young children in the single digits, apparently reached out to say I could. I could use some direction on childproofing the residence, you know, before I get there. So I know what. What I'm gonna need. And apparently they didn't get back to her. Eventually, someone from the office got back to her. Someone from the office is gonna let her tour, but it's not Kamala Harris. And eventually, I guess, Doug Emhoff spoke with Usha, but that's it. Nothing from Kamala whatsoever to JD These are petty, bitter people.
- [69:11]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah. And I mean, Kamala, she was offered a little sound bite about the disaster, catastrophe in Los Angeles. And you'd think she would say, whatever I say, it cannot be a word salad because I will be watched and carry. And what did she do? And 60 seconds. She said something that was entirely incomprehensible. No one could understand the syntax, the grammar, the vocabulary. It was just a confirmation of her imbecility.
- [69:38]
Megyn Kelly
Wait, we have it. Let's, let's. Let's point. Watch it here.
- [69:44]
Senator Mazie Hirono
And so it's critically important that to.
- [69:47]
Pam Bondi
The extent you can find anything that.
- [69:50]
Senator Mazie Hirono
Gives you an ability to be patient.
- [69:52]
Megyn Kelly
In this extremely dangerous and unprecedented crisis, that you do. What.
- [70:02]
Victor Davis Hanson
Who was next to her? He. His eyes were sort of exploding in his head. I don't know who it was. It looked like my York is almost. But his eyes went, oh, my God, this is. What is this woman? And she's.
- [70:14]
Megyn Kelly
Couldn't take my eyes off her.
- [70:15]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah. And so it's, you know, all I. You know, we've talked about this before, but I think a lot of it is fear because they project, you know, and you've talked about that, Megan. They always project what they're doing. They project that's wrong or unethical. They project onto their opponents. But they know that if they were in power right now and they had suffered what they did to Donald Trump, and they were Donald Trump, they know what they would be doing, and they would be going after their enemies like Merrick Garland did. And Biden did. And that's terrifying because they think that Donald Trump thinks like they do, and I don't think he does. I think he's so concerned with getting these tech barons and common sense and opening up natural resources for development and artificial intelligence and bioengineering. He really has this dream of a golden age, and he only has four years. And that's what he's saying. Concentrated on. But that's not how they think. They think, oh, my God, what we did to him. And now he's in power like we were, he's going to go after all of us, because that's what I would do.
- [71:25]
Megyn Kelly
So your, your point about projection plays perfectly well into what Jimmy Kimmel was doing last night. Saying Trump's upset that the firefighters out in LA aren't white enough, which is like, completely backwards of what actually happened. It was. It was the city of Los Angeles, it was the LAFD that decided their ranks were too white and started openly on some initiative to make them less white and less straight. And now a video after video has come out of the fire chief touting how gay she is. And she's a woman. She's gay and she's a lesbian. She's a lesbian and she's a woman. Second in command, gay and a woman. Third in command, gay, a woman and black. And on top of that, just today, this is making its way on the Internet. We went and actually found it ourselves on the LA. Is it PD or FD? It's FD, right. Captain on side 18. Okay. Talking about their pronouns in a video for the disabled. Not to mention all the other stuff. Listen here. This is on there right now.
- [72:40]
Senator Tammy Duckworth
Good afternoon, I'm with the Los Angeles Fire Department. We're here at the Emergency Operations center with some information for our fellow Angelenos. My name is Captain Jennifer Wilcox. My pronouns are she, her. I am a Caucasian female wearing a black shirt, uniform with eyewear and a black hat. City of Los Angeles continues to aggressively respond to the Palisades fire and hearse fire amid the dangerous ongoing windstorm and extreme weather conditions impacting the Los Angeles region.
- [73:12]
Megyn Kelly
Okay, so it's fd. This is. The group is having all the troubles and she needs us to know what her pronouns are and also has to take a minute out of her briefing on this emergency situation to tell people who are blind what she's wearing and about her skin color. And her like this. We're in LA LA Land, Victor.
