Trump Calls Out "Pirates" and Celebrates Heroes at SOTU, and Robert De Niro Literally Cries Over Trump, with RealClearPolitics | Ep. 1260

Summary

The Megyn Kelly Show – Ep. 1260

Trump Calls Out "Pirates" and Celebrates Heroes at SOTU, and Robert De Niro Literally Cries Over Trump
Date: February 25, 2026
Guests: Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, Andrew Walworth (RealClearPolitics)

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Episode Overview

This episode features Megyn Kelly and RealClearPolitics editors analyzing President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address—the longest in U.S. history. The panel dissects Trump’s rhetorical strategies, highlights and controversies, emotional and political moments inside the House chamber, and wider Democratic and media responses, including viral disruptions and celebrity reactions. Central themes revolve around patriotism, heroism, media bias, political tribalism, and the increasingly performative nature of American politics.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of the Union: Tone and Strategy

[01:01–05:54]

• Trump’s SOTU clocked in at 1 hour 48 minutes—the country’s longest ever, but “didn't feel that long…he kept it entertaining” (Megyn, 01:01).
• “Vintage Trump”: blending self-promotion with attacks on Democratic policies (crime, borders) while honoring everyday and military heroes.
• “CNN poll [shows] 64% of viewers had a positive response… His use of stories was…very effective and very dangerous traps for the Democrats” (Megyn, 02:30, 10:04).

2. Memorable Moments: Guests and Storytelling

[05:54–14:28, 54:00–61:20]

• Trump staged theatrical “stand up if you agree” moments and honored American heroes, including the gold medal men’s Olympic hockey team and heroic military officers.
• “Our country is winning again…Here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud—the men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team.” (Trump, 05:54)
• “The individual stories…were extremely effective. Oftentimes they’ll put people up there and you’re kind of like, oh, that’s sweet…But you’re not like, whoa, what’s happening?” (Tom Bevan, 14:15)
• Honoring Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover (Maduro raid), Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin, and 100-year-old Navy WWII/Korean War hero Royce Williams.
• “He had Royce sitting with the First Lady…flawlessly, as she does everything, pinned the medal on. Such a sweet moment…If that doesn’t move you, you have no heart.” (Megyn, 61:20–64:33)

3. Partisanship, Grading the Address, and Decorum

[10:03–14:33; 38:46–40:42]

• Panelists gave Trump’s speech grades ranging from C- (Carl Cannon, too long/factual errors) to A/B+ (Tom Bevan & Andrew Walworth, effective and disciplined).
• The speech was “light on policy, heavy on characters…partisan, but he stayed in good humor” (Megyn, 10:45).
• “No president would ever cede the opportunity to have all the nets on him for two hours…It’s a great opportunity to get your message out there.” (Tom Bevan, 14:39)

4. Democratic Disruptions and the "Ilhan Omar Moment"

[04:39–05:54; 31:12–44:42]

• Ilhan Omar heckled Trump repeatedly, in contrast to past decorum (“She never stopped heckling him. It was like the guy at the BAFTAs yelling…” Tom Bevan, 04:39).
• Trump’s references to Somali community fraud in Minnesota (“Somali pirates...pillaged an estimated $19 billion”—Trump, 31:58) and Omar’s angry retorts.
• “Not too long ago, that was considered a horrible breach of decorum. Now it’s like, not only are they not ashamed of it, they’re bragging about it and raising money off it.” (Megyn, 38:04)

5. Hot-button Policy Issues: Immigration, Crime, Congress’ Stock Trading

[03:06, 23:19–29:37, 43:53–44:42]

• Open border criticisms and public shaming traps for Democrats: “First duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens…If you agree, stand up.” (Trump, 03:06, 40:56)
• Congressional insider trading: “Let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information.” (Trump, 23:19). Discussion on Nancy Pelosi’s wealth and public opinion on banning Congressional stock trading.
• Debates on the free market: Trump’s measures called “command and control” by Andrew; defended as “common sense” by Tom and Megyn.
• Crime victims: Deep empathy for Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erica, and Ukrainian victim Irina Zaritska; Democratic reluctance to stand for victims lampooned as “a display of inhumanity” (Megyn, 87:36-88:22).

6. Media and Progressive Response—Derision and Counter-programming

[68:05–78:19; 99:18–100:19]

• Media and leftist critics ridiculed Trump’s medal presentations as “game show moments” (Abby Phillip, CNN) and exploitative (“element of showmanship and exploitation”—David Sanger, NYT, 71:37).
• The panel found this contemptuous: “How dare [CNN anchor] call it a game show…Thank God, no relation, mock the Medal of Honor as it’s like the Oprah, you get a medal and you get a medal” (Megyn, 69:12–71:54).
• Democrats’ “People’s State of the Union” counter-event mocked for absurdity: inflatable frog costumes, singing in giraffe suits, and Joy Reid declaring “we just go on vibes…vibes were immaculate” (Joy Reid, 99:18)—rebuffed as unserious and symptomatic of a party with “no message” (Tom Bevan, 98:16).

7. Robert De Niro’s Trump Derangement and Progressive Emotionalism

[46:42–47:58; 119:32–124:54]

• Trump’s Truth Social: “We should send [Omar, Tlaib, De Niro] back where they came from as fast as possible…Get on a boat with Trump-deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with an extremely low IQ…” (Trump, 46:42)
• Played clip of De Niro crying about Trump: “It’s almost like a destiny…destroying, attempting to destroy this country and maybe not even understanding why…So it’s up to us to protect the country that we love.” (De Niro, 119:32)
• Discussion of celebrities like De Niro being consumed by anti-Trump politics, contrasted with calls for Americans to dial back political obsession.
• “Their hatred of him is all-consuming. And I just…I don't understand it…It’s like a mind-virus…” (Tom Bevan, 125:15)

8. The Role of Patriotism and Masculine Energy

[49:33–55:38, 66:03–66:49]

• Discussed Trump’s “celebration of America, masculine winning energy”—contrasted with Democrats’ discomfort with patriotism: “Democrats only seem proud of the country when…victims are being celebrated. Republicans are proud for what it is.” (Megyn, 47:58)
• Sports and military as metaphors: “Being bold, being brave…hard work, that’s all very American. Trump loves it. It’s what makes us love Trump. That theme was clear in his guests.” (Tom Bevan, 56:32)

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Notable Quotes & Time-stamps

• Trump: "If you agree with this statement, stand up and show support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." (03:06)
• Tom Bevan: “He used stories extremely effectively…A bonding moment with the viewers at home…having a little laugh.” (14:15)
• Carl Cannon, on heroism: “Now that moment gave me chills. It was very emotional…it was a great moment. I can’t say anything else.” (18:52)
• Megyn, on heroes: “He looks like exactly the kind of person you want defending our freedom…It was an advertisement for America.” (19:34)
• Andrew Walworth: “Brilliant for social media: those stand-up, sit-down moments…reinforce that maybe the Democratic Party is not the party of normies.” (13:27)
• Megyn, on Democrats not standing: “How do you not stand? How do you not stand?” (85:50)
• Tom Bevan, on media bias: “They saw what they wanted to see…They thought they had such a juicy moment. The President snubbing his own appointee. No, that’s not what happened at all.” (116:35)
• Megyn, on De Niro: “Everything about it…makes my skin crawl. The worst is that she [Nicole Wallace] wants us to believe she’s crying…Robert De Niro is emotionally unregulated, all right.” (120:29)
• Andrew Walworth, on progressive politics: “Politics has replaced religion. It fills the void but is a corrosive force…People who center their lives around it wind up looking like Bobby De Niro—sad, bitter, angry.” (132:53)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• SOTU Address Recap: [01:01–14:28]
• Honoring Military and Civic Heroes: [16:36–19:34], [54:00–61:20]
• Ilhan Omar Disruption: [04:39–05:54], [31:12–38:59]
• Cong. Stock Trading/Nancy Pelosi: [23:19–29:37]
• Somali Community Fraud Claim: [31:12–36:52]
• Crime Victims—Kirk & Zaritska: [80:00–88:22]
• Dem/Media Reaction: Game Show Claims: [69:12–78:19]
• Counter-programming/Inflatable Frogs: [95:04–100:19]
• Robert De Niro’s Emotional Meltdown: [119:32–124:54]
• Patriotism, Culture, and Division: [47:58–56:32], [66:03–68:05]
• Media Fact-Checking & Corrections: [114:29–118:08]
• Abigail Spanberger’s Democratic Response: [108:06–112:48]

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Tone, Language & Observations

• The analysis is sharp, colloquial, and at times irreverent (“He was Don Rickles out there…”, “It’s like Oprah: you get a medal!”).
• Megyn and her panel embrace a robust, bantering style—complex discussions are alternately emotional and humorous.
• The episode is unapologetically critical of progressive media and Democrats, openly celebrating Trump’s rhetorical successes and “masculine energy.”
• Memorably, the cast mocks performative opposition, highlighting the Democratic “People’s State of the Union,” and Robert De Niro’s public weeping over Trump.

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Takeaways for Non-Listeners

• President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union leaned hard into patriotic storytelling and the honoring of individual “heroes” as a political and rhetorical tool.
• Democrats, particularly Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, are accused of performative outrage at the SOTU, further polarizing public life.
• The episode underscores a sense that “Trump derangement syndrome” dominates progressive reaction, epitomized by De Niro’s televised tears.
• Megyn Kelly and her guests see cultural and political division as near irreversible but remain adamant about celebrating American heroism and common sense.
• The overt performativity in both chambers—mass applause, choreographed counter-programming, viral moments—reflects a new era of politics as spectacle.

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For More:
Listen to the full episode or follow the RealClear Politics panel for deeper dives on polling, media, and the ongoing 2026 campaign cycle.

Transcript

[Megyn Kelly]

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[Carl Cannon]

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[Megyn Kelly]

You can't get just one.

[Carl Cannon]

Okay, so that's not like some marketing hyperbole.

[Megyn Kelly]

You literally can't get just one. They come in twos. So like, if you want just one, you're gonna need to find a friend who loves slow roasted chicken bacon and avocado ranch sauce.

[Tom Bevan]

Or a friend of a friend.

[Megyn Kelly]

Or have an awkward conversation with a complete stranger to see if they're obsessed

[Carl Cannon]

with chicken bacon and avocado ranch.

[Tom Bevan]

Or you could just like eat them

[Megyn Kelly]

both because you're obsessed with slow roasted chicken bacon.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay, you get the idea.

[Megyn Kelly]

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[Tom Bevan]

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. President Trump last night delivering the longest State of the Union address in American history, clocking in at just under 1 hour and 48 minutes. I have to say, it didn't feel that long to me. It was long, but he kept it entertaining. I mean, as these things go, it's like, are you hot or are you Supreme Court hot? You know, like when I covered the high court, we used to joke, Chief Justice McDreamy, he looked great up there, you know, next to like Ginsburg. But out on the street, maybe not so much. So as the state of the unions go, it was hot and it was long. By any measure, it was vintage. Trump highlighting his administration's successes and the Democrats fail failures honoring the best of us. I mean amazing people were highlighted. They I mean, hats off to the White House team for choosing truly incredible folks like our war heroes, Olympic champions. Of course the guys did show up from the hockey team. And our friend Charlie Kirk, he acknowledged the grief and the pain of those who have suffered losses from the Democrats. Radical policies on crime and the border. That was smart and honest. And the speech appearing to be a big success. A CNN poll finding that 64% of viewers had a positive response to the speech, while showing a bump of 10% among viewers on whether Mr. Trump's policies would move the country in the right direction. They point out that that poll tends to be overweighted toward the party of the man giving the speech, because those are the ones who tend to tune in. So with that asterisk, even the polls are showing a big and successful night for the president right here. President Trump at his best, making Republicans look good and very, very effectively making Democrats look bad.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

So tonight, I'm inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.

[Tom Bevan]

In the city.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

You should be ashamed of yourself. Not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself. That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens, in many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country. They're blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of yourself.

[Tom Bevan]

You know who Ilhan Omar reminded me of last night? That Tourette syndrome guy at the BAFTAs on Sunday, like, incapable of controlling her foul mouth. You had people killed. You killed people in Minnesota. She should be censured. She should absolutely face discipline in the House as a result of this. This is what. This is far worse than what Joe Wilson did back in 2009 when he had the temerity to yell, you lie at President Obama. That's all he yelled, you lie. And I was there. We all melted down. Like, this was the greatest breach of decorum we had ever witnessed in our lifetimes. We, meaning the political class. She. She never stopped heckling him. Truly, it was. It was like the guy at the BAFTAs yelling, we talked about this the other day. Fuck you. Go fuck yourself. At every turn. And some worse things than that. That's her. She looked at it and thought, hashtag goals. President Trump made the case that America is on a new winning streak. It was very optimistic speech, very. Thanks to his leadership, of course. And to make the case, he brought out perhaps the most popular people in America right now, at least among us normies.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country until you came along with just always losing. But now we're winning too much. And I say, no, no, no, you're going to win again. You're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever. And to prove that point, to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud. The men's gold medal Olympic hockey team. Come

[Megyn Kelly]

it.

[Tom Bevan]

Wow, what a moment. Good for those guys for showing up. I was worried for them because when I heard that they were gonna go, I thought the odds of these guys ever having sat down and watched an entire State of the Union are very slim. They're extremely busy. They're world class athletes and these things tend to be kind of boring and most people just wanna watch the highlights the next day. So they probably don't know. I was thinking that they're getting themselves into at least a three hour affair sitting there with these ridiculous people on Capitol Hill as the President wanes on and on and on. And they were way ahead of me. They decided obviously, Team Trump to just have the guys parade in, be honored and parade back out. I mean, you know, each one of these guys is incredibly hungover. All we've seen of them since they won on Sunday is, is a video of them swilling beer, getting bought drinks. They're having the time of their lives. Well deserved, I'm sure. That's not how the weeks and months leading up to the Olympics looked. And that was smart. They came in, they received their honor, they turned around and they probably hit old ebbets in Washington D.C. for a few late night beers. There is a lot to unpack, including more disastrous moments from the Democrats. And then there's Virginia Governor Abigail Spamberger's official response. Abigail, you know, Abigail, Abigail, Abigail. As Winsome Sears kept calling her in that debate. It's all I can think of when I look at her now. Although we did think of one other thing. Courtesy of Margo Cleveland or the Federalist. We'll talk to you about it. But to kick us off, we're gonna bring in some of our favorites. Tom Bevin, Carl Cannon and Andrew Walworth of Real Clear Politics. Their show now airs live on the Megyn Kelly channel on Sirius XM 111 live every morning at 11am Eastern. They're, they're our lead in on the live programming. Ever been in a bad relationship? You know the kind, it just wears you down. You settle in even though Deep down, you know this is not how it's supposed to be. That's what daily aches and pains can feel like. You stop expecting to feel good. You start thinking, maybe this is just life now. But it doesn't have to be. With relief factor, you can break up with pain just like Anthony did. He wrote, quote, I was dealing with debilitating pain and fatigue. I've been talking about relief factor and taking it for about two months and now I'm back to running my business, fishing, gardening, and doing the things that really matter to me. And listen, maybe it's your back pain, your knee issues or stiffness that's slowing you down. Relief factor might help give you your mobility back. Relief factor is 100% drug free and it targets the inflammation that causes pain so you can move better, feel better, and actually enjoy life again. Try the three week quick start for just 1995. Go to relieffactor.com or call 804 RELIEF break up with pain and get back to what matters. Guys, welcome back. Great to see you.