- [73:35]
Victor Davis Hanson
I. I know, and I live here, unfortunately, in this state, but that's not going to go over well with the 10,000 homeowners that lost their homes. I, I don't think they understand that if you're in Los Angeles, it's not just Malibu, but Pacific Palisades is the example of tasteful, elegant, elite wealth. Some of those homes were built in the 20s. It's old LA, it's got these classical Spanish architecture, roof, beautiful tropical landscaping, one of the most quiet, safe, beautiful places in the world. And it's completely been Dresden, Hamburg, Cologne, firebomb, napalm, it's destroyed. And so when you're one of the owners and a lot of those people, Megan, I know some of them, they're second and third generation and they, they're not that wealthy people. They inherited. And through Prop 13, you don't have to pay the going rate on property tax. So some of these $5 million homes are paying $2,000 a year in property tax because they inherit from their parents and they don't have that kind of money. But they're sitting on this huge investment of five or six million dollars because everybody wants to live there and there's no way in the world they're going to ever be able to rebuild any of their homes. They've been completely wiped out what their grandparents or parents lived. And when they listen to that and they think of 300 or so hydrants, empty the reservoir, empty, that type of fire person mentality, it's just going to enrage them and it's going to make them even angrier because they voted for these and they thought, you know what, we were good liberals and we voted for all of you people. We voted for Di woke the whole green stuff and you turned around and engulfed us. And that's not. They're irate, they're just shocked, those people. And I have empathy. I'm not one of these people who blames them and says, you know, you voted for these people. They were voting for kind of a nostalgic liberalism that no longer exists. And I don't know if they understood that, but they voted for a radical Jacobin French revolutionary movement in California that blows up dams that does not build $7.5 billion worth of three new reservoirs which would have given us 5 million acre feet that doesn't clean the hillsides, it doesn't get rid of the chaparral, it doesn't allow grazing of sheep and cattle as we used to, doesn't clean the forest and then hires people on the basis of their superficial appearance. That's what they voted for. But I don't think. I think they thought very naively. Well, they're kind of, you know, Democrats and they're kind of good people and they'll do okay. And they didn't understand that they voted in a bunch of nihilist and anarchist.
- [76:31]
Megyn Kelly
Mm. Here's more. This is LA City public information officer spokesperson doing the same. This is up there right now talking about want us to salt to know. Well, you'll hear watch. Hi, my name is Ashley Rodriguez.
- [76:49]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
I'm the public information officer for the.
- [76:51]
Victor Davis Hanson
City of Los Angeles Department on Disability. My self description. I'm a Latina with short brown hair, wearing a blue shirt and standing to.
- [77:03]
Senator Elizabeth Warren
My left is our American Sign Language interpreter, Susan.
- [77:09]
Megyn Kelly
I'm. It's like, you know, it's so performative, this business of like, I'm going to cater to the blind and I'm going to make sure that they have a visual description of me in their heads before they listen to my talk. Because if you really wanted to do that, Victor, if that were really important to you, as opposed to just performative box checking, you would do it throughout your little speech. You would say, you know, so far the LA fires have consumed 12,500 homes in the northern Pacific Palisades and the Southern Pacific Palisades. The Palisades is an area of Los Angeles that looks like you say, largely built in the 1920s with Mediterranean roofs, which. In which the homes are typically on a half an acre lot. You would you, you couldn't get through normal conversation because there are too many references that require visual knowledge. You cannot cater. It's. Why does it matter for the blind people to have a perfect description of a Latina up there speaking as like, what's the information? That's what they want to know.
- [78:08]
Victor Davis Hanson
It's, it's because it's narcissistic. It's all about her. And she understands one thing, Megan. Had she done preparation and talked to all the relevant government officials, had she visited all these places, and if she had mastered the topic and taken four or five hours and just dropped that stuff that you mentioned and then extemporaneously without notes like where you and I are talking, just talked in a convincing, authentic manner, she'd probably be fired. And she knows that. So she thinks to herself, how do I advance using the Latina card and all of this other DEI stuff? And I know that I will never be adjudicated on my actual ability to master the knowledge necessary to make a difference or to remedy the situation. And that's why everybody's angry because they know that this is not just a sin of commission by all of these pronouns junk, it's a sin of omission. It comes at the expense in this zero sum game that these people don't know anything. They don't know about reservoirs, they don't know anything about water pressure, they don't know anything how to get people out of a house who's a heavy male. They don't know about the chaparral, they don't care because they feel that that was an old white stupid generation that built LA and they're all dead. And they made all of these non green reservoir and they were so into infrastructure and water, but we're beyond all that. So they're kind of like children that inherited this sophisticated desert that has exist as a paradise because of all this imported water that was always on the margin of error. Any little air could destroy that whole system. And they had some really brilliant people who built. William Mulholland was a genius that got Colorado water, Owens Valley water aqueduct water and created that parrot. Henry Huntington came all the way 200 miles away and made the first transmission lines that could convey hydroelectric to run the cable electric cable cars in la. They were geniuses that built that city. And now they're relegated to old white stupid guys that are gone. But these people don't have half the ability that that generation did. And they know it. And they can't even keep, they can't even be custodians of a system that they inherited. It's too complex. They can't figure it out and they're destroying it. And everybody knows it. And there's a lot of people in LA that do know how to do it and they do know how LA because they grew up with it. And they're furious because they're saying if you had have just taken the system you inherited and stuck to your job and mastered it, my house wouldn't be burned up. That is, you know, 70 years old, a historic place in Los Angeles. And I wouldn't have lost all of these furnishings that my grandmother gave me. And we wouldn't have all these looters trying to find safes and things and burned out lots. That's what you did. So I think it'll make an impression, I really do on some of the Californian.