[Megyn Kelly]

Good to be with you.

[Tom Bevan]

All right. So, so much to go through from last night. I thought it was, let's give it a grade. I give Trump an A because he didn't get nasty. He had a couple like you. These people are crazy. But he stayed in good humor. He was self deprecating at times, he made some jokes at times. He didn't go after the Supreme Court in the way that he could have. You know, like I kind of expected him to in personal terms. And I thought he did a great job with the personal story. So they always do this at the, at the State of the Union. But these I thought were especially memorable and very effective and very dangerous traps for the Democrats in the hall. Your thoughts tomorrow?

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, I gave him like a B plus, A minus. I. It was a partisan speech, no question. I mean, he was, a couple times he just turned to Democrats like, it's your fault. You made a mess. I'm cleaning it up. I mean, he was pretty direct in that sense, but he also, he did, it was, it was heavy on these engaging moments with these great characters, some of them tragic, some of them heroic. You just showed the hockey team. That was a great moment. And, but it was light on policy. I mean, you know, Bill Clinton used to give hour plus long speeches, but it was just like a laundry list of policies and your eyes would glaze over. I hate the State of the Union. I only watch it because we're coming on your show to talk about it because I told the guys, I'm like, I just want this thing to go away.

[Tom Bevan]

I heard you. Yeah, heard you.

[Megyn Kelly]

But I actually, I stayed fairly engaged with it. It didn't seem as long as an hour, you know, 40. So I kind of trailed off at the end. I was like, okay, we're getting there. But. But it was the stories that kept me sort of involved in the characters. And I think that his speechwriters did a great job of crafting it in that way. And so, again, I thought. And to your point, Megan, pretty good humor. There was a lot of positivity in America winning, and he stayed on script pretty much, which. That's sometimes when he starts doing the weave and gets off. So all in all, I thought it was a well crafted event, well crafted speech and well delivered.

[Tom Bevan]

How about you, Carl?

[Carl Cannon]

Meghan? I'm stuck with the grade I gave him about half an hour ago, which was a C minus.

[Tom Bevan]

I see. Minus.

[Carl Cannon]

I. I have two. All right, you, you, you guys know me. Megan knows me. I'm a bit. I like facts to be correct. He had the wrong. He said that the woman that killed the poor Ukrainian woman was an illegal immigrant led in by Joe Biden's lax borders. But that wasn't right. He's a homegrown maniac. And. And it. The speech is just too long. Two hours. It's two hours. People have things to do.

[Megyn Kelly]

I.

[Carl Cannon]

So C minus for me. But I will say one thing. He did make me laugh a couple times. Tom's right. He can be entertaining. That thing that you, that clip you played about. You're. You're getting sick of winning. It finally dawned on people. Trump. Trump's joking there and, and he's being. He's making fun of himself. It's kind of. It was, it was a highlight for me.

[Tom Bevan]

Yes.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

Yep. Me too. I laughed out loud at it. And it was. It was poking fun at himself, like in his. You know, you're gonna get so tired of all the winning. Which was something he said back in 16. And here we are 10 years later, and he's the President of the United States again and joking around about it. And obviously he means. He means to do it as a way of, yes, promoting his own agenda, but also, like having a bonding moment with the people at home. Like, I get it. I'm in on it. Let's all have a little laugh. What'd you think, Andrew?

[Andrew Walworth]

I gave it about a B plus. And I tell you what, I was watching. I was thinking how it would be clipped together afterwards, how it would appear on social media. And there I thought it was brilliant because those stand up, sit down moments, each one of those will be repeated on social media and they just sort of reinforce the idea that maybe the Democratic Party is not the party of normies. So I thought those moments were so well crafted with that in mind. There also wasn't any moment that I saw which I thought would make a great ad for the Democrats. I didn't. There wasn't anything he said that really stood out as a huge gaffe. He stayed away, as he pointed out, from attacking the Supreme Court. So, yeah, B plus. My only criticism, I guess, is that it's too, too long. Just like Carl said. I, I mean, I would like these things. I think Tom said the other day, we should, they should be a half an hour and people should be polite. That would be, that would be a deal that I think we'd all.

[Tom Bevan]

Or Tom was advocating we go back to the letter. Right.

[Carl Cannon]

That's what he wants.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah.

[Carl Cannon]

My deal.

[Tom Bevan]

Mail it in.

[Andrew Walworth]

I'm not, I'm not for that. I like the speech. I think it's important, so.

[Tom Bevan]

Well, no. No president would ever see the opportunity to have all of the nets on him for two hours. Right. It's like all the broadcast nets, all the cable nets, not to mention everything happening online. It's a great opportunity to get your message out there. Just, just the day before that, Trump was having the angel parents, parents who had lost children, or I guess not just parents, but family members to illegals at the White House and was honoring them. And they didn't cover it on cnn, they didn't cover it on msnbc. Of course, the broadcast networks didn't cover it. Only Fox and News Nation took it. So this is a great chance for him to say, I'm gonna tell some of those same stories, which he did. And now you're gonna have to listen. You know, you're my captive prisoner. So that, that's of course why they all will do it and no one would ever abandon it. I thought his use of the individual stories was extremely effective because oftentimes they'll put people up there and, you know, they're mildly interesting. You're kind of like, oh, that's sweet, but you're not like, whoa, what's happening? Who's that? What's that? Who's that guy? Like the, the gentleman who came out? Hold on. I don't have his name memorized, but, man, he was, he was amazing. The guy who led the Maduro raid, He was incredible. So he comes out there. Hold on a second. And his Chief Warrant Officer, Eric Slover. And this guy took a beating in going in on that Maduro raid as the lead helicopter. And Trump called him the leader of it. And I think maybe one of the architects in the planning of it. And this guy is straight outta central casting when you think of who do I want fighting for me as an American? You know, like if you're the coach and you get to pick your teams, this guy, Chief Warrant Officer Slover would be your number one draft pick. You know, he's like, you look at Jocko Willink and the Navy seals and you look at this guy. Here's a bit of that. Last night, South 13, Chief Warrant Officer

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

5, Eric Slover planned a mission and was the flight lead in the cockpit of the first helicopter. While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle. And Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip. One bullet after another. He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces. Then, even as he was gushing blood, which was flowing back down the aisle, Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat, saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash. I would now like to ask General Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover.

[Tom Bevan]

Again straight at Essential Casting. And guys, the on Twitter, they were talking this morning, X about this guy. There was one gentleman who knew him and I think had served with him who said he is literally the last one who would ever want to be recognized, but the first who would deserve it. And another guy was pointing out that all those little marks on his right forearm on his uniform, maybe we could show him again, you guys even just roll the B roll. Each of those is a combat mission. They got even the Democrats standing on this one, Carl. Which is interesting because, you know, the Maduro raid is controversial, but they knew. You do not sit down when Slover is getting his honors.

[Carl Cannon]

Megan, you're just trying to get me to raise my grade.

[Megyn Kelly]

That's

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

okay.

[Carl Cannon]

I'm not above okay. See, now that you know what look that was. That moment gave me chills. It was very emotional. I thought it was. I don't. I don't know what the perp. I don't know if that's what should be in a State of the Union address. I think Ronald Reagan's device has gotten a little out of hand, but it was a he's a hero and that. And the president is Trying to show people that we still have heroes in this country and they still. They still do what they're supposed to do. And it was a great moment. I can't say anything else.

[Tom Bevan]

It was really moving, Tom. I mean, I looked at that guy and I thought, that tracks, right? That this guy, he didn't look like he was enjoying the attention exactly, but he would do what his commander in chief asked him to do, to show up there and be part of this evening.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, no, he looks like exactly the kind of person you want defending our freedom. You know, look, part of this is. And I think this kind of gets lost because we do conceptualize the State of the Union as. Okay, it's gonna be a list of policies and what the President's gonna do. And Trump talked a little bit about this, but this was an advertisement for America. It's our 250th birthday. I mean, he talked about, you know, it was a display of how great America is and can be and the people that make it so, the hockey team, the soldiers, the veterans, and the awards were part of the pomp and circumstance of that. I think this was. It was a special State of the Union. And I think Trump visualized it that way. And that's what we got. And when you think about it in that context, it was fantastic. I mean, there was just a lot of America happening.

[Tom Bevan]

I just wanna amend what I said. Not a combat mission, a combat deployment. Deployment. I counted, just my quick squinting there. 10. 10 combat deployments by this guy. I mean, it makes you feel like you've wasted your life, right? It's like, good gracious what that guy has seen. And there is a guy, Dan Parker on X, who posted that thing I mentioned. There's no one on Earth who wants the recognition less, and there's also no one on Earth who deserves it more. I've flown alongside Eric for 18 years. We grew up in army aviation, and in the 160th together, we've been brand new. I don't understand all the abbreviations, but a bunch of military posts along the way. He is the consummate quiet professional. By the grace of God and the skill of the greatest team on Earth, he's still with us. Eric, I'm proud to have fought alongside you and even more proud to call you my friend. Night stalkers don't quit. So good. I mean, Andrew, like, it is not easy to get your opponents, who hate you, who won't stand for virtually anything, to stand up and clap for your mission to Venezuela to capture Nicolas Maduro, which they definitely opposed. But it's, it's exactly this kind of man, Eric Slover, who could make you do it.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah. And I'm also wondering whether the RNC has got his, him on speed dial right now trying to figure out what district he's in. He's in because someone, someone's looking at him saying, wow, that, that guy's got a political future if he wants one. I don't, I have no idea. But I think they, they also, he also got them to stand up for banning stock trading by the, in Congress.

[Tom Bevan]

So I'm into that.

[Andrew Walworth]

So there was a, there was another moment where he got them to stand up. They were few and far between.

[Carl Cannon]

And for the hockey team.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, and the hockey team. Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah. Oh, well, the hockey team was also interesting given the controversy that these far left weirdos have tried to create around them, trying to, you know, rain on their parade. And even the New York Times writing, oh, they gave us such a moment. And then, and then it stopped. Then they took it away because they allowed Trump to call into the locker room and they allowed Cash Patel in there. So they ruined everything. Well, even the Democrats knew, get up, get the hell off your seats and stand up for these guys or it's going to be, it's going to cost you the midterms. And they did, they did on that one. But I do want to talk about that Pelosi moment. I mean, the insider trading moment. Same thing. Here's, here's Trump talking about this ban that's been getting kicked around. And amazingly, you know, while they'll say on camera, they'll stand for it in, in the hall saying like, oh, yay, we want to ban insider trading by any elected leader or their family members. It's having an awfully hard time actually making it throw. So behind the closed doors, when it's time to vote, they don't actually want to do it. But here's that moment.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

As we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market, let's also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information. They stood up for that. I can't believe, I can't believe it. Did Nancy Pelosi stand up? If she's here?

[Tom Bevan]

So she, she says she did stand up, but it's so good. Right? I mean, just to refresh myself, I went back and took a look at the specifics of the Pelosi claims, and here are a couple of stats for you. She's one of the richest people in Congress as a first term member in 1987, she had $600,000 in stock holdings. Her husband Paul's trades became so lucrative over the years, they spawned a cottage industry of copycats, reports the New York Times. There's even been a Pelosi tracker app that clocked all of his trades so that people could get in on what they clearly knew was insider trading information that Pelosi had passed him. Over the past three years, he's reported a trade volume of $56.9 million, pretty good increase from 600,000 when she first joined Congress. Josh Hawley has said Nancy Pelosi has out outperformed the s and P500 by more than double in 2024 alone. And here's a couple of other things, okay. Her husband's timely stock trades have occurred around legislative activity time and time again and made them millions. He trades stock of companies affected by the legislation that Pelosi is pushing. Pelosi did initially oppose a ban on lawmakers trading stocks. This ban would prevent the lawmakers, their spouses or their children from trading stocks because obviously we're talking about unethical people who would insider trade. And so if you can't do it, but your kid can do it, everyone knows what Nancy Pelosi is going to do. She's going to call up little Alexandria, whatever her name is, Alexandra, and tell her what to trade, same as she clearly did with her husband. So when she was first asked about this, she said, no, it's a free market. You know, like, basically, why would I support that? And then everybody started taking a closer look at how she got so rich. And now she's been dragged kicking and screaming over to the side of, okay, I'll stand and I'll support the ban. Andrew?

[Andrew Walworth]

Well, yeah, no, I think this is one of those reforms that said if it's not 80 20, it's got to be 99, 199 to 1among American people. But you're right. I mean, both parties are guilty of doing this and it's wrong and it should stop. We'll see what happens. I think that the time may come for, for this to pass. I was struck too by all his economic reforms, sort of were. None of them were sort of the sort of robust, Reagan esque, sort of green shoots, you know, unleash the economy kind of stuff. They were all sort of aimed at tamping down commercial activity and felt very sort of socialist in a sense, I'd say.

[Tom Bevan]

What do you mean? What do you mean?

[Andrew Walworth]

Well, I mean, you know, the idea that stopping big banks from buying homes, which really has no effect on. But that sort of anti bank that, the sort of, the anti pharmaceutical. The idea that tech companies will have to build their own power sources. These are all sort of command and control economic measures and not the kind of thing that you would, that I thought he would be talking about.

[Tom Bevan]

Trump's not very, I don't, I don't know if he is fully free market. We know he's not free trade. But his justifications for those I thought were very good. I mean, he was pointing out how these energy companies come in and they run up the electric costs some 20%. And why should anybody other than the, the companies, the tech companies are doing that. Why should anybody other than the tech companies have to pay for any of that increased cost like infrastructure improvements or so on. On the pharmacies? It's like that was the most favored nation stuff that, you know, that's sort of a bipartisan issue now. I think even Republicans have realized that the cost of prescription drugs is out of control. We do nothing about it. So it's like, why should the people in Europe be paying one tenth of what we're paying for our drugs that we manufacture? That just seems fair. And on the blackrock thing, why do you say that that doesn't affect the cost of homes? When you have a company like that swooping into neighborhoods, buying a bunch of homes up, how can a regular Joe just starting his family compete with BlackRock for a home?

[Megyn Kelly]

Well,

[Andrew Walworth]

two things. One, it's a very small percentage of the amount of homes that are bought and sold that the company, it's about 1%, I think, of all the sales. So it's a minor part of the market. And the other thing is, just as a free market guy, there are people actually who are selling their homes as well. So why would you deny a seller the opportunity to sell to the highest bidder? You know, someone, someone's ox is going to be gourd. Whenever you try to mess with, with free market forces, there are unintended consequences. And I think the unintended consequence of something like this might well be that it actually, actually makes it harder for people to sell houses. It interferes with it, with, with the way the market works. It's kind of what Mamdani wants you to do.

[Tom Bevan]

I don't want those big banks in the housing market personally. Definitely has a protective strain in him, Tom. I mean, for sure we've seen that, but we had no protective strain for far too long under people like Bill Clinton. And we lost all of our manufacturing jobs as a result of it.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, I mean, look, Trump is not a traditional, you know, free market, free trader, which, which has been the Republican Party for 40 years. He's, that's not, that's never been his mindset and that's part of why he got elected in the first place. And so that's part of the tradeoff with Trump. He does have some tendencies where he's, you know, gets awfully close to or simpatico with Elizabeth Warren and that makes a lot of Republicans nervous. But back to the Nancy Pelosi thing. If I could just say, I mean that was my laugh out love my wife and I watch it, I turned her and I'm like, did you really just say that? I could not believe it. Look, the stock trading band thing, it should be a no brainer. And as you point out, Megan, like everybody's rah rah for it in public and then in privates, like, why didn't this pass then? I mean, how hard is it for congresspeople to put their, put their holdings in a blind trust, a truly blind trust, so they can enjoy the fruits of the market as it goes up, but without, you know, having the, any sort of back doors where they can do stuff that's considered illegal or unethical. They should not be able to profit from insider information, which a lot of them have. They sit on these committees, they see a lot of the stuff coming before the public sees it coming. And so that just, it makes total incomplete again. It's another common sense measure that for some reason we can't seem to get done. But you know, Trump being for it, I think might push it over the finish line. We might finally get something that the American people, as you said, like 90% of the public is for it.

[Tom Bevan]

That'd be nice. I think most of the public also understands that there has been massive fraud in Minnesota and that it has been perpetrated overwhelmingly, almost entirely by the Somali born community there. Just as a stat. They are so far 82 of the 92 defendants charged for this fraud, per the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota. Okay, so 82 of 92. I think it's fair to say this is a Somali problem in America. So the, the President got into this, he announced a war on fraud. And this is where Ilhan Omar got super exercised and started screaming at him. That's a lie. And more. Watch.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

The members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. We have all the information I am officially announcing the fraud to be led by our great vice president, J.D. vance. The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception.

[Tom Bevan]

So he said. He says Somali pirates, JD Vance and Mike Johnson start laughing. They cut to Ilhan Omar, who's just looking distressed in the audience, but she was yelling that's a lie. When he said they've been plundering America. There's no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated 19 billion. Billion with a B from the American taxpayer. Well, here again, the Fed, the federal prosecutors say it is at least 9 billion up to 18 billion. They said they're still trying to determine just how much of that remaining 9 billion was part of this same Somali fraud scheme where they used these 14 Minnesota programs meant to help people, but abused them and didn't help anybody, other than lining their own pockets for fake programs involving nutrition, housing and autism research. Remember that one? It was all bullshit. And that's just scratching the surface, as Trump said, because the fraud went well beyond that. If you want to go back a couple years to Covid, they're looking into that now at the federal government level, not just in Minnesota, but in many states. But there's nothing he said that was false at all, Carl. And this was a moment I would suggest the President welcomed.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah, I agree with you. There's two things about this story that I don't understand when it comes to Ilya and Omar. And the first. Well, the first, I don't understand why she would defend this. I think to me, she ought to get out in front of it and she ought to go back to her community and she ought to say, we're better than this. We don't want to be known for this. We need to root this out. You need to help the government. She's not acting like, to my mind, like a member of Congress who's protective of the treasury, but rather like an aggrieved minority who feels she's being singled out. And I don't think that's the right move because this fraud is real. The other thing looking, and I don't think it's just going to be Somalia in Minnesota. I'm in California this week, and I can only imagine the fraud that's been going on here. And I. And that these stories are starting to come out. But, but remember this, Megan, years ago, when I first started coming, immigration issue, people who wanted to become legal Immigrants had to sign that they would not be a burden on the taxpayer.

[Tom Bevan]

They.

[Carl Cannon]

They weren't. It wasn't that they weren't eligible for, you know, poverty programs, but the expectation was you sign a paper that you wouldn't. That you wouldn't do it, you would. You would work. You had to take these pledges, you had to have a job, you had to have a plan. And somewhere along the line, that just got thrown out. And these Somalis who came to Minnesota as refugees and their country was just in terrible shape, they went on the dole immediately, and they were apparently encouraged to do so. And apparently that's common across the country. And I wonder when we got away from that ethic, because we never had a conversation about it. No president ever talked about it. We never said, okay, we're taking, and

[Tom Bevan]

no citizen would ever vote for it.

[Carl Cannon]

That's right. And it wouldn't be a popular thing. And it would. And I'm talking now about legal immigration. And during the Biden administration, we went from that new norm where legal immigrants are expected to be able to go on welfare and take other poverty programs, too. Then illegal immigrants are also allowed to do this. This was a bridge that. I mean, no, nobody ever voted for that. And I don't understand how he got to this place. And I think that. I think defending it makes the Democrats look. Makes them look bad.

[Megyn Kelly]

But can I just say, Carl, part of the problem, the reason she's defending is because she's tied up in it. I mean, let's not let the Democratic politicians in Minnesota in particular, but in any of these other states, off the hook. I mean, Tim Walls, Keith Ellison, all these folks, because the Somali community became a powerful voting bloc, they were funneling this money back to politicians in the forms of contributions. And, oh, by the way, anybody who criticized this was labeled a racist. And so nobody wanted to do that. And so they looked the other way while this went on and ballooned into this extraordinary scandal. And so she has to, I think, say, you know, instead of saying, look, we gotta get to the bottom of this, she's saying, you know, well, it's not true. Trump's a liar and he's a racist and try to deflect. Because I think the truth is she's received contributions and she's had her picture taken with a lot of these people that are now on trial.

[Tom Bevan]

The. The. The Ilhan Omar moment was capitalized on by her. She did it for effect. She wanted her little viral moment to look like a badass. And she posted a Clip of herself during the State of the Union yelling, you've killed Americans. Here it is in Sat 8.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens. In many cases, drug lords, murderers. All over our country, they're blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of you, sir.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay, you guys, you were there. You remember 2009. You lie. Joe Wilson was admonished by the House. As a result. We were all shocked and horrified in the political class that somebody would do that at the State of the Union. She was. She did it over and over and over. She was desperate to get that clip so she could post it and then brags about it. Tell me, Tom Bevin, is she going to be admonished by the House or are they going to be as outraged about this as the left was about Joe Wilson?

[Megyn Kelly]

Look, you would hope so. I mean, but I think there's probably a double standard. I don't know that Mike Johnson is going to push this the way this is. Unfortunately, I think this might be the new normal, you know, that, that, that, particularly when it comes to Trump, that Democrats just think that they, you know, it's okay to mix it up with the President of the United States in the middle of the State of the Union address again. Not too long ago, that was considered a horrible breach of decorum. And, and now it's like not only are they not ashamed of it, they're bragging about it and raising money off of it.

[Tom Bevan]

It. Well, and Joe Wilson did it. One time. He yelled out, one time, you lie. That was. It was over. She was a heckler. She was Don Rickles out there last night, Carl.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah, well, the thing is that I don't think Mike Johnson should do anything about this because the last time he censured a Democrat for bad behavior was Adam Schiff and they got him elected to the Senate. So, so I, maybe it would help.

[Tom Bevan]

I think it was his lies that got him elected to the Senate. Many lies about Trump and Russia. Right.

[Carl Cannon]

But what if, what if, what if they censor her and she decides she's going to run for the Senate in Minnesota? Then where will we be?

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, yeah, 2009, that just can't happen. 2009 was a long time ago. That's. I agree with you.

[Tom Bevan]

We were so cute back then.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, but it was a long time ago. I think this is the new normal, and I just think it continues. And I think if anything, it gets worse.

[Tom Bevan]

Speaking of so cute, my daughter, who's only 14, she just kept Saying that about Mike Johnson, she's like, he's just so adorable. He does have a very nice face. You know, like, he has just the right amount of smile on for Trump's quips and just the right amount of serious. And his tan tie grew on me first. I was like, who wears a tan tie? Nobody wears a tan tie, certainly not to the state of the union. But it had a little sparkle in it. I think it had a little sheen. And over time, I kind of fell in love with it. It was, like, kind of a bold fashion move. I really like Mike Johnson. I know he's controversial, but you really will not meet a more affable person on Capitol Hill.

[Megyn Kelly]

I was. It's funny you say that, because I turn to my wife And I'm like, JD's tie is just, like, this much too short. He just needs it to come down to the belt buckle.

[Tom Bevan]

It was.

[Megyn Kelly]

And it's a. It's a blue tie, and I love the baby blue tie. I think I have the same tie, but it was just. Just a little too short.

[Tom Bevan]

Just a smidge. Yes. And what else? As somebody who's got a mild touch of ocd, Trump's hair, when he walked into the chamber. Yeah, you can still see it a little here.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

But when he walked into the chamber, it clearly got messed up over by the part right above the part.

[Carl Cannon]

Right.

[Tom Bevan]

And I was like, some woman needs to do him a solid and just, you know, pat it down. Like, lick the fingers and pat it.

[Carl Cannon]

I was saying that same thing.

[Tom Bevan]

And as he was like, being a germaphobe.

[Megyn Kelly]

Love that. If someone reached over and did that.

[Tom Bevan]

Oh, well, just pat it at least. I'm like Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan, it's up to you. He's almost on stage. Can you imagine if that would have

[Carl Cannon]

been awesome if Cade was in a moment? Right.

[Tom Bevan]

No one did it. They let him go out there with a little. Little bit of a mess. Mr. President, I would have had your back. I touched his hair before on camera in an interview, so I would not have been shy. Someone should have done him that solid. Very, very sad. So, on immigration, can we talk about the moment that we played in the intro where he said that the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens? And he said, please stand if you agree. I mean, that's like an open trap, Andrew. Right? Like, do it stand or don't stand. There's really no good way out of this for you Dems, because immigration enforcement is so hot and it's so controversial right now. They didn't stand. And I do think there's a risk because, yes, I know the Democrats at home are like, right on. Don't stand Minnesota. But those pesky independents who also have been watching Minnesota, I don't think that they would find that statement inherently controversial. And I do think that could wind up in a few ads as we tredge forward to November.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, no, I had a sort of thought experiment. What if someone had stood up because the applause. You had to cut the applause. It was about a minute of applause there during that thing. What if, about the 32nd mark, a couple of them had sort of stood up reluctantly and started to clap and, you know, give him the. Give him the sort of like, you know, that golf clap kind of thing. I think that would have been a powerful moment for the Democrats and would have shown that, yes, you know, we can be bipartisan on this because it was, in some sense, it was such an obvious trap, and they fell into it so, so hard. And then the fact that it was a minute long really sort of gave it the power that. So I just wonder if the Democrats could have played it differently. But that would have taken someone with some presence of mind and some independence. And I don't think that's where the caucus is right now. I think that they're pretty much, as you saw, in lockstep, and they've made. They've decided that this was going to be the way they were going to handle it, I think was wrong. I think they should have stood.

[Tom Bevan]

Well, Hakeem Jeffries had ordered silent defiance, which apparently Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar did not get the memo. And I don't know how they work it. Maybe, you know, Carl, like, is there, like, follow the leader? If Hakeem stands, everybody stands. If he remains seated, everybody remains seated. Or is it an individual judgment call and they just kind of know you got to stand for the hockey team, but we're not standing for virtually anything beyond that.

[Carl Cannon]

Megan, they know they don't need Hakeem Jeffries to tell them any. I love Andy. He's as naive as I am sometimes. But any Democrat who would have stood for that would have been primaried like, tomorrow. So that's just where the party is. Yeah, yeah.

[Megyn Kelly]

Can I just say, too, okay, we did a national poll a couple of weeks ago, and then we just had a poll come out in Pennsylvania, and the data on this remains pretty clear. The public is. They don't like what they saw in Minnesota. Right on this chaos on the streets. They think that ICE went too far. But when you ask people do they believe in abolishing ICE, still a vast majority of folks, 58, 60% say no. They do not want to abolish ICE. And abolish ICE used to be sort of a fringy position for Democrats and now it's sort of a main, much more of a mainstream position for Democrats. And that could get them into trouble because people don't, they don't want to see chaos in the streets, but they also didn't like seeing chaos on the border and they don't like seeing, you know, these stories in the news about people who are here illegally, who've committed crimes.

[Tom Bevan]

They also don't want to see KKK come out of one of their elected representatives mouths when the entire chamber is chanting usa. Rashida Tlaib is a national disgrace. She clearly did it. Here's the video in Sat 19, Everyone's cheering, usa, usa. Look at him. Kkk. This is a sick person. This is a sick person. And by the way, speaking of which, Trump just truthed out the following message. He wrote, okay, hold on. When you watch low IQ Ilan Omar and Rashida Talib as they screamed uncontrollably last night at the very elegant State of the Union. Such an important and beautiful event. They had the bulging bloodshot eyes of crazy people, lunatics, mentally deranged and sick who frankly look like they should be institutionalized. When people can behave like that and knowing that they are crooked and corrupt politicians so bad for our country, we should send them back where they came from as fast as possible. They can only damage the United States of America. They can do nothing to help it. They should actually get on a boat with Trump, deranged Robert De Niro, another sick and demented person with I believe, an extremely low IQ who has absolutely no idea what he is doing or saying, some of which is seriously criminal. When I watched him break down in tears, I've got to show you that clip last night, much like a child would do, I realized that he may be even sicker than crazy Rosie o', Donnell, who is right now in Ireland trying to figure out how to come back into our beautiful United States. The only difference between De Niro and Rosie is that she is probably somewhat smarter than him, which isn't saying much. The good, good news is that America is now bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before. And it's driving them absolutely crazy. President Donald J. Trump.