- [81:18]
Megyn Kelly
Here's the other thing, you know, the hypocrisy of some of these people who are in our culture and in our lives virtually the left after George Floyd, what did we hear? We had whole books discussed interviews on npr about it was quote, in defense of looting. In defense of looting. You had authors writing books about it, interviews on leftist radio. You had Trevor Noah out there talking about how. Well, that's. You only don't loot if you're going to uphold the social contract. But when the police violate the social contract, then you have the right. Right. Then it's fair game for all. Well, guess who's super upset about the looting of the 10 and $20 million homes that have had to be evacuated because they're under threat of fire. That same crowd, Julia Roberts, is out there posting F you looters. You know, I'm sure she's very worried that her friend's beach house is about to get burned with her beautiful Picasso that she gifted him. And she doesn't want that to. Right, but, but where were you when it was poor people with small ma and pop businesses getting burned who did nothing wrong in Missouri, in Wisconsin and across the country in 2020?
- [82:37]
Victor Davis Hanson
Well, she was nowhere. She didn't care. Because the thing about the LA fire that's tragic but also instructive is these people never suffer the consequences of their ideology because they have enough money or the right zip code that they're protected from the ruin that they inflict on other people. We're the lab rats and they are the experimenters in the laboratory. But the laboratory scientists go home at night. They don't stay like the mice. We're the white mice, the lab rats that are experimental. And now something happened and the people who created this message, it boomerang back on them and they don't know what to do. They're angry and they. And so Julia, Julie Roberts says looters. And then she thinks for a second, well, wait a minute, maybe a lot of them are DEI types of people. Should I say this or not? And I guarantee you in a week from now she will try to contextualize what she said. But yeah, and so it, you know, everything about dei Elon Musk was very prescient when he said it's a mind virus. It's a 360 cultural revolution. And they just, it's got the On Midas touch. Everything they touch, they destroyed. MSNBC has been destroyed. They just fired. You know better than I do the media market. But I can tell you from the books, after George Floyd, some great authors were blacklisted and they all went with the di. And then I get calls from a lot of people in the book industry. None of them sold. Megan. It almost bankrupt them. Nobody wants to read for the 900th time. The Anti racist manifesto or why I was treated so terribly. Memoir. And it destroyed them. And now what are they doing? They're doing just what the media doing. The publishing houses are getting rid of all the DEI titles, book list authors and going back to what Donald Trump would call return to common sense. So that's why they're so scared. This was a revolution. I don't think we appreciate. This was like, it was like a French revolution and it's now failed and there's a counter revolution and they don't know how far the counter revolution is going to go. And they're very afraid because they know that they didn't earn these positions. They know they've done a lot of damage to society and now they're afraid they have zero public support.
- [84:59]
Megyn Kelly
That's so interesting. Yeah, that's from a war historian. Our audience should know. Rashida Jones, the president of MSNBC just announced she was stepping down. Not sure if it's a firing or forced out, but the readings are in the toilet post Trump's win. But so she's gone. She, she, I, I don't, I'm not sure who's taking over, but it's going to be just like somebody, just like her. But it's interesting, isn't it, that Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris are behaving so badly? Like, why won't Michelle Obama go to the inauguration, right? Like why won't she show up?