[Andrew Walworth]

Wow.

[Tom Bevan]

Everybody's shaking their head for different reasons.

[Megyn Kelly]

That's an all timer right there.

[Carl Cannon]

What I was thinking, he doesn't even drink.

[Tom Bevan]

It's all natural. Yeah. I mean, in that way, Mike Johnson should not move to punish, admonish Tlaib or Omar because they wanted it in a way like they made fools of themselves. How is it bad for Trump or Team Republican to have Rashida Tlaib saying KKK while the chants in the chamber were usa she's so inherently unlikable. I'm sorry. Rashida Tlaib is disgusting. I look at her and I think, you're a disgusting fool. All the shit she did after 10, seven, she was basically ready to go sign up for Hamas. It was very clear to me. And Ilhan Omar same. I mean she's worse. She married her brother. She's a Somali fraudster leader. She doesn't seem to have any problem with all the billions of dol that have been stolen by her people from her state. So there's no downside to Trump in sending out a truth like that. And we'll get to Robert De Niro in a minute who is crying too much for somebody who starred in the Godfather. Tom?

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, look, I was thinking about this. You know, there is this and we saw this on display last night and that clip just accentuates it. I didn't even see that last night, the KKK thing. But there's, there is this sense that, you know, Republicans are proud of the country for what it is and what we do and what we accomplish in our history. Democrats only seem proud of the country when it's, you know, being parts of it are being changed to their liking when, when aggrieved classes or victims are being celebrated. And that's a real difference in viewpoint. And I think it was really on display last night when, you know, again we talk about the people that were honored, our military, the Olympians, like it was a very American, a celebration of America. And Dems could hardly rouse themselves out of their seats for any of it.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

And it.

[Megyn Kelly]

Just because they don't see the country in the same way that, that, that Trump presented it last night and that I think most Republicans see and are proud of. I remember I was, this is what I was thinking about after 9, 11, if you remember, there was some gnashing of the teeth in the media and we got these think pieces because everybody had put out American flags, right? Everyone. And there was like some liberal folks who said, you know, it made me uncomfortable, there's too much jingoism in the country. And that, that to me like that Unity and solidarity that comes with patriotism. It makes Democrats uncomfortable, unfortunately.

[Tom Bevan]

I think I, I've told this story before, but we have a friend from Argentina, and he was at our Beach House on 4th of July last year and could not believe the number of American flags that people had out on their houses during the summer, like in the lead up to July 4th. It's extra, but, you know, every neighborhood in America pretty much does it. But he was like, I've never seen such a thing before. Like the way you Americans take pride in your country. This is incredible. He loved it. And of course, then we had our colonial party with everybody wearing the colonial outfits. Took it next level. But, yeah, no, you're right, Tom. And I think Trump's very into masculine energy. You know, the Democrats are into more feminine energy. And I don't mean that, you know, as a disparagement of women, but I'm just saying he's like, strong, robust, aggressive winners. And Democrats are more like soft. You need hugs. Everyone's a victim. Mommy's here. And I think the country's in the mood. And still, even though Trump's numbers are going down for that sort of masculine, winning energy. Standby. More ahead. Quick break with the RCP guys next. Our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, says Washington politicians are always getting in your wallet and now they're messing with your credit card. They say your credit card and the security it offers are under attack. And that Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall want to change the nation's payment system to benefit corporate megastores like Walmart and Target at the expense of everyday Americans. Credit cards can keep your payments secure and provide rewards that families use to help make everyday purchases more affordable. The Electronic Payments Coalition says the Durbin Marshall mandates would let corporate megastores cut corners on credit card processing, routing transactions over cheaper, untested networks with weaker security and fewer protections. Find out [e-mail] and consider telling Congress to guard your card. Wasn't that delicious? So good. Your bill, ladies. I got it. No, I got it. Seriously, I insist. I insisted first. Don't be silly. You'll not be silly.

[Megyn Kelly]

People with the wills of Wells Fargo ActiveCash credit card prefer to pay because they earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay. Rock, paper, scissors for it. Rock, paper, scissors.

[Megyn Kelly]

Shoot.

[Tom Bevan]

No.

[Carl Cannon]

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[Megyn Kelly]

Visit Wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply.

[Tom Bevan]

Sometimes you want the full cocktail experience and the freedom to say yes to more the next day. That's where ritual zero proof comes in. These high quality alcohol alternatives are crafted to bring the bite, flavor and vibe of real spirits without the alcohol. Mix an agave spirit margarita, pour in a paritif spritz or sub in whatever fits your go to. Each one swaps in ounce for ounce, zero proof and low to no calories. More flavor, more moments, no trade offs. Ditch the rules, keep the ritual. Find yours at ritual.0proof.com. Back with me now, the guys from RealClearPolitics, Tom Bevan, Carl Cannon, and Andrew Walworth. Okay, so there's, there's a lot still to go over. I barely know where to begin. So I'm going to go back to US Hockey because there was a particular moment with the goalie Connor Hellebuck, who was just a stalwart of that game. And most of the guys would tell you the main reason we won. Just a brick wall. Nothing got past him. And President Trump was very impressed with him. By the way, I've actually been at an NHL game with President Trump. He was just Donald Trump at the time, but the guy is a genuine hockey fan. I can speak to that personally. The audience knows I don't know anything about sports, but I do get occasionally dragged along to them by my husband. And Trump's big into NHL hockey. So in any event, you could see his respect for Connor was genuine. Trump loves a winner. He really does. He loves a winner. He loves anybody who's the best in their craft. He respects it. Even if they're opposed to him, he respects it. So he gave Conor Hellebach the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which he pointed out has been given to 12 other athletes. Guys like Muhammad Ali have gotten it. And so this was really an elevation of him to, you know, vaunted status. And we actually did a little deep dive onto into Conor's background. Listen to this. He was not like a child prodigy prodigy. He was more in like the Tom Brady camp where nobody really saw him amounting to much. And then, you know, like, until somebody did and then there was no stopping him. But listen to him on his this little bit from Sportsnet on his origin story. Sat 4 coming out of Walled Lake Northern High School in Michigan, Connor Hellebuck's hockey path was as clear as Texas.

[Carl Cannon]

Crude.

[Tom Bevan]

Undrafted in every junior league and not a single call from any NCAA school. His only option was an invite to camp from the North American Hockey League expansion Odessa Jackalopes.

[Carl Cannon]

Craig Sarner, who's a scout, calls me and he says, okay, I found you a goalie.

[Tom Bevan]

I said, who is it?

[Carl Cannon]

He said, connor Hellebuck So we go

[Andrew Walworth]

to the computer and type his name

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

in the computer, and

[Megyn Kelly]

he's not on there. I mean, he's not on the top.

[Tom Bevan]

We don't even have to draft this kid. No one even knows he's alive.

[Megyn Kelly]

I really didn't know where to go.

[Tom Bevan]

I didn't know how to continue playing.

[Megyn Kelly]

I just knew I wanted to.

[Tom Bevan]

Right after the draft, they called me, said, hey, we want you to come out to main camp. So that gave me a little hope. And I told myself, I'm gonna make it no matter what it takes. And he did. And now, as a national hero, standing there getting the Congressional, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. A very cool moment, guys, right? I mean, like this stagecraft of that. Very nicely done. Even you have to admit it. Carl, the greatest inch. Can I hear a B minus?

[Carl Cannon]

This guy, he gets an A plus. Think of that, Megan. That's the quintessential American attitude. I'm gonna make it no matter what it takes. I just, He's. And, and if you watch that game, I guess you didn't. But he, he made some miraculous saves.

[Tom Bevan]

I did, yeah.

[Carl Cannon]

Was just so amazing. I was, I was at a hotel, Megan, in, in Los Angeles, and there was a Canadian at the bar drinking beer, like at 6:30 in the morning and guzzling beers and rooting very loudly for Canada. I didn't begrudge him that. That's his home country. And he said, we're dominating this game. Why isn't it four to one? And it was one to one. And I remember thinking, you know, the Americans, I think we can pull this out. Because, you know, in sports, Megan, as in life, if you let somebody hang around and hang around and hang around and they're determined enough, they can prevail. It's a great American story. I don't give Donald Trump.

[Tom Bevan]

Did you lean over and whisper Conor Hellebeck. It's Conor Hellebeck. That's the reason, sir.

[Megyn Kelly]

I'd never heard of him, Megan.

[Carl Cannon]

But then when this, when he had that save, I turned to the guy and said, what'd you think of that? And he says, that was a hell of a save.

[Tom Bevan]

So, yeah, you got to give it. But I mean, he is another example of that sort of strong masculine energy, you know, that I think Trump responds to. It was one of the things I think got Trump elected. It's not, I'm not just talking about, like, I'm going to say controversial things, you know, that are going to upset everybody. I'm talking about like, being bold, being brave. Being unapologetically a striver, you know, somebody who pushes for excellence, who masters their field, who, you know, gets ahead just by sheer will, determination, hard work, like that's all very, very American. Trump loves it. It's one of the things I think subliminally that makes us love Trump. And I saw that theme in the guests that he honored last night. You had Connor. And then we've got to talk about the Coast Guard. Scott Ruskin, the member of the Coast Guard. Remember when these girls were hurting at Camp mystic, that those terrible floods went through and killed all those little girls, not to mention others in the region. And this guy came out of the sky like an Adonis, like some sort of like actual angels sent from heaven. Like, look, what's the word? Parrot. Not parachuting, but when you go down on the rope from the helicopter, rappel, thank you. Like rappelling down from the heavens, saving over 140 people, including the little girl Millie. And they made a moment. He, he too. Just like Eric Slover straight out of central casting. Here was that moment in SOT 5.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

11 year old Millie Kate McClayman closed her eyes and prayed to God she thought she was going to die. Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin descended from a helicopter above. Nobody knew where he came from. It was Scott's first ever rescue mission. Young guy, but very brave, very, very top. Always topping his class. And he lifted not just Billy Kate, but 164 others to safety. Tonight, Scott and Millie Kate are here together, reunited for the very first time. Thank you. Scott, Millie Kate. And Petty Officer Ruskin, I'm pleased to inform you that I am now a awarding you the Legion of Merit for extraordinary heroism. Which is what it was, extraordinary heroism. Thank you.

[Tom Bevan]

So great. Okay, Megan, just exactly the kind of guy you want to C go for it. You know, as you're talking the extra credit, always the actual grade. Professor Cannon.

[Carl Cannon]

Well, and also Megan, you know, you, you got me thinking about something that I wasn't thinking about last night. So these stories are, they seem isolated in some way and some of them were partisan. They illustrated a particular policy point he was making that the Democrats couldn't stand for because they don't believe in that policy point. But there was a bigger picture there, as I see now. Franklin Roosevelt called it, I think, the can do spirit of America. And that's not necessarily just masculine, but it is in this case it was. But he's, he's, he's portraying a country that still can do great things and has great people. And it's, it's the, it's the answer to people who are all wringing their hands and talking about America's sins and faults. And, and so in that sense, I, I, it was effective.

[Tom Bevan]

Yes. Wait, I got another one for you, and then I'll bring you guys in as well. We, we've got to talk about our 100-year-old Navy fighter pilot, Royce Williams, who has done everything. I mean, he was In World War II, he was in Korea, he was in Vietnam. He flew these secret missions that Trump was talking about, which apparently were largely kept a secret, even by Royce, from his wife up until more recently. And now, of course, he's 100 years old. So it's like now or never. And he had Royce sitting with the first lady in the first lady box. And she flawlessly, as she does everything, pinned the medal on. I was like, only Melania could, like, in the perfect suit with the perfect hair and the perfect clothes, close up on her 55 year old skin, she looks stunning. I was like, few of us could withstand a close up. That close that they kept doing on her face, but she's Melania Trump. She pinned it on perfectly. It went on just right. And it was such a sweet moment when he honored Royce Williams, who, no, he's not young and robust, but it's another badass story spanning the generations he loved. Trump loves military heroes. For all of his bone spur issues and all that, he loves and respects the military. And here is a bit of that.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

In Sat 14 in disguise over Korea in 1952, flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes. Despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Royce led the takedown of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others, vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being seriously hurt. His story was secret for over 50 years, but tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves. Royce, please stand up. And I will ask the first lady of the United States to present Captain Royce Williams with his Congressional Medal of Honor.

[Tom Bevan]

All right, I teared up a little bit at that one, you guys. And let me just give you a little addendum, okay? Royce Williams enlisted after Pearl harbor in 1941. For 35 minutes, he engaged solo in an aerial dogfight with seven Soviet MiG pilots, downing at least four jets before escaping to land his heavily damaged F9 F5 Panther jet on a US aircraft carrier. His aerial heroics have Been a legend for decades among pilots coming up through the Navy's Top Gun school. He is the real life maverick who lives in, like, respect forever respect and heroism status within Top Gun as a result of that, that incident that was recorded in Soviet Union military history. But no trace of his daring flight on November 18, 1952, exists in the US Military Archives. Like I said, they've been keep. He's, he didn't want it. He's kept it a secret. He didn't even talk to his wife about it. The fact that it happened and he made it happen was enough for him. But as he ends the, you know, it gets near the end of life, people are thinking about how they can pay tribute to this guy. And asked in 2022, when Joe Biden was the Commander in Chief, how it would feel to be awarded the Medal of Honor. Now, Royce Williams took a few seconds to consider his answer. Quote, if it happened, I'd be awed. I wish my dad could know. It would mean even more to my friends to know that I finally received it. All of his friends are probably gone. Long gone, of course. His parents, long gone. Virtually everyone he grew up with and fought in wars with and participated with, and who made him the man he is is probably gone. And President Donald Trump said, Royce Williams, you're getting your honor. And not just any honor, but the highest honor you can get, the Congressional Medal of Honor. I'm sorry, but if that doesn't move you, you have no heart. Tom, that is one for the storybooks.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, no, for sure. And, and I mean, it was, it was chilling last night. And then even watching it now, again, you get chills. The stories of heroism are, and bravery are spectacular, and they are the best of us, and that's why Trump highlighted them. And, and we recognize them. Can I go back to the hockey team for just a second? You talk about masculine energy, getting your tooth knocked out and then skating around with a bloody mouth and scoring the winning goal.