- [85:32]
Victor Davis Hanson
I think I know because she spent the last three weeks of the campaign screaming that Donald Trump was Satan and he was a racist and he was mean and he hated black people. And now she's going to have to sit next to him and she doesn't know what Donald Trump would say to her in front of everybody. But she knows what that if she was Donald Trump as, again, as I said, and then she had heard all of what she had said about him, she knows what she would say and she thinks Donald Trump is even more trigger happy than she is. And Donald Trump would probably, you know Donald Trump better than I do, Megan. He, you know what he would do? He would walk up and just act as if he was going to say something and then smile and try to hug her or shake her hand, talk to Barack like he did. And that would even, he would think in his mind that'll make her even madder than me saying something. And it did. He was, he was an old friend of Barack Obama. So, you know, Barack Obama called him a racist too. But they don't, they don't I don't think they get Donald Trump at all. You know, I was just thinking about.
- [86:34]
Megyn Kelly
Let me ask you a question. Because she also didn't go to the Carter funeral where she knew Trump would be. And I do wonder, because she and Barack both were out there saying, Trump's a racist. Barack referenced Hitler. Is the difference that Barack Obama didn't actually believe any of that, but Michelle Obama did.
- [86:52]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yes. He's a Bill Clinton transactional politician. It's always the next day. He doesn't care. But the other thing is, there's a subtext, I think, is that if he were to talk honestly to Barack Obama, he would say something like this. If Barack Obama would talk honestly to Donald Trump, he'd say something like, don't get angry. You don't have. You don't have any idea what I put up with. You don't have to put up with her like I do, so let's just forget it and be friends and joke and talk, and then I have to go home to it. So be sympathetic to me. And that's what I think, the subtext. Because he's not happy, Barack Obama. He never was.
- [87:31]
Megyn Kelly
Oh, they have very different lives.
- [87:33]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yes. And that makes her even angrier and angrier and angrier. And he's smart enough like Bill Clinton to know that the only reason that they have half a reputation is they feigned that they were centrist and Obama went hard left in the second. But for a while, he was talking about close the borders and all that. And Bill Clinton was famous for doing stuff like that. And they understand politics, but they understand Michelle Obama is off the rails and Hillary is even off the rails. But that's what's in common about both Bill and. And Barack. It's almost as if, okay, our life, our wives are crazy. We can't put up with them. We're not going to, you know, engage in this feuding because it's not transactional. It doesn't help us. They're utilitarian.
- [88:19]
Megyn Kelly
Like, they'll go along to the extent they have to, but now that he's won, it's like, all right, that stuff I said, I didn't mean any of that nonsense. Yes. Yes, we did. What do you mean, we're not going to the inauguration? There's no way she wants to be seated next.
- [88:33]
Victor Davis Hanson
Absolutely. His mind is going. There's going to come a time in the next four years I got to call Donald Trump and get a favor about anything, and he will have favors, or I have a friend that wants this or this. And he knows that. And that's the same thing with Bill Clinton. And they understand that. Donald Trump, for all of the bad publicity, the weird thing about him is he doesn't really. He talks a great game, but he doesn't hold grudges.
- [88:58]
Megyn Kelly
He said that.
- [88:59]
Victor Davis Hanson
He said, I could. I can give you second and third chances, but not fourth. And he brought in J.D. vance after what J.D. said about him. He.
- [89:08]
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, he's actually a very big inauguration. You're going to see a line of Elon. Yes. Makes sense. Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos all sitting together. And I think the other heads of social media companies are going to be there, too. Like, they're all. They've all, like, banned him, said terrible things about him. Not Elon, but the others, certainly. And Trump, you know, it's like they come in and kiss the ring. He'll let you kiss the ring. He's like, fine. Bygones are bygones.
- [89:36]
Victor Davis Hanson
Absolutely. But they share that vision because Trump has basically said to them, you maybe don't like me and I don't like you, but you guys are geniuses, whether. Whatever your field is. Look at. He broke into the top three auto companies. Nobody's ever done that, Elon. Look at SpaceX. He bailed out NASA. He revolutionized all of social media. That's what you guys do, you know, David Sacks and Zuckerberg, whether you like them or not. And the world doesn't like you guys, and they're trying to gang up on you in Asia and Europe. But you bring us money and prestige and power, and we got all these new technologies, AI, biotechnology, cryptocurrency, and that's where the future is. And you guys are going to work for me and we're going to make everybody rich. That's whether you make fun of it or not. That's his vision, Donald Trump. And they understand that.
- [90:28]
Megyn Kelly
He likes entrepreneurship.
- [90:29]
Victor Davis Hanson
He does.
- [90:30]
Megyn Kelly
He loves the spirit of American invention and what these guys have done. And he respects success. He does respect success. And he. He'll give you that do, as long as you don't, you know, say incredibly nasty things about him. Like somebody like Mark Cuban.
- [90:44]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yes. And he. The thing is, they know that they can make more money for themselves, and they. Some of them have actually a sense of public commonwealth. They know that they can help the country, and they know they're in a deadly race against China and Russia and all these enemies abroad. And they understand that Donald Trump is saying to them, whatever you guys need to make our country preeminent and help the middle class in the process. I'm going to do it and I don't really care anymore what you said about me. But you're going to have to do this. And that's exciting for them because. So Andreessen said that he went in to meet with Biden. They basically said these are the winners in artificial intelligence and nobody else. No startups. And they understand. Zuckerberg said that. They'd call him up and scream at him and you're going to do this. Donald Trump's not going to do that. He's going to say, do what you have to do and I'll measure you by the results. And if you can help this, the.
- [91:42]
Megyn Kelly
Only thing Donald Trump will call you up to yell at you about is if you say something nasty about him. That's a personal grievance. He's not going to try to infringe on the First Amendment by saying, you may not say that, you may not speak to that. I really don't think that's what the left is worried about because again, projection. All right, stand by, Victor. I got to take a quick break. Be right back. Breaking news and big one on Israel. Let's cut through the BS and get to some good stuff. Firecracker Farm hot salt. Yes, Firecracker Farm hot salt. This small family business is making waves. And if you have not tried it yet, it is time to change that. My friends, it was the gift to give and receive this Christmas. It went like wildfire off their shelves. It's delicious and it elevates everything it touches. Eggs, avocado, toast, grilled chicken, and so much more. It's got a kick, but it's not overwhelming. The flavor enhances food without overpowering food. The best part? 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The fact is we're broke and that debt that we have is a house of cards that cannot be quickly dismantled. So the strategy remains the same. You might want to diversify your savings. This is why I want you to know about Birch Gold. So many things are out of our control, out of our President's control for that matter. So it can be really important to have a safe haven for your savings. Birch Gold Group can help you convert an IRA or 401 into an IRA in physical gold. And the best news is it does not cost you $0.01 out of pocket. Just text MK to 989-898 to get your free info kit. Plus right now you will receive a free 1 oz Silver Eagle coin for every $5,000 purchased. Protect your savings with Birch Gold, text MK to 989-890-8 and claim your eligibility for free silver today. I'm Megyn Kelly, host of the Megyn Kelly show on SiriusXM. It's your home for open, honest and provocative conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures. Today you can catch the Megyn Kelly show on Triumph, a SiriusXM channel featuring lots of hosts you may know and probably love. Great people like Dr. Laura, Glenn Beck, Nancy Grace, Dave Ramsey and yours truly, Megyn Kelly. You can stream the Megyn Kelly show on SiriusXM at home or anywhere you you are. No car required. I do it all the time. I love the SiriusXM app. It has ad free music, coverage of every major sport, comedy, talk, podcast and more. Subscribe now. Get your first three months for free. Go to SiriusXM.com MKShow to subscribe and get three months free. That's SiriusXM.com MKShow and get three months free offer details apply. We've got major breaking news at this hour. Already seeing the immense power of a second President Trump term. Multiple officials now say Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire deal that includes the release of dozens of hostages and one of those officials is President Trump himself. Writing on Truth Social, we have a deal for the hostages in the Middle East. They will be released shortly. Thank you. Wow. According to the AP, around 100 people are still being held captive inside Gaza, but Israel's military believes at least a third of them are dead. The AP reports the three phased agreement would begin with the release of 33 Israeli women, children and elderly and those wounded in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian women and children incarcerated in Israel. No reporting right now that we can see about. What about the American hostages? There are a handful left. We don't know. Are they in the 33? We don't believe so. The earlier reporting was that we might get two in that first round, that they dis that the Americans had originally, originally said we want them all, that they said no and that it was dropped. So that's what the Biden team, we just don't know. We'll learn more. A Trump source to Fox News today said only 23 of those 33 hostages that are going to be released under this deal are alive. That's incredible. They're holding the dead bodies of the hostages. Back with me now, Victor Davis Hansen. It's kind of confusing because the Biden team has been negotiating, but so has Team Trump. He's dispatched his Middle east envoy over there. And so I don't know exactly who's negotiating with whom. But there's no question that the Trump threat that all hell is going to break loose if they are not returned by his inauguration, which is Monday, it had to have played a part here.