[Carl Cannon]

Teeth.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah. I mean, talk about an iconic photo of him with, like, the flag draped over him with a, you know, smile. And he's missing, he's missing his main tooth. That guy's a stud. And you talk about, like, the 1980 team and Mike Ruizzioni and all those guys. Oh, my gosh. I mean, so those guys are going to go down in history. And, and it's nice that Conor Hellebuyck's gonna get an award, but. And apparently, as Trump told the story, they all said, you know, raised their hands immediately and said, yeah, he should get it. But what a remarkable team. And the other thing, you know, Trump complimented the Canadian team about what a good team they were and how tough they were, and. But we prevailed. So. But the other stories are just remarkable as well. And as I said.

[Tom Bevan]

And Trump also pointed out that the women's team has accepted an invitation to go to the White House. So. Good for them.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yes, yes. And that was obviously the.

[Carl Cannon]

They were great, too.

[Megyn Kelly]

Controversy. Ye.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

I mean, they were. Megan Keller. Don't you go. Megan Keller. It.

[Megyn Kelly]

I just hate it when. When politics invades.

[Carl Cannon]

Sports.

[Megyn Kelly]

Sports is. Is like, yeah, I grew up playing sports. I played sports in college. There's my Princeton football helmet right there. And I loved the fact. Sports is the purest meritocracy there is. It doesn't matter what color you are. It doesn't matter what religion. None of that matters. It matters, are you good. And if you're good enough to play and you can help the team, you're on the field, and you are a brother with everybody or sister with everybody else who's out there working toward a singular goal. And that's what made this hockey team great. I mean, these. These weren't. These guys were. Were not the best players in the world, but they played together as a team and. And were able to achieve their goal, and that's what makes it such a great story.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, I think also, I mean, the degree to which the hockey team themselves have kept this above politics is noteworthy as well. I think that they've really sort of framed this all not as a political thing, but as they're proud to be Americans. They're proud to be invited by the president, and they're proud to.

[Megyn Kelly]

But it's the media that does it, too.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, but, you know, it's the disgusting sports journalists. I didn't quite realize how disgusting leftists the sports journalism industry was. I should have just assumed. But since I never read those articles, I wasn't totally tuned in. They're the ones who laid all these traps for these athletes and who had the most negative takes on everything the athletes did, especially this hockey team. F. Those guys keep going in.

[Andrew Walworth]

Well, I was just gonna say, on the Korean War front, people should take this as an opportunity to think a little bit about the Korean War as well. People don't think about it that often, but it is interesting. Just people should note that the aerial war in Korea was really between the Soviet Union and the United States. And it doesn't get that much coverage, but it really was US And Soviet pilots facing off in these dogfights. And it's a remarkable story. And this is, this is obviously a very important chapter of it, but the entire story of the aerial war of the Korean conflict is more.

[Tom Bevan]

Imagine this guy having laid it all on the line, having risked his life, having taken down four Soviet migs, legend at Top Gun, not talking about it, not telling his wife about it, but secretly when asked, you know, just a few years ago. So he must have been, what, 96 at the time. What would it be like to get, you know, a medal? Oh, gee, you know, it would mean so much. I'd only wish my dad could see it. Of course, then Joe Biden didn't give it to him. But President Trump does it and he. Any sane human is deeply moved by that story and by watching that happen. And yet here was the Democrat reaction. Okay, here is Democrat Representative Robin kelly on a YouTube channel where they were having State of the people. The state of the people. And live reaction to what Trump was doing. Look at this abomination. I was there. I was there and it was as horrific as I thought it would be. Did you leave early? Absolutely. It was like an award show.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

You get a medal, you get a

[Tom Bevan]

medal, you get a medal. That's literally Mo just said, you get a car, you get a car. Y' all are on the same page. That is so disgusting. She wasn't the only one. Look at 35. CNN's Abby Phillip. But he utilized almost like these game show type moments where you're seeing awards being presented to really bring these moments of togetherness that otherwise might not have been there. Game show. Fuck her. I'm sorry. That enrages me. That deeply enrages me. She, she's never done the uniform. She's never risked her life for her country. Does she ever rappel out of a helicopter and save 146 people? I don't remember seeing that. Did she bring down four Soviet migs over Korea after having fought in every war during the course of her lifetime? I don't remember that. Did she even make a US Gold winning sports team of any kind when the odds were stacked against her and the score was tied and all the pressure was on and saved the team from certain defeat? She's never done anything. She sat in that fucking anchor chair. That's all she's ever done. How dare she call it a game show. How dare this. Representative Robin Kelly. Thank God. No relation. Mock the Medal of Honor as it's like the Oprah. You get a medal and you get a Medal. Perhaps we should have waited longer, Robin, you know, to like when, when, when poor Royce was 200. Maybe that would make you happy. Like the nerve of these people. I just have one more I've got to show you. Because I listened to the New York Times, the daily podcast, I like to keep my finger on the pulse of what the left is saying and doing. They did it in a. In a more clever, tricky way, but the message was exactly the same. Listen here to the chief Washington correspondent, David Sanger. Speaking with it was Michael Barbaro today. I'm curious, David, as a veteran of

[Megyn Kelly]

State of the Unions and also as someone who's covered military affairs in your day, how you thought about all of the military awards that the President bestowed during this speech. I tend to think of those as awards typically given in solemn, much more intimate ceremonies. This is the most public possible venue.

[Carl Cannon]

A President's State of the Union and

[Megyn Kelly]

thus has a bit of a partisan tinge. A Purple Heart was given out. Congressional Medals of Honor were given out. Was that celebrating American heroism? Was that in some ways exploiting it?

[Carl Cannon]

I think there was an element of showmanship and an element of exploitation to it as well, because what he was doing was combining the experiences of these people in just wars, World War II and so forth.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Korea, where we were fighting for a

[Carl Cannon]

nascent democracy and managing to try to

[Tom Bevan]

merge that with what many would argue were less clear uses of American power

[Megyn Kelly]

and potentially even illegal.

[Carl Cannon]

And potentially illegal. And we're headed to that debate about Iran for sure, if you went ahead. So this is sort of taking the Ronald Reagan idea of putting prominent guests and heroes in the State of the Union audience and moving it to the next level by awarding them these medals in front of the entire Congress.

[Tom Bevan]

Yes, it would have been much better if we had hidden them into private medal ceremonies that no one other than the core military brothers would have been allowed to see. That would have been much better for Royce Williams and for Eric Slover and for Scott Ruskin to have no one see them receive these honors, these incredible feats of courage should have been dealt with behind the scenes so that they couldn't actually be appreciated by the American public. Do you see how insane that is? Carl, I ask you to speak for these moronic journalists.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah, I will. David's what David Singer is. He's specifically thinking not of the none of the guy to 100 year old hero, but he's thinking of the pilot who, you know, led the raid that got Maduro. He's thinking, okay, we're going to Venerate this guy so that maybe you won't think about. Maduro and his wife are in a prison in New York and you know who's running that country. And oh, and by the way, Trump did volunteer that we've stolen $100 billion of their oil.

[Tom Bevan]

I.

[Carl Cannon]

That was just so. Leading with his chin. And nobody said anything about it. I think David Sanger's point is, right. Trump's not dumb. He's making, he's trying to, he's trying to get support for the military. And so you can't. You have to cheer this hero. And maybe you won't notice over here, but the. I don't know, you know, you have

[Tom Bevan]

misgivings is literally moving in his misgivings

[Megyn Kelly]

about this five days a week.

[Tom Bevan]

Megan.

[Megyn Kelly]

Do you see this a lot, Tom?

[Tom Bevan]

It's a lot. Tom Bevin.

[Megyn Kelly]

So sometimes it's two on one. I mean, I just gotta, I gotta battle with these guys. But, you know, I think I should get a medal.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, you should be getting a Purple Heart. Yeah. Because look, there's no accident that Carl seized on David Sanger and tried to zero in because that was the least offensive of the three. But it was in a way the most offensive because it was the largest platform. It was in the New York Times daily podcast, which is a huge podcast, and he's laying the foundation for all the other leftists to object to the medal giving. It should have been done in private. That's how Michael Barbaro set it up. Normally this is done in a solemn, much more intimate venue. This was much more public. That's a dumb thing. Celebration of American heroism.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

You know, was it. Right. But it's like they objected. You know why they objected? Because it led to applause to, to the Trump administration. Because in Trump's presence, Andrew, people were applauding. They appreciated that he pinned the metal on Royce Williams and they didn't like it. The New York Times didn't like it. This creep Robin Kelly didn't like it, and neither did Abby Phillip, who doesn't like anything that reflects well, I'm sure, on the military, but certainly President Trump.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, I, Carl, I love Carl like a brother, but I totally disagree with him on this one.

[Tom Bevan]

I mean, this is just Trump like, to disavow Carl.

[Andrew Walworth]

This is just Trump derangement syndrome. That's all it is. Any other. If a Democratic president had done this, they would have no problem with it whatsoever.

[Megyn Kelly]

Exactly. And they would never use the word exploitation to attach to it.

[Andrew Walworth]

And I, I mean, you know, I find it offensive, what Sanger said, at least in this book regard. I mean, there was a real heroism in Vietnam, whether you agree with Vietnam or not. But those Vietnam veterans, we finally have come and it took too long to honor them for their effort on the part of the country. Even if you disagreed with the war, most people, I think 99% of Americans view that the Americans who served there and served honorably are heroes and deserve our support and our respect. And I feel the same thing about any military deployment. These guys and women who go out and do this are serving our country. And whether. Whether you agree with the policy of the moment or not, they deserve to be honored for their effort and their sacrifice. That's all there is to it. I cannot. I cannot believe it's a game show.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, it's like Oprah, like, why don't you sit there and say, well deserved. Wow. So proud to be an American. How is that not your reaction? Go ahead, Tom.

[Megyn Kelly]

No, I was just gonna say, I think there's. There's just this different mentality and different lens. Some of it has to do with Donald Trump and just TDS in general. You know, it's. It's like anything he does has to be demeaned, discredited, discarded, all of that. But. But there is this broader sense that, you know, celebrating these folks is. Is somehow inappropriate or maybe because they think that, you know, the State of the Union, you know, is.

[Carl Cannon]

Is.

[Megyn Kelly]

Should be above that or beyond it or whatever. But it's also. Look, Robin Kelly is. She's a congresswoman from the state of Illinois. She's running for Senate here. She's in third place. She's probably not going to win, but the primary is a couple weeks away. I mean, these. These folks are all. There's a. There's a. And this goes back to the Ilhan Omar stuff. I mean, there's just a sense of, like, you know, if I'm shown to be fighting against Trump, if I'm. If I'm shown to be standing up to him in any circumstance, that's a badge of honor. And that's gonna, you know, help them with their individual races or with raising money or with their stature with the base of the Democratic Party, because that's where the Democratic Party is. I mean, they just are blinded with rage about Donald Trump to the point where they can't even acknowledge these examples of heroism and sacrifice without, you know, falling into these kind of traps. It's remarkable.

[Tom Bevan]

These Republicans should put all of that in an ad. All three of those examples should, should go into an ad and it should get played on loop. These are the Democrats. This is how they view our American heroes. They didn't have the reaction of tearing up. They wanted to tear it down. That's what they, they saw somebody like Roy Royce Williams and wanted to mock the moment as a game show. That is so incendiary. But it dovetails perfectly with what we saw earlier in the speech when he was going through. Cuz Trump did the masculine energy, heroes and so on, but he also did people who had been victims of left wingers and, or their policies. And that was equally moving in its own way. First and foremost, I'll start with Erica Kirk, who was there. She was in the First Lady's skybox. It's not a skybox at the US Capitol, but she was in the First Lady's box. And it was an interesting thing because Trump mentioned Erica and called her wonderful and she stood up and the Republicans were standing for her understanding full well that they may or may not know Erica. I think they are getting to know her. But this is about Charlie. And they were clapping for her, for Charlie. And the Democrats did not stand. And then Trump said there should be no political violence. And they did stand. They knew they had to stand. I mean, like they, there was no way. They couldn't stand for that. But Erica Kirk was a bridge too far, apparently, because they've decided to bastardize Charlie's legacy and say he's a racist and so on. So you can't, like, I guess you can't stand for a grieving widow, is that. I'm not sure exactly what was going on there, but there was that moment here, I'll show it. It's thought 10.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

I'm very proud to say that during my time in office, both the first four years and in particular this last year, there has been a tremendous renewal. Renewal in religion, faith, Christianity and belief in God. Tremendous renewal. This is especially true among young people. And a big part of that had to do with my great friend Charlie Kirk. Great guy, great man. So last year, Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin and martyred, really martyred for his beliefs. His wonderful wife Erica is with us tonight. Erica, please stand. Thank you.

[Tom Bevan]

Erica, this is amazing. Erica looks at the woman next to her, who we later find out is the mother of Irina Zaritska, the Ukrainian refugee who was killed on that train and says, love you. This is. Erica always does that. She's constantly telling everyone who supports her, I love you. She's told me she loves me. I've Told her I love her. Many, many times. We talk regularly. She's holding it together. But, man, this has been a very, very rough five months for her. And the fact that the President honored her in this way and honored Charlie was. It spoke volumes. No matter what you may hear about Erica Kirk, the President loves her. J.D. vance loves her, and I love her. And she's doing very well in keeping it together and forging a very rough battle and keeping a massive organization together. And now being a new single mom and just missing her husband. You know, the first year, you guys all know, we've all probably lost somebody in our lives. The first year is always the roughest. You know, you. You got to get through the birthdays and Christmas, and we just had Valentine's Day. You know, I mean, all those things, we all forge on with our lives after we pay our condolences. And people have the tendency to forget the person who's back there grieving still and really hurting. So I was thrilled to see Trump invited her. It.

[Megyn Kelly]

It seems like so long ago, but it was only six months. I mean, it's only been six months. It's. It's really remarkable when you think about it, and in the way that she. Not only when, When Irina's mom was. When Trump was talking about her story and she was standing and she was. She was not holding it together. She was crying, sobbing, and. And Erica was in frame just with. Put her hand on her shoulder and was saying God bless you, and was just trying to comfort her. That was really. That also got me. I mean, she's a pretty remarkable woman.

[Tom Bevan]

Me too. I mean, just to see the two of them up there, I mean, both the surviving victims of a terrible, terrible crime. And what's interesting, too, is that Irina was killed the day before. It was the day before Charlie. Charlie was killed on September 10th. And it was a Wednesday. And I think Irina was killed. She was killed the Saturday before. But we were talking about. I remember we had a panel of great guests. We had Megan Basham, we had Allie Beth Stuckey. We were talking about Heather McDonald. We were talking about the crime against Irina on this show that Wednesday that Charlie died. And it was a great episode. It was very in depth on poor arena and the crime problem in North Carolina and the soft on crime judges and DAs and so on. And then we got off the air and Charlie was shot. Stop. And came back on the air. And so to see Charlie's widow and Irina's mom, like, holding each other, comforting each other. Oh, my. It's like Too much to bear. But like, of course, you have to understand the stagecraft of it too. You know, somebody had to think about it and make that decision on Team Trump. And what a wise move it was. Wise. A wise move for the women and wise move for giving us the moment. And the Arena Zarutska thing, it was crazy that the Democrats did not stand. I don't, I genuinely don't understand why they did not stand. Like, who, who would be in favor of a criminal who killed Irina, a Ukrainian refugee? Here's the moment and it's the one that really, like, I think Trump had genuine disgust at the fact that they sat here.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Soda lovin last summer, 23 year old Irina was riding home on the train when a, a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body. No one will ever forget there were people on that train. No one will ever forget the expression of terror on Irina's face as she looked up at her attacker in the last seconds of her life. She died instantly. She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America. Came in through open borders. Mrs. Zarecka, tonight, I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter Irina. How do you not stand, how do

[Tom Bevan]

you not stand motioning to the Democrats? That was genuine disgust on Trump's part. How do you not stand?

[Carl Cannon]

Well, he had, I don't know, he had blamed the Democrats for, for her death. And I, you know, I don't know if they knew what to do, but, but, you know, why didn't they, why not stand for Erica Kirk? We, by the way, Megan, I don't know if, you know, we, we give this prize the Real Clear foundation does for it's called the Samast Prize to heroes of the First Amendment and we ordered it to Charlie Kirk and well, to Erica on behalf of Charlie Kirk this year. And you know, he was, among other things, a champion of free speech. He was, you know, he was, he was killed exercising his First Amendment rights. And it's why he was killed, because he was willing to speak on college campuses to me, every American should mourn the death of Charlie Kirk. I don't care what your politics are,

[Tom Bevan]

you know, Absolutely right.

[Megyn Kelly]

Megan. I, last week, I think it was, or maybe the week before, I was asked to moderate an interview with Joe Abraham. And Joe is a, he's an angel father. His daughter, Katie Abraham was killed a year ago in January at. In Champaign, Urbana. She was down there visiting friends. She was 20 years old. And a guy who was in the country illegally rammed into her, the car she was in at 80 miles an hour. They were at a stoplight. She was killed instantly. And part of what we talked about is he's become an activist now. And part of the reason he's become an activist is because he could not get J.B. pritzker, the governor of the state of Illinois, to respond to him in any way. And he was at a congressional hearing in June of last year. JB Pritzker was there, Kathy Hochul was there, and Tim Walsh was there. J.B. pritzker walked right by him, feet away, never acknowledged his existence to this day, has never spoken Katie's name. Never even a word of condolence. And I asked him, I said, why is that? It would cost him nothing to just say he could still be for all of his policies, but why can't he turn to you and just say, I'm really sorry for your loss. He hasn't done it. He won't do it. And nobody knows why. There's something about Democrats and like there's all this compassion for the Renee Goods of the world, the Alex Predis of the world, but for the people who are killed, the Lake and Rileys of the world, there's no, there's no compassion going in the other direction. And, and I don't understand it because it really wouldn't cost them anything. And to not do it is, it's, it's like it shows their inhumanity.

[Tom Bevan]

Human.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

That the guy who murdered allegedly and we all saw with our own eyes. Irina DeCarlos Brown had been arrested 14 times in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, before the stabbing, with criminal charges dated back to 2007. It was a team of Democrats that kept putting him back out on the streets. That's why they didn't stand.

[Andrew Walworth]

Right?

[Tom Bevan]

They didn't stand because they know full well it was basically an indictment of their own soft on crime policies. And while Trump did then ad lib in that the guy was an illegal, which was incorrect. He was not an illegal. It doesn't change the facts, which is this guy was on the street able to kill because of Democrat policies, we went through it in great detail at the time it happened. And just to make clear, she was killed On, I think August 11th or in August, or was it the 22nd? August 22nd. It didn't remember. The videotape didn't hit until the week that Charlie died. That's why it became A controversy that week. Remember, it was all like, wait a minute, this didn't, didn't just happen. But it was amazing to see those two next to each other and what a, what a sad confluence of events. And President Trump is. He is changing the way we approach crime and he definitely is calling attention to political violence, having been the victim of it himself, having seen one of his close friends, Charlie Kirk, killed in the name of it. And it's another thing he doesn't get credit for. You know, I mean, he does speak out about that stuff. He's pretty vocal on it and he's leading the charge. And whether it's a strongly worded true social post or it's him at the lectern shaming the Democrats for not standing for a crime victim and basically making them promise to do better, you know that using that soapbox to call attention to these issues is important. Okay, I want to talk about some of the other Democrat reaction because that, that was the infuriating stuff. Then there's the fun stuff where we saw inflatable costumes. We, we saw lots of profanity. And I've got to show you the Robert De Niro crying thing, which I'm dying to get to. All right, stand by because we got to do a quick break and then we come back with you guys from rcp. Maybe you've seen those red light panels that are all the rage now. Well, this is totally different. Let me tell you about the glow infrared therapy light from SaunaSpace. They say it helps with screen fatigue, your skin, your mood and your energy. It's incandescent light, not led, which makes all the difference. In the morning it's like natural sunlight and at night it helps you relax and get ready for seriously deep sleep. They say you can even use it for pain relief on sore muscles or cramps. And the real game changer is their fire light sauna. The future of saunas. It's portable, it's gorgeous and it's powerful. You get red light therapy and an infrared sauna all in one. All made in the US with pure organic materials and zero EMFs. SaunaSpace spent over a decade perfecting their firelight spectrum and thousands of studies support the benefits. Elevate your at home wellness with SaunaSpace's Firelight infrared technology. Visit Sauna Space Megan and use code Megan to get 10% off your entire order. Don't forget that's sauna space./M, E, G Y N. Don't forget that code Megan when you check out for 10% off your order.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

In 2021. Sage was 14 when school officials in Virginia sought to socially transition her to a new generation gender treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents. A left wing judge refused to return Sage to her parents because they did not immediately state that their daughter was their son. But today, all of that is behind them because Sage is a proud and wonderful young woman with a full ride scholarship to Liberty University. Sage and Michelle, please stand up. But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents will. Who would believe that? We've been talking about this. We must ban it and we must ban it immediately. Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy. I'm telling you, they're crazy. We're lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country. But we've stopped it just in the nick of time, didn't we?

[Tom Bevan]

Okay, let me just show you Kaitlan Collins, reaction to that SOT 34. But these moments, as he was in there and at the beginning, obviously getting started, he was largely looking over to the left side of the chamber where a lot of the Republicans were sitting. Then he began looking at the right side as Democrats obviously were not standing for what he believed should be applause lines during his speech. And he was getting increasingly irritated by it, at one point stopping and saying, these people are crazy. You know, I can't believe they're not standing for this. Yeah. Oh, yeah. He was increasingly irritated that they wouldn't stand for it because he really needed the accolades. That's not what it was. Because he couldn't believe that they wouldn't stand and clap for these basic principles of here's Irina's mom who's in tears, a Ukrainian refugee killed by a criminal here in America. And she's crying. And you're sitting. Here's Erica Kirk who's crying and you're sitting. And now here's this young girl who was having some gender confusion, who basically got stolen by the state of Virginia, the commonwealth, away from her parents, who were in the dark completely about what was being done to her. And only far late in the game did they even find out when they were about to lose custody of this girl for not affirming. It was crazy, that story. And Trump saying, we've got to stop this. You can't take kids from their families, from their parents over this issue. And they would, they wouldn't say. He, it's, it's a disbelief on the President's part like on these basic principles. But we saw time and time again the Democrats would not stand. And outside the chamber, Tom, we had even more absurd behavior by these guys. I don't even know which one to start with. Maybe we start with tough woman Congresswoman Maxine Dexter. She's a Democrat from Oregon, and she really wanted the crowd at like the counter programming event, which is like the people's State of the Union, to know she was tough. And she's to defying Trump and his authoritarian project. And take a look at who was with her. Sot 28. I'm a mother, I am a physician, and I have a flag. It's a bunch of inflatable frogs. And I am the proud representative for

[Megyn Kelly]

Oregon's 3rd congressional district.

[Tom Bevan]

Yes, thank you. Thank you. And tonight, I defy Trump and his authoritarian project by standing in joyful, radical, peaceful resistance with the Portland Frog Brigade. Oh, my God.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah.

[Tom Bevan]

So these are not serious people.

[Megyn Kelly]

No, it's. Well, so it looks silly and it is silly, but David Marcus, who's a contributor to Fox News and who I follow on X, said he's great. Yeah. He says reminder that the Portland Frog Brigade is literally antifa. I saw them in action on the ground. They wear the costume to evade being identified and to pretend to be playful and wholesome. They are neither. So a little bit when I first saw this, and I'd seen the frog, you know, the stuff going on in Portland, but I didn't make that connection. And so it's a. It's a little less, you know, silly and goofy and. And crazy. Yeah. And joyful. She's in. She's in joyful. You know, opposition, whatever. But, yeah, and we talked about this a little bit on our show, like the, the juxtaposition between the State of the Union and that venue and the joint session of Congress and all that. And then you switch over and. And you've got people dancing, wearing frog costumes. And the guy in the giraffe. I mean, it was. It was insane. I mean, it was crazy. And. And yet. Yes, that's what. That's what. At least part of the Democratic Party. That's where they are.

[Tom Bevan]

This is where they planted their flag.

[Megyn Kelly]

Exactly.

[Tom Bevan]

We had the frogs. Here's the giraffe that you mentioned. Some guy named Robbie Rose.

[Megyn Kelly]

He was not decided to put on

[Tom Bevan]

a Drac giraffe costume. Well, he. They had him. Here he is. Watch 29.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

I've been arrested three times by ICE over absurdity, over us being ourselves, over me singing songs like, hey, Mr. Tangerine man, get rid of brown people for me. I'm Arian White. There ain't no place I'm going to. And then all of a sudden, he's not ready for primetime player Ice agents with two weeks of training come after me. I got arrested in Portland. I got arrested in Minneapolis.

[Megyn Kelly]

In the last three weeks, twice.

[Tom Bevan]

We've seen enough. Robbie Road Steamer. That's his last name. Robbie Rhodes Steamer. I saved that one for you. For you, Andrew. I thought you'd want to weigh in

[Carl Cannon]

on our musician of the Democratic counter program.

[Andrew Walworth]

Well, I played that clip on our show as well, because it was. It's so outrageous. I mean, I like political theater. I'm for it. I think that peaceful, you know, a little bit of absurdity is not a bad thing. He wasn't very good. I guess that was part of the problem.

[Carl Cannon]

He should be arrested. He should be arrested just from how he sings.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah. I mean, so it's. It's not clever. It's not smart. It's not. It's not really fun. So not on key. Yeah, I'd get. I'd give this a D. Frankly, I thought that.

[Tom Bevan]

Who says they're going to counter program with the. With Robbie Roadsteamer in a giraffe costume following the inflatable frog act? I mean. I mean, this is the state of the Democrats. While on the other zoom call, they're ripping on the medal of honor winner. Great, Terrific. Great job. Inside the chamber, you know, they're shouting, you kill people and you lie and all the things. And then you've got Joy Reid, who was the master of ceremonies of the counter programming event at the People's State of the Union. Speaking of terrible singing, sat 25.

[Carl Cannon]

So.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay.

[Megyn Kelly]

I think I did okay.

[Tom Bevan]

You did amazing. Yes. You get an A. I don't give grades, though. We just go on vibes. And the vibes were immaculate. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Of course she doesn't give grades. She doesn't believe in grades because she's a failure. She's the opposite of all the guys that Trump showcased. Winners, right? I don't do grades. I just do vibes. We give them here. We've been doing it all Show. It's an F, madam. It's an F on every level. Carl, care to defend.

[Carl Cannon]

No, I can't defend that. And I'll tell you, we got it. I won't even try. Actually, Megan, this is. There's a serious point here. And people can have demonstrations. They can have counter programming, do anything. They want. But there's a serious point here, and I. I want remember that. That the day after Trump's inauguration, there was a rival inauguration. You know, pink pussy hats or some ridiculous. I can't even.

[Tom Bevan]

Wait. Let's pause it there. Let's pause it on the P word from Carl Cannon. We're coming back right after this. We're not done. Ladies, listen up. If you are exhausted, anxious, foggy, or if your metabolism is out of whack and doctors just brush you off and chalk it up to age, you're not cray cray. You are being ignored. Joy was created by a woman who lived this frustration firsthand during perimenopause and decided women deserve better than generic advice and system symptom checkers. Every Joy lab includes a real consultation with a licensed clinician specializing in women's hormones. Not an AI chatbot, an actual expert. Joy offers hormone therapy, peptide therapy, personalized supplements, whatever your body actually needs. This is such a great idea. And for a limited time, you can add a 60 day supply of their estrogen face cream for just $1 with clinician approval. Stop guessing and start getting answers. Go to joyandblokes.com J O I and Baloks B L O k-e s.com MK use that code MK to get get 65 off your labs and 20 off all supplements. A great deal. That's joyandbloaks.com MK use the code MK at checkout for 65% off all your labs and 20% off all supplements. Joy and Blokes Healthcare that actually listens to women, day or night. VRBoCare is here 247 to help make every part of your stay seamless. If anything comes up or you simply need a little guidance, support is ready whenever you reach out. From the moment you book to the moment you head home. We're here to help things run smoothly. Because a great trip starts with the right support. And hey, a good playlist doesn't hurt either. So good. So good. So good. New spring arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores. Now get ready to save big with up to 60% off rag and bone. Marc Jacobs, free people and more. How did I not know Rack has Adidas?

[Carl Cannon]

Cause there's always something new.