- [97:19]
Victor Davis Hanson
It did. I don't think it's a good deal for Israel because there were about, there's about 20% of Gaza they have to get into because that's where Hamas has fled to. And if they pull out and they release hundreds, if not thousands of terrorists and it's a ceasefire, you know what's going to happen? They're going to get the U.N. they're going to get the moderate Arab regimes, rebuild it, and then Hamas is going to threaten them, kill some and take over again. So I don't think, but I think I know what Trump is doing. I've talked to a few people, but I think their attitude is you can't ever deal with Hamas because of the hostages. So you got to get the hostages out and let Biden get the hostages out. Everybody knows they're being released, as you said, Megan, because Trump is coming in, but Biden officially will be in office at least when the first iteration start. So he's responsible. And then when you get the hostages out and Israel gets out, Hamas will break all of their commitments. Everybody knows that. And at that point, they have no more leverage over anybody. And Israel is going to be under the Trump administration, free to retaliate as it sees fit. I think that's what the Trump people are thinking. But I'm afraid that in the process, there's going to be a lot of damage done, even though I want all the hostages, everybody does, to be released. But they're going to let a lot of terrorists out and they're going to have to get out before they've destroyed Hamas. And I think they could destroy Hamas if they went into the last areas of Gaza, which they won't be able to.
- [98:56]
Megyn Kelly
And you know what else is amazing is the numbers, Victor. It's like, okay, so they're going to let out some number, ideally, you know, eventually all 88, but let's say 33 of the hostages they've got in their custody and Israel's going to let out hundreds. And the so called hostages that, you know, Israel has, they aren't hostages, they're prisoners because they were arrested with, with there's a due process that they go through in Israel before they arrest somebody. All these people are people who are suspected of terrorism or caught in the act of terrorism against Israel. So yeah, so caught me. So these people get all, get out by the hundreds and just the proportionality is not there. But Hamas, this is what happens because Israel values life and Hamas does not.
- [99:40]
Victor Davis Hanson
Yeah, and Biden, what Biden is trying to do is use the. And that's what they've been doing all along with Iran and everybody out. They're using the ascent of Donald Trump and his restoration as a lever and saying, you know what they're thinking to themselves. Trump will do and say things we can't do and we're going to use him to get a last minute deal. And Trump is kind of using them and he said I'm going to be Ronald Reagan and they're going to be Jimmy Carter and they're going to release the hostages because I'm coming in. So that's the matrix. But I think everybody expects that the people they release will be right back in as the apparat that restores Hamas. They're all Hamas people and they're going to go right back and reform Hamas and they can't. And they're going to be free to do it because Israel will be withdrawn, there's going to be a ceasefire and then the money's going to pour in, they're going to steal it, UN money, Gulf money, and they're going to start in on it again. And I think at that point the Trump administration thinks, well, there's no more hostages and they can't leverage us or Israel and they got their chance. So world opinion is going to be on our side. Especially when the hostages tell how everybody how they were treated and we see these bodies of people who died weeks before this gruesome apparat that runs it. And we're going to let, let Israel then take care of business. I think that's what they think. I don't necessarily agree with that because I think there's going to be a lot of damage in the process of this piece. But I think that's what the Trump people are saying. It's Biden's deal. You notice that Trump didn't take credit for it. He just said they're released. Because I think the downside after the ebulation of the hostages return, the downside will be Biden's and then Trump will start with a fresh slate and said, well, he did it. We got the hostages. There's no more leverage on us anymore. So I think that's what's going on.
- [101:39]
Megyn Kelly
This is phase one of the ending. And the ending is, was a long time coming. I mean, there's, there's a sigh of relief to some extent as it appears to be winding down. Victor, thank you. A pleasure to see you. Speak to you after the inauguration, which is coming up on Monday. Can't believe it. Okay, so we'll see you all tomorrow and we'll have a full rundown for what else they do to Pam Bondi. Don't miss that. Thanks for listening to the Megyn Kelly Show. No bs, no agenda and no fear.