[Tom Bevan]

Join the Norty Club to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack. Hey everyone, it's me, Megyn Kelly. I've got some exciting news. I now have my very own channel on Siri. It's called the Megyn Kelly Channel and it is where you will hear the truth unfiltered, with no agenda and no apologies. Along with the Megyn Kelly show, you're gonna hear from people like Mark Halperin, link Lauren, Maureen Callahan, Emily jasinsky, Jesse Kelly, RealClear Politics, and many more. It's bold. No BS news only on the Megyn Kelly Channel, SiriusXM 111 and on the Sirius XM app. The guys from RealClearPolitics stuck with me a little extra. They're basically just doing an all dayer here on the Megyn Kelly Channel on SiriusXM. They're just, I'm just not gonna let you leave. You're gonna stay here all day, do

[Megyn Kelly]

the wrap up show.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay, so you, you were, yeah, that's right. You, you were responding, Carl, to the ridiculous clip of Joy Reid singing and failing and making a comparison to the women's march with the infamous pussy hat.

[Carl Cannon]

Right, right. So that was really a rival inauguration. And I went, I, I wasn't covering it, but I was giving, I was supposed to give a talk downtown that day. So I found myself literally got off the subway in the middle of it, surrounded by millions. Well, not millions, but you get the idea. Anyway. But there was one woman, college age, young woman, 20 years old, and she had two buttons, one on each lapel. And one said, imagine a world without misogyny. And the other one had a picture of Trump with an extra. It said, not my president. And we sort of, we were on that thing where you're crossing a street and you almost run in the person. I stopped her and I, I pointed to her button. I said, that one, good. That other one, that's not right. He is your president. And, and, and she kind of, I think she, oh boy. No, she kind of appreciated it. She, she didn't travel in circles where she was hearing this. And, but, but this has been for 10 years now, almost going on 10 years. He's the president. And there's, there's this idea of a segment of the Democratic Party and a segment of progressive America that they, that they don't have to accept him as their president. That's what's manifest manifested by these rival, you know, rival State of the Union events. And I don't think it's healthy for our country. I, I think if you, you vote and you lose that person, still your elected representative, he's still your center, he's still your governor, still your president. And I, I just, and I think this is a dangerous thing that we're doing. So I look at those events and they can be funny and people have a right to do it, but I think it's a bad precedent.

[Megyn Kelly]

Wait till President Vance gives the State of the Union.

[Tom Bevan]

Oh, my gosh. I mean, listen, if you're a Democrat and you're going to do this kind of stunt, you don't do it with frogs in a giraffe felon or whatever. That guy, I don't know how many times he'd been arrested. You. If I were running it, I'd get a couple of my, maybe most prominent Dems, maybe not the 2028 crowd, but like the most prominent ones. Chris Murphy's never seen a camera he doesn't want to put himself in front of. And I would parade a couple of, like a parade of people hurt by Trump's policies in front of them. You know, like some farmer who's upset about the tariffs, something like that, and just go through one by one, this is how Trump's hurt America. Like, whatever. You're going to do it, do it in a way that actually might move voters. Not with the freaking inflatables. I mean, it's just. I felt like I walked into some weird non binary sex party. Okay.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Can I.

[Megyn Kelly]

Star wars bar scene?

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, I. I have a solution to the State of the Union. I'd like to run by you guys quickly. And that's what. What if everyone had to stand for the entire thing? So there were no chairs, so you couldn't stand up and sit down. Here's. Here's the trade off. You couldn't, you couldn't play that game. You just had to stand for the whole thing. But would that also mean maybe it's a little shorter because people, like, don't want to stand for that long.

[Tom Bevan]

I like this. This is an excellent idea. I mean, the President had to stand the whole time, right? And he's one of the oldest ones in there. If he can do it, everybody else can do it. I like that, Andrew. I'm gonna submit that in the suggestion box. I got one more on Joy Reid before we move on. Classy as always. Here she is, top 24. Attention all MAGA trolls, and with apologies to the pastor who gave the invocation, your bullshit is not welcome here. And to paraphrase one of my favorite actors in the world, Robert De Niro, I'm gonna slightly paraphrase him. Fuck y'. All. We're here to hear the truth and to hear from impacted people, not to see or Hear from you. So go back and pay attention to your orange lying friend. I mean, that's rich coming from the Democrats who infiltrate all these Republican town halls and hijack them. What they've been doing out in in Minneapolis with cops just trying to make arrests. The nonstop harassment. They couldn't take a couple of pro maga folks yelling a few lines at them. I mean, take it up with Ilhan Omar inside the chamber screaming at the President of the United States like pathetic. All right, I've got to talk about the following person. Who am I talking about? Let's play. This is the introduction to our next topic. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail. Abigail.

[Carl Cannon]

Abigail.

[Tom Bevan]

Abigail. Abigail. Abigail.

[Carl Cannon]

Abigail.

[Tom Bevan]

Abigail. It's all I can think of whenever I say Abigail Spamberger.

[Megyn Kelly]

My daughter's name is Abigail

[Carl Cannon]

Abigail Adams too.

[Andrew Walworth]

Come on.

[Tom Bevan]

She tried to ruin it. Tom tried to ruin it. But she. She. She failed. Abigail gave the rebuttal, the little scene, little talked about rebuttal for the Democrats. And the reason it's little talked about is because it sucked. It didn't move the needle at all. I suppose she didn't like fall down drooling. So that's a win. I'll just give you a taste of what she sounded like. Sorry, but I must sat 20. Our President has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who are aspire to be Americans. And they have done it without a warrant. They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies. They have sent children, a little boy in a blue bunny hat, children to far off detention centers. And they have killed American citizens in our streets. And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability. Okay, if we had an honest snopes, all of that would be fact checked as grossly out of context, but okay. This is all I can think of now. I saw it. And now you guys are going to have to see it too. Margo Cleveland of the Federalist with a rather clever tweet. I don't see the Dems response going well as Abigail Spamberger has been in a bad mood ever since her middle school classmates tagged her with the nickname Snow Miser. Kids can be cruel. Accurate, but cruel. That's why she never wears hats. None of this appears to be true. It was just a clever little like take from Margot. And our crack producer Jake Whitman put the following together. Watch. Good evening.

[Megyn Kelly]

I'm Mr. White Christmas. I'm Mr. Snow.

[Tom Bevan]

In November I won my election by 15 points.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

I'm Mr. 10 below.

[Andrew Walworth]

Friends call me Snow Miser, whatever I

[Megyn Kelly]

touch turns the snow in my clutch.

[Tom Bevan]

And we won 13 new seats in our state legislature. Earn too much. I can't unsee it now. Look at them. Yeah. I see exactly where Margo is going. Is Abigail Spamberger really the future of the Democrat Party? Because typically you give that job to someone who you see as a contender. And I, I mean, I would venture to say Andrew, not it. No.

[Andrew Walworth]

Well, I, we talked about this on our show. I, I thought it was an interesting choice that they chose her to do it because her brand is that she's is more moderate than a lot of the Democrats right now. And so I thought it was a conscious choice to try to do that. She's not Carl no more because he's a Virginian now. But she's not sort of running the state as a. As a moderate.

[Tom Bevan]

Oh.

[Andrew Walworth]

And so, but I will say this about, about. She was in, in front of the flags for her states. She looked gubernatorial. At least she wasn't in some strange setting and like her kitchen. Yeah. And that's a good thing to get through these responses without it making much of a ripple. That's the best you could hope for. Most people, I agree. I've done this, or a lot of people have done this, and it's sort of been bad for their political brand.

[Tom Bevan]

I'm thinking of the Katie Brit one

[Andrew Walworth]

two years ago, Marco Rubio with the water. There are a couple others. So those are the ones we remember. This one will be forgotten, gotten, and it should be. And that's a good thing for her politically.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah. I don't think Abigail Spamberger has any shot at national politics. Charisma lessons.

[Carl Cannon]

Well, but think about this. Think about this, Megan. I don't think the Democratic Party is ever going to have a ticket with two males on it again. I think they're. They're going to balance. They're always going to have a man or woman and a woman. That's, I think, think the energy in that party. So then you start to think about whoever the nominee is, Andy Beshear, Gavin Newsom, whoever it is, who. Who would they pick? And then you start to come up with a list and Gretchen Whitmer's on it now, Abigail Spangberger's on it. But it's a short, pretty short list. So I wouldn't, I wouldn't rule it out.

[Tom Bevan]

Okay. You're very smart when it comes to politics, so I won't rule it out. But I still have to put my money on no, because I watched her in that gubernatorial debate. And she was terrible. She was so bad. The reason Winsome Sears, in her defense, kept saying, Abigail, Abigail. She wasn't even there. She wouldn't comment on any of the controversial issues. Yes, it was a winning strategy. That's because the commonwealth was over. The Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, who we loved, but who they hated, and a potted plant with a Democrat sticker on it could have won that election. So it was not because Abigail Spamberger had some superior skills. It was because she had the right party ticket and it worked for her. And on the national level, you cannot get away with just standing there saying nothing about the trans issue. That, like, it was crazy what they let her get away with. But that's Virginia for you. Enjoy your new state. Carl, you thought you were going from, like, the People's Republic of California to something that was more, you know, slightly. Slightly moderate. No, not anymore. Okay, I want to spend our last couple of minutes on media. Okay, stand by. What's. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, we got to get to David Muir and Jonathan Karl, ABC News, covering the President's State of the Union. As he walks in. No one would fix his hair, but they were shaking his hands. And listen to this blunder these two made. And I will submit to you there's a reason they made this blunder, which they then had to correct. Sat 32. Freeze. Was seated. We just saw the President obviously shake the Chief Justice's hand.

[Carl Cannon]

There's Justice Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett. Of course, he chose Amy Coney Barrett for the bench.

[Megyn Kelly]

She was one of the justices who

[Carl Cannon]

did not vote in his favor and

[Tom Bevan]

did not shake her hand. There did interact with the Chief justice,

[Carl Cannon]

but then with none of the other justices.

[Tom Bevan]

And John, Carl, this was a question for the President today, but it was clear to us at the White House

[Carl Cannon]

that he didn't quite know how he

[Tom Bevan]

was going to handle the justices when he got there tonight.

[Megyn Kelly]

Yeah, interesting, that shake.

[Andrew Walworth]

Very quick shake with John Roberts.

[Megyn Kelly]

And then going right by Amy Coney

[Andrew Walworth]

Barrett, who he put on the court.

[Tom Bevan]

Court choosing to interact only with the Chief Justice.

[Andrew Walworth]

But Trump felt particularly betrayed by the justices that he put on the court that ruled against.

[Tom Bevan]

All right, these little drama queens. Here's the video. He shook everyone's hand. Everyone. There's the Chief Justice. He did shake Elena Kagan. Here goes Brett Kavanaugh. And there's Amy Coney Barrett. All of them got their hands shaken to the point where they had to come back on the air and say, this in Sat. 33. But we should point out, as he

[Megyn Kelly]

walks, and he's pretty close to the

[Carl Cannon]

Justices again as he comes down on

[Megyn Kelly]

the floor, that he did shake their

[Tom Bevan]

hands there this evening. There were a couple of shots that they showed, one of them making it very clear that not only did he

[Carl Cannon]

shake the Chief Justice's hand, but the others who had gathered there, including Amy Coney Barrett, who did not rule in his favor on the tariffs, though he

[Tom Bevan]

did apply, appoint her to the court. Oh, they thought they had such a juicy moment. The President snubbing his own appointee. No, that's not what happened at all. And he. They should be embarrassed. Clearly. They had to come back on the air and correct that because a producer got in their ear and said he did shake the hand of every supreme. Of every justice who was there. The Chief justice and the other three Associate Justices all got a handshake, even the leftists, Elena Kagan. So he embarrassed himself. They both embarrassed themselves, and they loved it. They saw what they wanted to see, Tom, and they gave them a chance to lean into a negative narrative about Donald Trump.

[Megyn Kelly]

Isn't that always the case? And the apology comes two hours later when the audience is probably a third of what it was when they, When Trump was coming into the chamber. You know, it's like they put out the tweet or the post, and it gets 10 million views and the correction comes, you know, hours later, and it gets like a thousand views or something. I mean, it's just, it's the same thing over and over again. But clearly they wanted that in their minds. Right? They had already. They had already had this narrative, and that was one of the things we talked about a little bit earlier. Trump actually was very restrained, I think, to his credit, in terms of the way he dealt with the court. He was very cordial with him on the way in.

[Tom Bevan]

Totally.

[Megyn Kelly]

He didn't attack them.

[Tom Bevan]

Was pleasantly.

[Megyn Kelly]

He called it unfortunate, I think, the, the, the ruling, but didn't attack them personally. And so I thought, I thought he actually handled it much more deftly than, Than most people, including all the media. They were all hyped up for him to attack the court. He didn't do it.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, me too. I actually predicted that he would attack them because, you know, he had. So he's not, like, afraid of doing it in somebody's face. But, you know, he, he went with decorum, to his credit, on the night in question, and handled himself quite well. And it's amazing to me, because those two clearly wanted their little catty moment of ahaha. He hates and they hate and see it's all falling apart. The Supreme Court and they hate him now too. And Trump blew it. And he's such a jerk. He didn't shake the hands. And he did shake the hands, even though his own justices whom he appointed, Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett at least were two of the three.

[Megyn Kelly]

Roberts. I was reliably informed by the media for months, months that the court was a rogue institution.

[Tom Bevan]

Corrupt.

[Megyn Kelly]

Right. So, so which.

[Tom Bevan]

And of course this will gain them. No, no chips in the bank with the left anyway, you know what I mean? Like, of course not. They did. Three conservative justices decided with the liberals to strike down Trump's tariffs. And do you think this is going to make the liberals be like, you know what, maybe we don't have to pack the court or you know, dissolve it or. No, they won't give them any credit. They'll paint them as just a group of partisan hacks like they always do. All right, and now we end with the piece de resistance. This is the thing I've been promising all show and the real reason I had to hold you guys over to get to this Robert De Niro. And we've all seen Robert De Niro go on his foul mouthed rants about Trump. Now, like that's been happening since 2015 or 16. But we haven't seen him crying with Nicole Wallace over Trump. Now we did check he was at one of these events, these counter programming events last night. We do not think he cried last night. We could be wrong, but we did a quick ch. We didn't see that last night. I think Trump was referring to this clip I'm about to show you when he talked about Robert De Niro crying. I'm gonna play the longer version, you guys. Let's watch SOT 44. Yeah. You're always about lifting up everybody around you. Everybody, of course. Why is that, Izzy?

[Carl Cannon]

You have to, you have to lift people up.

[Tom Bevan]

Why?

[Carl Cannon]

You have to bring them together, period.

[Tom Bevan]

You can't divide people, you can't win that way.

[Carl Cannon]

It's a no win situation. And look what we have.

[Megyn Kelly]

Look who we have there.

[Carl Cannon]

It's almost like a destiny to have this, this thing there. Destroying, attempting to destroy this country and maybe not even understanding why. So it's up to us to protect the country that we love. Yes.

[Tom Bevan]

You weren't supposed to make me cry. Thank you so much. Thank you for this. We talked about how this is the moment. This is the moment that it goes one way or the Other.

[Carl Cannon]

That's right.

[Tom Bevan]

Right. You think it's going the other way? I don't know.

[Carl Cannon]

All I know is people have to. Have to resist.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

Resist, resist, resist.

[Carl Cannon]

There's no easy way. It's not going to come to you easy. You know, there's a time when you

[Tom Bevan]

know in your own life and your

[Carl Cannon]

own survival, you better do this.

[Tom Bevan]

You better jump and run through the fire. Because if you don't run through the fire, you're not getting out. And that's what we have to do. I'm glad I get to run next to you. Oh. Oh, my God. I just threw up in my mouth. I was like, everything about it is. Makes my skin crawl. The worst, though, is that she's not crying. She wants us to believe that she's crying, like, in solidarity with him, with her very nasal delivery. Like, you weren't supposed to make me cry. You weren't supposed to make me cry. So glad I get to run with you. It's so weird. Who does that? Who that's not crying pretends they're crying. When. Let's face it, Robert De Niro is an elderly man now. And a lot of times when men in particular become elderly, they get a lot closer to tears. Very often, you know, we saw it with H.W. bush. We've seen it with quite a few men. And it's kind. It can be kind of sweet. It's not sweet here, but I think Robert De Niro, he's emotionally unregulated, all right. And there becomes almost a responsibility by the news anchor not to put this person on. Really, Truly. I. Trust me, I'm not going to name names, but I've had this experience where I then say, we can't book that person again because they just. They're emotionally unregulated or. And. Or they've crossed over to a place where some sort of, like, dementia has slipped in.

[Megyn Kelly]

I say that about Carl once a week.

[Tom Bevan]

The actual full person.

[Megyn Kelly]

Can't have him on.

[Carl Cannon]

He's too emotional. Megan.

[Tom Bevan]

Almost elderly.

[Carl Cannon]

Megan.

[Tom Bevan]

Not for you. Carl.

[Carl Cannon]

No, he was. He played the. The Southern catcher and Bang the Drum. Solely who dies of cancer. He played the. Jake Lamata, the great boxer.

[Tom Bevan]

He.

[Carl Cannon]

Of course, you mentioned. Yeah. Raging Bull. And you mentioned earlier, he was the Godfather. He plays the young Vito Corleone. So he's a great. So he's a great actor. He can cry on cue. I think you're missing the point.

[Megyn Kelly]

Lost it reminded me of.

[Carl Cannon]

He's crying for a.

[Tom Bevan]

Too. Was acting. Yeah, she was definitely acting to me. It seems sincere on his part because he's deranged. He really, truly has Trump derangement syndrome. There's no one who has it worse than Robert De Niro. I mean, truly. Rosie o' Donnell and he. They're tied. And the nerve, Andrew, of him to lecture us on not being divisive literally says, you can't divide people. Let's run. Stop. 46.

[Carl Cannon]

He's a dog. He's a pig. He's a con, a bull artist, a mutt. Well, I'd like to punch him in the face.

[Tom Bevan]

This is somebody that we want for president.

[Carl Cannon]

I don't think so.

[Tom Bevan]

I'm gonna say one thing. Fuck Trump. Oh, wait, what? He's a sociopathic, psychopathic malignant narcissist.

[Carl Cannon]

He's got to be stopped. If he gets in, I can tell

[Tom Bevan]

you right now, he will never leave.

[Carl Cannon]

He will never leave.

[Tom Bevan]

You know that.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

He will never leave. What does that mean?

[Carl Cannon]

Is that the country we want to live in? Do we want him running this country

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

and saying, I'm not leaving. I'm dictator for life?

[Tom Bevan]

You can't divide people unless you're Bobby De Niro, in which case you can do it all day, every day if it's about Donald Trump. And.

[Andrew Walworth]

Yeah, well, I will say this about Nicole Wallace before we leave. Takes some discipline when someone's crying on camera, not to break in. And it's. It's something that. That interviewers kind of learn to do. You, when someone's having an emotional moment, don't do the natural thing, which is to try to relieve the stress in the room.

[Megyn Kelly]

So give her some.

[Tom Bevan]

Can someone please cut Andrew's mic?

[Andrew Walworth]

You want.

[Tom Bevan]

But I can't, Cannot listen to this.

[Megyn Kelly]

What.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

But I,

[Andrew Walworth]

I. Yeah, I mean, what do you want to say about Bobby Ninor?

[Tom Bevan]

He.

[Andrew Walworth]

He was at the. The State of the Swamp event yesterday, and he did say on camera, because we played it in our thing, that America is not very. He loves his country, but America is not lovable right now. So that was fairly mild for him.

[Tom Bevan]

Divide people. Yeah, but you can't divide people, luckily. You just can't. It's just the wrong thing to do.

[Megyn Kelly]

It just shows, though, like, kid, I. I can't even imagine, and I think most people can't even imagine, like, getting. Getting that emotional and having all these emotions, the anger and the rage toward a politician. Like, there are politicians that we don't like. And, you know, if, like, if AOC becomes president, she wins the next election or someone like that, like, are Republicans, are they going to Be, you know, crying about it. I mean, there's just this emotional level that the Democrats have, and it's driven by Trump mostly, that it is. It's like a mind virus that causes them to get just so emotionally invested. Their hatred of him is, like, all consuming. And I just. I don't understand it. I think most people don't understand it because we just don't get that worked up over politicians. You like some, you hate some. Like, the country's gonna survive one way or the other. It's not like. Like, it's, you know, they've convinced themselves that, like, he's the end of times. I mean, it's really weird.

[Andrew Walworth]

But why do we care?

[Tom Bevan]

Although, I will tell you, Tom, last night, Doug and I had, like, a serious conversation of how we would divide the United States if we needed to, like, blue, needed to separate from red, what would be meaningful lines. And we. We decided that we'd have to give the west coast to the libs. We'd have to give the east coast to the conservatives. Then we're going to have to fight over Vermont and Massachusetts because it's going to be like the Israeli settlements. Like, people got to get out. Sorry. We know you've been living here, but you got. You got to go west. Get out. You're going to have to go. We stumbled when we got to Illinois, because I know that's where you live, Tom, But Illinois, that's all the libs now. But we need a contiguous landmass for both the right side of the country and the left side of the country. And we're probably going to have a fight over Illinois. We kind of need that on Team Red, but it's so blue and. But we definitely need Montana. We need the Dakotas on Team Red. So maybe there could be, like, a swath across the middle that we could give to the left that comes up and, like, kind of grabs Illinois. I think we'd go over the top of Michigan. The conservatives. I don't. We could work it out.

[Carl Cannon]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Megyn Kelly]

There's all this. All that sunshine and good golf down there. Republicans have to have that.

[Tom Bevan]

We're going to get that.

[Carl Cannon]

Megan, did you get to this?

[Tom Bevan]

That's going to be ours.

[Carl Cannon]

Because I. I floated this idea. We could trade Minnesota to Canada for Alberta. What would you think? What would you think of that?

[Tom Bevan]

I love that.

[Megyn Kelly]

Or we could just take it.

[Tom Bevan]

Well done. And I. I think. Or we could just, like, give it to Somalia.

[Carl Cannon]

No, we can't do that, because I

[Tom Bevan]

bet you they'd pay us Some.

[Carl Cannon]

My daughter lives in Minnesota. She can be Canadian, she can't be Somalian. So we're going to send our hockey

[Megyn Kelly]

team up to Alberta and just take it by force.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Megyn Kelly]

Let's play a match. One match for, for all the country.

[Tom Bevan]

If really pressed on the national divorce, there might be a way to do it. Some people are gonna be unhappy, but I think net net. It actually could be done. But you look at somebody like De Niro, I'm being facetious, of course, but you look at somebody like De Niro, Carl, and you think he would do that in a heartbeat, like that he's deranged. You know, that Trump derangement syndrome. We say it as joking kind of thing, but it truly is like an affliction and when you have it, it dominates your life. I remember thinking about this with Rob Reiner when he met his terrible end. And you know, of course he felt nothing but sympathy for Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle. But the truth about Rob Reiner is he was a very angry man. And he had had this lifelong struggle with his son. But he, public facing, when it came to anything political, was always very angry. It consumed him. And I think Robert De Niro is the same. He, he, he can't speak anymore about politics in a rational way where like you can really hear him and like take his points into consideration. He's just too far gone.

[Carl Cannon]

You know, you're right. And, and it's sad because he wasn't always like that. There's a great scene in a book. It was about the Hollywood. I can't. It was William Goldman, but it wasn't him. It was another one. It will come to me. But it was the making of Raging Bull and this, the first script was so, was awful. And the producer said, I'm not going to make this movie. I can, I, I can't. In the opening scene, he's beating up his pregnant wife. He, He's a monster. I can't make a movie where the protagonist is a monster. And De Niro was there. I think it was, was it Martin Scorsese? De Niro was there in the room and he didn't even, he was like 20, in his 20s, thin, thoughtful guy. And he finally just said, he's no monster. He said, well, give me another script. And this guy didn't even know it was De Niro. And he helped, he helped write the script and shape it so that, that this very troubled man was a sympathetic character. And that's how he used to have a, used to Be able to see the good, the bad in people. And somehow, maybe Tom's right. Maybe it's. It's. Maybe it's an actual mind virus. But this thing that's happened to him, it's happened to millions of Americans. And it's sad, and it's not. It's not really the best way to live. It's not the best way to think, and it's not how De Niro used to be. So the whole thing makes me sad. And I. I don't.

[Donald Trump (speech excerpts)]

I don't know.

[Carl Cannon]

I hope we can turn the page sometime without dividing the country in half, literally.

[Andrew Walworth]

I just think we should ignore what Robert De Niro has to say. I don't understand why anyone would give a damn what he thinks about politics. What has he ever done that would give you an idea that he has an insight into how the country should be run? He's an actor and, you know, God bless him. Yes, but I swear on my plumber,

[Tom Bevan]

if he wants to tell us about how the Godfather was made, yeah, we're all ears.

[Andrew Walworth]

I'm interested in that, but I'm not interested in his politics, and I don't think we should be either.

[Tom Bevan]

And you can sense his frustration that people aren't listening to him. And instead of, like, getting the message, you know, remember that clip of Jennifer Lawrence back in the fall where she was like, I think I need to stop talking about this because I think I should just speak through my art. I run the risk of alienating a large portion of the country, and they won't want to go see my movies anymore, and I speak through my movies, so. Well, maybe I should just let that be my message. You could see the light bulbs trying to go off for her. Like, yes, that's all we've been asking. Like, make woke movies. If that's what you want, then we can at least choose whether to go see them or not. But, like, stop lecturing us on something you know nothing about on your soapbox and you. He does. He doesn't get it. Like, he. He continues to proselytize. Guys were not listening. You know, no one was worse than Robert De Niro over the past 10 years, when it comes to Trump, we haven't listened. You know, we keep reelecting him. His approval rating is struggling right now, as it has virtually all of his time as president, but he can't seem to break through, and it's. It's driving him crazy. I'll bet it's terrible to live with him. I bet I don't Know if he's married, but I'll bet if he is, she's like, shut up about Donald Trump. Shut up. Like, think about it. You guys are all in politics full time. So am I, basically. Do you spend your evenings talking to your family about politics? I say politics takes up maybe like 15 to 20% of what is discussed, like, in my home, and only when it's, like, in the news, something big. We're talking about, like, our lives. We're not talking about Donald Trump over the dinner table. Like, there's something wrong with people who do that every night. Every night, obsessively with this much emotion.

[Megyn Kelly]

Totally agree, Totally agree. And, but it, it seems to, it, it affects some people more than others. I mean, it's, it's weird. And he's clearly, it's affected him. Like, he's among the worst of anybody. I mean, it's just, it's consumed his life. And as you said, look, we, we've talked about this before. I mean, politics has replaced religion. It's replaced a lot of things in our society, particularly for, for progressives and folks on the left.

[Tom Bevan]

Left.

[Megyn Kelly]

It fills the void that they have and it gives them the sense of community and all that, but it is, it, It's a corrosive force. It's destructive. It's not the same as religion. And, and people who just build their lives around it and center their lives around it wind up looking like, you know, like Bobby De Niro. Sad, bitter, angry, resentful. Resentful of the country, resentful of anyone who voted for Donald Trump. You know, looking at the country through a political lens all the time. And that's just, it's. I wish we could do less of that, but unfortunately, these are the times that we live in. And it's affected, it's infected everything from, you know, what restaurants we eat at maybe to the, you know, the sports that we watch and all these other things, some of the places we shop. And it's just, it's. I wish we could roll it back, but I don't know that we can.

[Tom Bevan]

Yeah, if I were his daughter or wife, I would, I would say, you know, you, you put that down, right? You put down that phone detox, you put down that remote control, you step away from X, step away from the screens, go fishing, go for a walk in the snow, go sit with your granddaughter, like, touch grass, as they say. But you need to step away from politics because you can't handle it. Like, not everybody can handle it. You know, it's like, like the drink. Some people can have the drink. They can have a couple glasses of wine a few times a week, and they're fine. They never get addicted. Others cannot. They've got the gene, you know, like, one is. What is it? Like, one is too many, and 100 is not enough. That's. That's Robert De Niro and politics right now because of Trump. It broke him. It broke his mind. He says step away and maybe focus on, like, making movies. Something he, at one point was great at. Maybe he still is. I'd love to find out. In any event, that's it. I've taken you far too long. It's not like you guys are making a fortune off all these hours, but you're doing your civic duty. So thank you for being here, you guys, and thanks for everything.

[Andrew Walworth]

Thank you, Megan.

[Tom Bevan]

What a great crew, right? Tom Bevin, Carl Gannon, and Andrew Walworth. What a fun addition to the MK Channel. I hope you love their podcast as much as I do. Do be sure to download it as well. Tomorrow. Tucker Carlson will be here. He's been. He's been getting in trouble as usual. And we'll talk to him about all the news. Thanks for listening to the Megyn Kelly show. No bs, no agenda, and no fear. So good. So good. So good. New spring arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores. Now. Get ready to save big with up to 60% off rag and bone, Marc Jacobs, free people and more. How did I not know rack has Adidas?

[Carl Cannon]

Cause there's always something new.

[Tom Bevan]

Join the Nority Club to unlock exclusive discounts. Shop new arrivals first and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite Rack store for free. Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack.