
Megyn Kelly is joined by Jesse Kelly, host of "I'm Right," to discuss the high-stakes Texas GOP Senate primary between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton, President Trump game-changing endorsement in the race, why this could be the chance for Texas to help drain the swamp, Gavin Newsom melting down when asked a simple question about his main political project, Newsom's ramblings about Gandhi and Mandela, Katie Couric asking Newsom if he's too hot to be president, how the current conflict with Iran is in the “break things” phase of war, the much harder questions of what happens when it’s time "make things" and rebuild, and more. Then Mark Halperin, host of "Next Up," joins to discuss the real reason Kristi Noem was fired from DHS, whether her rocky congressional hearing and relentless negative coverage became the final straw for President Trump, the truth about infighting with top officials in the Trump admin, why Gavin Newsom’s profile as a straight, white, Christian, tall man could help h...
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Megyn Kelly
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Megyn Kelly
Welcome to the Megyn Kelly show live on Sirius XM channel 111 every weekday at noon East. Hey everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to the Megyn Kelly show and happy Friday. We have the flu going in our house. Have you been hit by the flu? Flu? Flu. B. It's so unpleasant. You always forget our. Our son has got it. You forget it. You know, like little graphic online. Like do you feel like you got hit by a Mack truck? No, it's not the flu. Yes, it's the flu. That's what we're going through. I hope you guys are avoiding. It always seems to happen this time of year, late winter. Just when you have like the, the whiff of spring in the air and you're looking forward to like the. The blooms. We're seeing little buds in our trees which is so lovely. And then wham. O some illness overtakes the household. Anyway, sending you all happy healthy vibes and hoping you don't have it. In the meantime, not so happy. California Governor Gavin Newsom. He's continuing his media tour. Apropos of nothing. You know, he wrote this book just because he wanted to get to better know people and not at all having to do with presidential aspirations. He had a meltdown over a simple question about his political goals. Think picture AOC at that Munich conference when she was asked about our Taiwan, our Taiwan policy. That that's what just happened to Gavin Newsom. When just asked like about his political goals, like what, what his hopes are for the country. Wait until you see this tape. And then he swung by Katie Couric. And as you know, she used to be like at the pinnacle of elite media, the darling host of the Today show and then the female, first female to anchor the evening news broadcast alone over at cbs. I mean, it was like, it was such a huge post, like, hard hitting. Remember how tough she went on Sarah Palin, you know, would, wouldn't relent. And she's different now. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but basically the interview boiled down to, you're incredibly fucking hot. You're hot, Gavin, and you might be too hot to win. How hot are you? Even hotter than I think you are. It was embarrassing and we will discuss it, but we begin with some major decisions from President Trump. First is ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Yesterday, some online were questioning whether this really was a firing. It was a firing. Fox News up and down. The board reported it was a firing. That's clear, by the way. But in any event, just in case you doubted it, those closest to the president have all said fired. And ahead, who he will endorse in the Texas GOP Senate primary. Should he be getting involved at all? Or should he let these two guys, Ken Paxton, the state AG and the sitting Republican Senator John Cornyn, hash it out amongst themselves? We're gonna have next up host Mark Halperin coming in the next hour. And he's got all the dish on everything political. He was with Trump at Mar A Lago on Saturday as the whole Iran announcement was happening. So that'll be really interesting to hear the backdrop, too. But my first guest today has a very stark and direct warning for President Trump about any possible endorsement plans in Texas. That's because Jesse Kelly lives in Texas, is from Texas, and he's host of the Jesse Kelly Show. Cares about all the states, but a lot about Texas. And you can hear Jesse show right here on the Megyn Kelly Channel, SiriusXM111 every weekday at 6pm Eastern. Love having him as part of that lineup. He also has a new book titled Jesse Kelly's Little Red Book, which you can get for free, which I continue to tell him is not, it's not a great plan. I don't think he's got a career as an author if he keeps giving them away for free. But nonetheless, that's how much he loves you. You can get it@Jessy Kelly.com when you bring a child into the world, your perspective Changes overnight. Gosh, that's so true. Suddenly you're thinking years ahead about childcare, school, the future, milestones. Part of loving your family also means thinking about their future, even in sometimes uncomfortable ways. And that leads me to the depressing part of this ad. Life insurance. It's not fun to talk about. No one wants to do it. But just you got it. You got to take just a little bit, think about it, take care of it, and then you move on and it's done. Okay? Ethos makes it all very easy for you. Fast and easy. Ethos is 100% online. You get a quote in seconds, apply in minutes, and get same day coverage of up to $3 million. Boom, Bob's your uncle, it's done. Some policies are as low as 30 bucks a month. Business Insider named Ethos the number one no medical exam, instant life insurance provider. And Ethos has a stellar 4.8 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot with over 3000 reviews. Protect your family with life insurance through Ethos. Get your free quote in minutes@ethos.com MK that's ethos.com MK ethos.com MK check it out. Application times and rates may vary. Jesse, welcome back.
Jesse Kelly
Megan. I appreciate you. And I know, I know it's a terrible business plan. All my friends, including you in this business, are yelling at me about it. I'm never doing it again, I swear. But it's just. It's dumb. I know it's dumb, but I'm a dumb person.
Megyn Kelly
Like a nominal stuff out even like $4, you know? So something nominal, maybe. I think people would want to support you. Okay, so let's talk. Cause this, I confess, I don't know that much about Ken Paxton. He's the guy now who's in the runoff with John Cornyn, who's like establishment Republican. Capital E, establishment Republican. And Cornyn's been there since 2002. But now Ken Paxton, who seems like a very colorful character and seems, notwithstanding some personal scandals, to be pretty beloved by most Republicans, he's kind of Trumpy. He's fun, he's fierce, he's a fighter. Um, but he's in this knockdown drag out with Cornyn. And now it appears that Trump, who doesn't want to see a runoff between now, what is it, March 6th today and the end of May. He doesn't want to see the Republican candidate get all bloodied up before they have to face this incredibly woke, annoying Democrat who just defeated Jasmine Crock at Talarico. He wants the GOP candidate to Be a little cleaner, you know, with not as many fist prints all over him. He seems to be getting ready to endorse. And I think a lot of people were like, okay, we get it. Until he said the person he was going to endorse is John Cornyn. And a lot of the MAGA faithful did like a whiplash, like, wait, what? Because they don't like John Cornyn even though he's a Republican and you are one of them. So explain to us why.
Jesse Kelly
All right, so John Cornyn, because this is really mostly about John Cornyn and frankly, the United States Senate, it's not even really a Texas story, although obviously Texas is pretty part of it. John Cornyn, I mean, everybody talks about rhinos and draining the swamp and Washington D.C. corruption. I mean, John Cornyn is the face of all that. John Cornyn as a Texas senator is an amnesty guy. He's talked about it multiple times how he wants to do an amnesty deal for illegals after that horrible Uvalde school shooting. John Cornyn was the one who worked with Democrats to pass gun control legislation. John Cornyn has screwed over the right time and time and time again. But John Cornyn is insanely powerful. He's a very high ranking Republican and he keeps the swamp full. He keeps it as swampy as possible. So along comes Ken Paxton, he's currently Texas's Attorney General. He's one statewide races, multiple times here. He's well known. It's one of the most difficult things in the world is to primary a sitting senator because they raise so much money and they overwhelm you monetarily, as you know. So it's very rare you can do this. We have a very rare opportunity to send a message not to John Cornyn, screw him to the rest of the gop that we are done tolerating you betraying us every chance. These senators say screw us over for four years and then the last two years when they're getting ready to run for reelection, they act like I'm Mr. Trump guy and all those things like that. John Cornyn does this. We have an opportunity to send them a message that we're done taking that, that we're done taking that, and if you do that, we going to primary you. This is an opportunity to make the rest of the useless GOP afraid to screw us over. This is an opportunity to actually drain the swamp because John Cornyn fills it up. Donald Trump ran on draining the swamp, talks about draining the swamp, talks about these things all the time. If and he hasn't done it yet, to his credit, from my understanding, he's having hesitations. Now, if Donald Trump steps in and kneecaps the effort to actually drain the swamp, it will be by a mile. The biggest betrayal of his base and the biggest mistake he has made in his presidency. He has some swampy loser dorks around him telling him that he should. That's why he's even getting involved at all. These people stand to make a lot of money if he gets involved in John Cornyn wins. And they're whispering in his ear that he should do this. He doesn't have to do anything. He doesn't have to endorse pax. He doesn't do anything. Just sit there and let us stay out of it. Yeah, just stay out of it. And it would be the dumbest own goal. At a point where he's got a lot of things he's juggling, it would be beyond belief to me that he does it. And I really hope that cooler heads prevail.
Megyn Kelly
Why do the swampy loser dorks want Cornyn money?
Jesse Kelly
John Cornyn, it's been there, like you said, since 2002. And John Cornyn's one of these guys who keeps a lot of Pockets full in D.C. of course, it's always taxpayer money. He finds a way to, to, to get money spread around Washington D.C. like so many of these long established senators do. And then miraculously, when he comes up for reelection, instead of having a normal war chest, you know, United States Senate runs going to cost you 20, 30 million dollars. John Cornyn had 100 million dollars to spend on the primary alone. Why you think they did that? Because they love his winning personality? They did that because the guy spent 20 plus years funneling money back to them, and he's going to spend the next six doing the exact same thing. And some people around President Trump, these political consultants who get 15% of all these ad buys $100 million. 15% of $100 million is a lot of cheddar cheese. They stand to make a whole lot of money if John Cornyn keeps winning and keeps spending money. It's all about money and power. It's everything gross that grosses normal people out about politics is this exact race right here. And we don't need Donald Trump kneecapping the efforts of decent people who want to drain the swamp.
Megyn Kelly
Now, as I understand it, the argument against, against Paxton is he's less likely to win in the general. There's a big dispute even among Republicans on this type of argument. Like Ann Coulter, she maintains that if you don't nominate the candidate who enthuses Republicans, you're going to lose. Like it never works to go for the one who would play better with the general electorate. And there are a lot of Republicans who feel that way. Like there's gonna be a off contingent in Texas if it's not Paxton who refused to pull the lever for Cornyn, which could hurt the Republicans. But in any event, the theory behind go with Cornyn is the Texas electorate has sent him back to the Senate time and time again and he'll be more palatable to a Texas electorate that, let's face it, over the past 10 years has gotten a little bit more purple than red.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah, I've heard this argument and it's a complete crappy argument and I reject it all the way. First of all, I've been living in Texas for about 15 years now, a little less than that, about 15 years now. And ever since the day we walked into this state, I have been warned that Texas is turning blue and Texas is turning blue and Texas is turning blue and not a single Democrat has won a statewide election since I got here. Texas is not turning blue. That's one to that weird little.
Megyn Kelly
That's a relief to hear by the way.
Jesse Kelly
It's not turning blue.
Megyn Kelly
This is nice to hear that there's still states toeing the line.
Jesse Kelly
Not only that, we're getting redder, Megan. People talk about why we don't want Californians moving to our state and stuff like that. That and with all due respect, the people who flee places like California and come to Texas, we pull all these things here in Texas, they're all Republicans. We get redder when the Republicans move into Texas. Texas isn't turning blue. That's one to that fruitcake, the Democrats chose to nominate that weirdo James Talarico who looks like he's never even had to shave a day in his life. That guy is not going to appeal to red blooded Texas voters. He's on camera saying some of the kooky God is non binary and things like that. Saying the kookiest things in the world that are going to be all over the airway Waves my dog could beat that guy running as a Republican in Texas. That guy's not going to be elected United States Senator. I don't care who we nominate. And three, this is the go to trick that the swamp rat rhinos use every single time there is a hardcore person who actually shares the values of the electorate. They use the exact same trick, the same line. I swear. They just all have it memorized. Well, he can't win the general. Well, he's too far right to win the general. This guy is too far right to win the general. Karl Rove and these goobers have been trotting out that line for as long as I've been alive. Anybody who won't keep their pockets lined and keep the swamp swampy is too far right and won't be able to win the general. I'm so tired of hearing that crap. Any Republican who wins, Cornyn or Paxton, any Republican who wins the primary is going to be the next senator from Texas, and everybody knows it.
Megyn Kelly
All right? Now, there's reports that there might be a deal in the works whereby Cornyn will be the nominee, Paxton will drop out. But Paxton could make an announcement saying, I'll drop out if you get the SAVE Act, a vote on the, on the floor of the U.S. senate. You know, the, the act that would require ID and citizenship verification before people can register to vote. And Paxton, you know, if he wants a long future in Republican politics, he doesn't want to cross Trump. So it's possible, the theory goes, that he might agree to that. Now, having said that, this is what he said to just the news and our pal John Solomon, his organization, just two days ago on Wednesday. Here's thought one.
Jesse Kelly
And what message do you want to send to the Republican base day? President Trump said he's going to make an endorsement whoever he doesn't do or should drop out. I have a funny feeling you don't
Mark Halperin
drop out under any circumstance.
Jesse Kelly
No, I understand this race. I owe it to the people of Texas. I spent a year of my life campaigning for, against John Cornyn because John has not represented the people of Texas well. He's been against Trump in both of his elections. Said he shouldn't run. Last time, his day had passed.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, so he's saying no. And then just wanted to add this, Jesse. Okay. Trump gave an interview just by phone to Dana Bash of CNN this morning, and there was a question about whether he's about to endorse Cornyn. She reports as follows. I'm quoting. The president says his top priority, other than the war, is the Save America act, which he now wants to include trans issues, banning surgeries on kids and procedures and boys and girls, sports. He told me this in response to my question about endorsing Cornyn. Quote, I'm making a decision fairly shortly, but I want, and then I feel very strongly that we have to have the full and complete Save America Act. Okay? I want the Save America act it's more important than everything else we're working on, other than the war. He told Dana Bash, quote, I've got to have the assurance of. You have a big story here, come to think of it. But I'm just telling you, I like John Cornyn, get along with him very well, get along with both of them very well. But we have to go in with the Save America act, which I, I don't. That sounds to me, Jesse, like it's along the lines of what I was just asking you. Are they cutting a deal behind the scenes where they keep Cornyn. They get a vote on Save America. They. They somehow. I mean, I don't know how they're gonna get a vote on the Save America act if they don't get rid of the filibuster. But in any event, and that's how the president avoids this bruising primary and gets rid of Ken. Pa. Having Ken saying he did it for the good of the nation, to get the Save Act a vote.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah, I, I think Donald Trump is being very clear there, and frankly, Ken Paxman is being clear as well. Get the save. If you want John Cornyn, I need to Save Act. It's obviously, it's a political deal that's being cut. John, or Donald Trump is not a moron, as many of the people on the left seem think he is. He's not a moron at all. And he has heard the loud screaming from people who are his most loyal supporters over the last 48 hours at the thought of him endorsing Cornyn. So if you're going to do something unpopular, and he knows it would be extremely unpopular, Donald Trump's a very transactional man, always has been. He wants something for it. He believes the Save act is necessary, and I believe it as well, it's necessary to win elections, to keep Democrats from cheating in elections. He wants to Save ACT fast. So that's the deal. I'll back John Corden if you give me the Save Act. There is a major problem, though. You say it would involve ending the filibuster, and of course it would. But even if you ended the filibuster, right now, we still can't pass a SAVE act, and John Cornyn has no control of that whatsoever. John Cornyn is already a yes on the Save Act. Our problems are that loser John Curtis from Utah, the Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and probably Most importantly, Mitch McConnell, who just wants to screw Trump one more time on his way out the door as he gets wheelchaired around the United States Senate, the people holding up the SAFE act, none of them are named John Cornyn at this point in time. So how's John Cornyn going to make that happen? He's not going to be able to make that happen.
Megyn Kelly
I don't know. I don't understand the logic.
Jesse Kelly
Well, the logic is simple, in my opinion. This is my opinion because I'm not inside the man's head and I don't have Donald Trump's cell phone number. And no, Mr. President, I'm not asking for it. In my opinion, Donald Trump is asking for something he knows they can't deliver. John Thune. We know this because John Thune has admitted it. John Thune has been in Donald Trump's back pocket for a very long time begging him to endorse John Cornyn, and Donald Trump has refused to do so. I think this is Donald Trump firing back after the last 48 hours of anger and saying, okay, you've been begging. You want John Cornyn, give me my law. I want a law passed. And if you can't do it, I think this is more about John Thune than anything else. If you can't whip the votes to pass the SAVE act and screw John Cornyn, he can go run on his own. In my opinion, that's what Donald Trump is doing. And if I applaud him for it, good for him.
Megyn Kelly
Wow, it's getting tricky. All right, well, that's something that we need to watch. In the meantime, whoever it is, Paxton or Cornyn will have to run against this Talarico, who already is. The gift that just keeps on giving. I don't even know where to begin. We didn't get to a lot of these yesterday, but here's one. This is. Sadly, this is the Nancy Pelosi theory as well. There are a lot of liberal Democrats who feel this way, who happen to be Catholic. Here he is in SOT4.
Mark Halperin
Being Christian and being pro choice are absolutely consistent because Christianity is a feminist religion. That Jesus Christ himself was a radical feminist. I don't claim to know what Jesus thought about abortion. He never mentions it either, which maybe
Jesse Kelly
that should tell us something right there.
Mark Halperin
But what I do, really.
Megyn Kelly
Oh, it should.
Mark Halperin
Is that Jesus believed a woman is a full person, and that's the definition of feminist.
Megyn Kelly
Jesus Christ was a radical feminist, and he has no idea how he felt about abortion. Jesse.
Jesse Kelly
Megan. All right, so sorry. I'm about to filibuster on your show. Just shout at me and cut me off if I go on. But I have to lay this out for people. So in the Soviet Union, after the Bolsheviks took over, the Soviet Union was obviously Russia before that, and their Orthodox Christianity was the religion of Russ at the time. And of course, communists are demonic beasts. And so immediately they start doing what they do everywhere they take over. They started killing the pastors and raping the nuns and doing the worst things in the history of the world and burning down the churches. But they ran into a problem. The problem was the people themselves had such a tradition with the Orthodox Church that they couldn't just get rid of all of them. They figured out we have to leave them some church. And so what they figured out they had to do was, yes, you could kill some pastors and stuff like that. That's just what you do. You're a dirty communist, but you co opt the others. So eventually you will get pastors standing in front of the pulpit telling the Russian people about the glory of the state and how Lenin is guiding us. And of course, Jesus said as much. And this is a common communist tactic. They have employed this tactic over and over and over and over and over again. And here in the state of Texas, Talarico is doing that thing where he knows Texas is red. He knows, by and large, a lot of Texans do go to church. And so he's doing something that happens often in the United States of America with these tranny pastors. This happens a lot in these black liberation theology churches where they're not preaching the gospel, they're preaching communist revolution and cloaking it in the gospel. And Talarico has been doing this on camera for a very, very, very long time. And it's why he is so insanely screwed in this. He has, he is co opted pretending to be a pastor, telling everybody that Jesus would want the communist revolution, trying to use this verse and that verse. And it's very obvious to anybody with brain cells, more than an amoeba, what he's doing. And it is not going to land. Well, it may land in some fruity blue district in the state of Texas, statewide. Oh my gosh, he's going to get. Well, if you'll pardon the pun, is going to get crucified for that.
Megyn Kelly
Mm. I mean, I would, I would respect him so much more if he just came out and said, obviously abortion is a sin. Obviously Jesus wasn't pro abortion. People are gonna do what they're gonna do. And then I beg you to seek forgiveness. I mean, like that, that would at least be honest. But this notion of like, gee, we have no idea how Jesus felt about Abortion. Maybe that tells us something. What the nonsense? Jesus was a radical feminist. And then there was this on Joe Rogan in Sat 2.
Jesse Kelly
I say all this in terms of.
Mark Halperin
In context of abortion because before God comes over Mary and. And we have the incarnation, God asks
Jesse Kelly
for Mary's consent, which is remarkable.
Mark Halperin
I mean, go back and read this in. In.
Jesse Kelly
In Luke.
Mark Halperin
I mean, the angel comes down and
Jesse Kelly
asks Mary if this is something she wants to do.
Mark Halperin
And she says, if it is God's will, let it be done.
Jesse Kelly
Let it be. Let it happen.
Mark Halperin
So to me, that is a.
Jesse Kelly
An affirmation in one of our most central stories that creation has to be done with consent. You cannot force someone to create.
Mark Halperin
Creation is one of the most sacred acts that, that, that we engage in as human beings. But that has to be done with consent. It has to be done with freedom.
Megyn Kelly
Like God did with Mary.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah. Yeah. James Talarico is going to burn in hell if he doesn't repent. And I hate to say that because it's not my. Not my, not my role to send anybody to hell, but there are. I mean, look, it doesn't exactly take a Rhodes scholar to read the Bible and see the endless warnings from Jesus Christ himself of what is going to happen to religious leaders who pervert the gospel and lead the flock astray. James Talarico has problems that extend well beyond losing a Senate race in Texas, which he's going to do. If he does not stop doing what he is doing in that video. He is going to burn in hell and it's going to be freaking hot. It's way more than a political game he is playing. I hope somebody in his life will pull him aside and let him know that you are playing with fire, son. And it ends very, very, very badly. Very badly.
Megyn Kelly
It does. It does seem to me the pastor thing is not for you. It's not for you, James. This is not your gig. You've grossly misinterpreted literally everything about Christianity. It doesn't get much better if you staying in Texas. Look over to what's happening in Jasmine Crockett's House seat. All right, so her. Her district was redistricted with the. With what Texas did, and it was changed radically. But since she left the House seat to run for Senate, which now she's lost, there's going to be a contest to see who fills it. And whoever the Democrat nominee is, is going to win because it happens to be a heavily blue district. The particular seat that's. That's up and they have their Nominee. It is a guy named Frederick Haynes, who was her, I guess, is her pastor. He's her. Yeah, Pastor Frederick Haynes iii. He announced his bid to take over her seat shortly after she announced her now failed bid for U.S. senate. And he won the primary. And here is a dose of what we're getting with Pastor Haynes in SOT5. This is him in the Sunday sermon. And after Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
Jesse Kelly
A white Christian gets killed. Murdered, not assassinated. We gonna tell the whole truth today. Martin King got assassinated. Malcolm X got assassinated. Medgar X got assassinated.
Mark Halperin
Don't compare Kirk to King.
Jesse Kelly
Ain't no such comparison. Now, what Kirk said was dangerous. What Kirk said was racist, rooted in white supremacy, nasty and hate filled. But he still should be alive.
Megyn Kelly
Oh, thank you. There is a bone there at the end. I'm not sure. I think I might have preferred Jasmine Crockett. I'm already starting to miss her.
Jesse Kelly
Well, first of all, Megan, I swear on my life, I didn't know you were getting ready to play that sot when I talked about the Black Liberation Theology. Pastors doing the exact same thing James Tall Rico does. Perverting the gospel to push the communist revolution. I didn't even know you were going to play that, but. Well, thank you, Megan. There it is. It's laid out for you. You know, Jesus, thank you for teeing it up to smite Republicans. All this ridiculous crap these people say. And what's worse is my girl Jasmine Crockett lost. Megan, I'm so heartbroken in general because I'm just a radio and TV host. I don't ever endorse candidates. It's just not something I do. But Jasmine Crockett got my full throated endorsement in that Democrat primary. I was pulling for her so hard, but sadly, she was not able to to overcome James Talarico. But the good news is it looks like we're going to replace her with the male version of it. And the ugly truth, beyond all the joking, is that we don't like that the United States House of Representatives oftentimes accurately represents the district. That's the fact. We can rage against people like Ilhan Omar and AOC and all these other losers in the United States House of the Representatives. But the truth is, those people accurately represent the losers in their district. And Jasmine Crockett's district is full of scumbags. That's why they elected a scumbag before. And that's why they'll elect a scumbag again this time. And we don't like that because no one Likes to look in the mirror and see a pimple, but that's the fact we have. A lot of places in this country are full of scumbags and they elect scumbags.
Megyn Kelly
Even in the great state of Texas, we've got scumbags and swampy loser dorks. So that's not ideal. I expected better of our Texas brethren. He's likely headed, you know, to Congress and he'll find a lot of other loons to hang out with. But I have to say now, having just gotten introduced to Talarico, I think he's worse than Jasmine Crockett. I really think the Republicans should be thrilled that this guy got the nomination. Because first of all, a black woman running on the Democratic ticket does tend to inspire Democrats to make sure they get out to vote. You know, that's their core constituency. Not as much with the, with the white effete male who's saying, Jesus may have loved abortion. Like, I don't. Texas is still God fearing country. I don't know whether this guy's gonna play. I don't think he will. And I think they took a real risk here. She had the name ID as well. He doesn't. I feel stronger than ever that the Republicans are looking good in that Senate race. And now I think the more interesting contest is what's gonna happen over on the other side. This business of like, whether Charlie was assassinated, by the way, this is becoming a thing on the left. We saw some loon in Florida standing up and railing about this. I think it was in Florida, like again, and it was a. It was a black woman. I don't know if she was into the, you know, same liberation theology, but she was. She also took issue, like taking issue with the use of the term assassinated because they think it elevates his murder beyond a point that they're comfortable with because he, he wasn't a reverend, because he wasn't an elected leader, but he was a leader. He was a thought leader. He was a leader of an, of a movement, a faith movement. Do we have it, Deb? Do we find it? Yeah, we have it. Here she is. Watch. I'm pretty sure this is Florida. I'll get you the information on it. Watch. We want to talk about exercising free speech. Let's ball. So the First Amendment protects free speech. We don't need this day of remembrance for a man that was mediocre and racist. And I say mediocre at best. When we hear assassination that's typically related to a person in a political position. Charlie Kirk died from gun violence. Okay. We continuously advocate for gun policy legislation that would ensure that people that probably shouldn't have a gun don't have a gun. So was his passing tragic for those who love him? Absolutely. There is no denying that. But he was not assassinated. And words being accurate matters. It was a death by gun violence. That is an issue here in the country that we should all be on the same page with addressing. And if we want to talk about free speech, you know, a lot of people say that was some white on white crime. Why aren't we addressing it in that regard? What are we doing about white on white crime? Unbelievable. This is Florida State Representative Gant. G A N N T. By the way, she said words being accurate matters. I'm pretty sure we're going to say words matters. We should, we should actually live up to that and have subject, verb, agreement. Representative Gantt, but obsessed with. It's not an assassination. It's what it's about. White on white crime and gun violence.
Jesse Kelly
Jesse, do you remember when Joe Biden gave his State of the Union address and Marjorie Taylor Greene was heckling him so bad that he got flustered, as he got flustered from time to time. He ended up calling an illegal immigrant an illegal. He actually used that word, illegal. Joe Biden was then the President of the United States of America. And he had to go on a media apology tour for using the term illegal. Words are weapons to Communists. They always have been, they always will be. They carefully select their words. They select their words because they're trying to always deceive. They're always trying to cloak what is true. Their words are hand selected. They poll test them. They select them on purpose. And then after they select the words, then they carefully police everybody, including then President of the United States, Joe Biden. They carefully police everybody and demand everybody use those exact words because the words have been carefully selected to. To deceive people. Charlie Kirk was obviously a political leader and a wonderful martyr and God bless his, his freaking widow and their kids and just my heart breaks when I think about those people. And of course, communists hated Charlie Kirk because Charlie Kirk was insanely successful at waking young people up to what is true in this country. And he spoke unapologetically about politics, about Jesus, about everything else. He was wonderful and he was assassinated. But for the communists, dirtbags like these people, you can't use that word. Don't use that word. You have to use this word instead. Always a red flag, by the way, when someone's trying to police you with what language you are and aren't allowed to use. They're always trying to control you, always trying to put you in a little box.
Megyn Kelly
So, by the way, Merriam Webster defines assassination as murder by sudden or secret attack, often for political reasons. The act or instance of assassinating someone such as a prominent political leader. How is Charlie anything other than that? You don't have to be an elected political leader, Reverend King, wasn't he. Charlie was the leader of a faith movement that continues in full swing post his assassination. He was the leader of a political movement that delivered the youth vote to a president in numbers we hadn't seen in recent history. They just don't like it because it elevates him in their weird, bizarre worldview. It's. This is very sick the way they are. I mean, these are like, not well people. And it's worth keeping a spotlight on them just so we can laugh at them. That's important. It's important to mock and laugh. True insanity when we see it. All right, let's keep going. While we're on the politics front, I do want to play that Gavin Newsom soundbite for you. Okay. He was on the Adam Friedland show. I'm not familiar, but I'm assuming it's a left wing podcast. And he was asked a very simple question that any politician should be able to answer. Look at how that went. Sat 16.
Jesse Kelly
What is your defined political project? Like what. Throughout your career and like right now, like, what is, what is the thing you want to, like, you want to accomplish, like, politically? You know, I don't have in your life. I don't have like a brand. I don't have a tag, make America great or I don't, you know, the Great Society or, you know, something like Medicare for all the billionaires. But I, you know, but for me, no bullshit. It's just standing up for ideals, striking out against injustice. It defines my why in every way, shape or form. Stand up for ideal. Strike out against injustice. I'm a Sarge Shriver Democrat. I'm into that whole 60s, the vernacular of the 60s, solving for ignorance and poverty and disease and the spirit of the 60s and the spirit of King and, you know, and how the nonviolent movement in Gandhi and, you know, Havel and, you know, Mandela, that whole, that moral authority now for that whole space. That's the zeitgeist.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Jesse Kelly
And. And that's that. So that's me, that's my dad, that's my mom. That's the book, and that's my why. So if you had to define it like, I need your help. And you get. You tell me you're better at this. I don't know. I don't know who you. I just gave you my why. But how do you translate that into human? What? So if you say, like, make an appeal to a voter, right? Say if you vote for me, you get X. Like, what? In the.
Mark Halperin
In a.
Jesse Kelly
In a kind of concise, tangible sense. Talking to a regular guy. Yeah. No, no. I've struggled with being able to communicate. I told you what my why is and why I'm here. And I mean that. And that's ingrained in every aspect of my life. And it connects the dots.
Megyn Kelly
You tell. You do it. I don't know what your shit is. My Gandhi and Nelson Mandela and Sarge Shriver and Zeitgeist. And I'm not good at this. Jesse. Megan, it's not going well.
Jesse Kelly
See, this is the thing. I can't put myself in the mind of a Democrat. I have tried before. The Democrat voter. I mean, I've tried before. And I guess if I thought, like one, I would be one. I can't decide if Gavin Newsom is somebody who we should be afraid of because this guy could easily win the White House or if he just is too slick and too rehearsed and too just what you just played right there. It's like Gandhi, man. Is that really appealing to people? I mean, obviously, I find it to be so gross and stupid and like. I mean, you're laughing. Me, too. I couldn't stop laughing. I'm sorry. I was laughing over your clip. It's so hilarious and dumb. But oftentimes Democrat voters like that kind of thing. I don't know what to say to me, I look at this guy and I think he's failing to launch. I don't think he is taking off and he's going to be the nominee the way so many, myself included, thought he probably was. Maybe six months ago, I'm watching this podcast circuit and he comes off as too cute by half. He never says anything with the hand motions. And it's like Gandhi. And King manages the zeit. He used the word zeitgeist. Who talks like this?
Megyn Kelly
But you know who he reminds me of? I've told this story before, but there was a woman that they hired at Fox News who shall remain nameless. Stunning, Absolutely stunning. Very, very beautiful woman. And she didn't have the reporting chops to be hired at Fox, but she was gorgeous. And she was on the air one time and she referred to Greg Jarrett, who she was introducing. And she was supposed to say, and it was in the prompter, defense attorney, like Fox News anchor and defense attorney Greg Jarrett. And instead she said secretary of Defense Greg Jarrett, which no, he isn't and he never has been. And then a makeup artist once told me about a story about how she was getting ready in the, in the makeup room one time getting ready for a show and really overwhelmed with the amount of paper that they were bringing her to read. She's kind of in a panic. And my makeup artist was like, sweetheart, you give me those papers. We are putting those papers down. You don't, you don't look at those papers. You just go out there, you, you be, you, you look great and you charm everybody. And it was great advice. These, honestly, hair and makeup, they're a bunch of geniuses. They know they're, they're the best producers in the industry. And they knew, like, she wasn't ready for primetime. That's not why Fox hired her, by the way. She was there to read the prompter and not to do in depth interviews or try to really provide smart analysis to perfectly lovely person, by the way. And that's the vibe I get off of Gavin Newsom, sweetheart, you get, you give me those papers. You, you just keep saying zeitgeist. You went on the wrong podcast and your team should have better served you.
Jesse Kelly
Well, one thing, I mean, there is, there is something that I do know that applies to everybody, Democrats and Republicans. I understand politicians try to, not really, they try to not have to take a position on anything. So you don't want to put something bad on camera. Your opponent, you don't want to turn people off. You don't want to put something bad on camera. Your opponen to run in commercials. I got, I got that. I get the game. Everyone here listening gets the game. We all understand the way the game is played. At the same time, though, you do have to, you have to give the people something that makes them inspired. You know, Donald Trump, Donald Trump's actually a great example of this. You knew, you knew you were going to get deportations with Donald Trump. He never, he never, never played anybody, never, never played any games with that. He stood up at every single rally. We're going to get mass deportations. We're going to get mass deportations. We're going to get mass deportations over and over and over again. He may have been a little wishy washy on this issue or that issue, but every voter in the United States of America knew People were going to get deported if Donald Trump was elected. Everybody knew that whole thing. You have to take a stance on something or nothing inspires people to go vote for you. You're not running on Zeitgeist and Gandhi and walking into the White House. It's not going to happen because your opponent's going to probably Vance, and he's going to be standing up there talking about manufacturing jobs and deporting foreigners and things like that. And you're going to be a guy Gandhi, man. And it's just not gonna work.
Megyn Kelly
Oh, my God, it's so great. I mean, it's lovely to see these previews of how things are gonna go for us over the next couple of years. That's why it's interesting to watch. Here's a little bit more on his book tour. And this is the best one. This is the best. He sits down with Katie Couric. And this I mentioned at the top of the show. She used to be one of our most respected journalists in America. She was the anchor of the CBS Evening News back when that mattered for five years. She was the darling of the Today show. And things have changed. Here she is across from Gavin on Thursday. Do you have a Zoolander problem?
Jesse Kelly
No, I have.
Mark Halperin
Jesus.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
Are you just ridiculously good looking? As Vogue said? No, seriously, what do you do about that?
Jesse Kelly
You don't do anything about it. Because if you can do something about it, then you're bullshitting people. You know what? I am who I am, and it's fine. You don't have to like me. Or maybe you like a slick person. I don't know. Whatever. It's okay.
Megyn Kelly
The reason why I brought it up, because you talked about being authentic and I think it sometimes works against you.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah, it's just who I am. It's just who I am.
Megyn Kelly
It's just who he is, Jesse. He's just too good. Ridiculously good looking. Maybe he stumbled upon his slogan. Maybe that could be the thing that is his. What you want to accomplish your defined political project? Too good looking to run.
Jesse Kelly
He did. Yeah, he did the job interview thing, Megan, where the boss asks you when you're trying to get the job, you know, tell me something negative about you. And you're like, I just care too much. You know, I work too hard. Maybe that's the thing. But you know what's wild, Megan? Think about this. He's doing the commie podcast circuit now where he could be more frank about things because this is a long race. It's a couple of years until 2028. Now is the time where you could be frank about this or that or whatever your policy positions, whatever you're going for. And even now, he won't. You can't drill the guy down on anything whatsoever. I don't, I don't understand the strategy. I don't see how it works.
Megyn Kelly
You tell me. Because I feel like any normal man would know how to answer that question, which is you should be self deprecating. You should say something modest about yourself to make yourself not seem like an arrogant, vain prick, which is how a lot of people view him. But instead he went with, it's just who I am, not it. I'm just gonna. How would Jesse Kelly. Well, Jesse Kelly compliments himself jokingly all the time. But this is part of your shtick. This is not a part of a Gavin Newsom shtick. How would you have advised Gavin Newsom to answer that question?
Jesse Kelly
I would advise Gavin Newsom that he's not going to win Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin if the normal guy who's not a Republican, he's not a Democrat, he's just a normal dude, watches football on Saturday. If normal guy can't relate to you at all and doesn't find you appealing at all, you have no chance whatsoever. Donald Trump throwing on a hard hat or a McDonald's apron and handing out fries. These may be a bit ham fisted political stunts, but they made normies, normal people in critical swing states feel like, okay, at least he cares enough to pretend to be a little bit like me. Gavin Newsom is going to have to drop the hair gel, he's gonna have to drop this slick California style and he's going to have to spend a lot of time in the Midwest. And look, I love, I love being in California too. The weather's beautiful, the food is great, but you're gonna have to leave and you're gonna have to spend some time in Iowa and get dirtied up a little bit. I'll put it that way, Megan, because this is not going to work. These kind of podcasts, interviews. Well, I'm just too, I'm too ravishing. I don't know what you want me to do about it. This is the kind of thing that is going to turn people off. It's the kind of thing that's appealing to, to the voters who are already voting for Gavin Newsom. The young 25 year old mentally ill woman on Adderall. She's already voting for Gavin Newsom. He already has her in his back pocket. She's not going Anywhere. He doesn't need to win her over. He has two years to win over those Rust Belt swing voters, the guys who eat out of a lunch pail. And that ain't going to work.
Megyn Kelly
You don't like hot Gandhi as a, as an approach to one's presidential campaign, I love it. Like, so far, he's been the gift that keeps on giving. So I say, Gavin, you stay out there, you keep talking. We appreciate it greatly. Okay, there's more to do. I've been interested to get your take on the Iran war. I saw you the other day and you seemed kind of concerned, but open minded. Where would you say you are on the Iran war?
Jesse Kelly
I'm cautious is how I would describe it right now. Cautious. And here's what I mean. Everybody is enjoying this part of it, myself included, especially now because we all have a cell phone and we all get to wake up. I mean, we got to wake up and we got to see an American submarine torpedo an Iranian ship and sink it to the bottom. Who doesn't cheer for that kind of stuff? And right now, because we're American and
Megyn Kelly
you're a veteran, I want to point out.
Jesse Kelly
Yeah, and we're America because we are militarily superior and because nobody likes the Ayatollah or the dirt balls who run Iran. Right now is the feel good portion of this whole thing. We're bombing them into smithereens. We were taking out the Ayatollah. Anyone else who has any authority. There now is the feel good portion of that. And look, I'm swept up in that myself. I get that as well. The problem is it's easy for us, a military like ours, to break things. This is the easy part of it. And I say that with all due respect. I realize we already lost some soldiers in this, but this is the easy part in it for the United States military. The hard part is going to be making things. Breaking things is easy. Making things is difficult. Who is going to run Iran that will A, be okay, be serve our interests because we're the ones expending all this stuff over here, and B, that will be acceptable to the people of Iran? And I don't know the answer to that question. And then the Trump administration is not full of morons. They're asking that question. They're talking about it already. Right now is the fun part. The less fun part is trying to install a government that's friendly to you and acceptable to the people. And this is why regime change is a very, very dangerous game to play, that it can work out and it can go sideways on you in a real, real, real big hurry. And look, I'll just put it this way. No matter what, whoever ends up sitting in the throne, if we're going to call it that over there, they're going to do so with our backing. And they're going to be on video having killed people. You're going to have to kill people to take the throne. That's the way it works. There's going to be Internet video out there. Whoever the guy is who ends up being in charge, there's going to be Internet video out there of him firing a bullet in the back of someone's head on the side of an Iranian road. How's that going to land? How's that going to work? Right now is the fun part of my point right now. You know what we're doing, Megan? We knocked off work on a Friday, we stopped by the bar and we're empty, stomach drinking whiskey. I got, this is not whiskey, but we got a cup full of whiskey and it's going down good and I feel warm and tingly. And I think I'll go dance with my wife by the jukebox. Now's the fun part. Tomorrow morning when I wake up, since I'm 44 now, no longer 24, it might not be quite as fun. Right now. It's whiskey time.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, yeah.
Jesse Kelly
Hangover time.
Megyn Kelly
I appreciate getting the window into your planned evening ahead. I just said this to Matthew Kachuk, who's part of our Olympic gold winning men's hockey team. There is a product called Party Smart, which my friend Nancy loves this thing, if I go over to her house, we have dinner and we have a couple glasses of wine, she'll give you one of these. You get it on Amazon. And I'm telling you, it actually does make you feel totally fine the next day. Now, I've never had more than two glasses of wine, but I mean, I have, but not in recent years. But if you have two glasses of something, you don't feel anything the next day. Even at our advanced age, if you have one of these little party smarts. So there you go. You can have that with your empty stomach whiskey later today. One other quick question on Trump and our foreign affairs because he gave that interview to Dana Bash and he said something about Cuba. We've been keeping one eye on Cuba and this is what it was. This is Dana reporting it earlier. 27B. He quickly turned to Cuba. He said without being asked, cuba is going to fall pretty soon, by the way. But Cuba is going to fall. They want to make a deal so badly. And I asked how. So he said they want to make a deal. So I'm going to put Marco over there and we'll see how that works. But we're really focused on this one now, meaning Iran. It's got plenty of time on Cuba. Okay. She didn't say anything about military intervention there, so that's good. But what do you make of that?
Jesse Kelly
I like it. They're 90 miles off our shore. If we're going to reassert the Monroe Doctrine and Donald Trump has talked openly about that, where we control our hemisphere, Cuba has to to be part of that. We can't have a hostile country 90 miles from our border. We are running into a problem and they've spoken about this. We don't know. Again, dissimilar to Iran. We don't know who's taken over. It's one thing to break things, it's another thing to make things. But economically they're collapsing. They're isolated. So something's going to happen in Cuba. Probably something spicy.
Megyn Kelly
It could be Marco.
Jesse Kelly
Sandwiches could be Marco. He could probably handle it. Actually. He's doing great.
Megyn Kelly
Yes, he's spread thin, but he could potentially do it. I'll tell you something else this morning on NPR is up first. I listen so you don't have to. There was a positively jubilant report about how well it's going in Venezuela now, how happy the people are there. How like trade is opening up and like they see promise for the first time without Maduro there. I mean, like it was very promising development. So I'm very open minded on what could potentially happen in Cuba. Jesse, great to see you.
Jesse Kelly
Megan, you're the best.
Megyn Kelly
Appreciate you. What a guy. Mark Halpern's here next. He was at Mar a Lago last week and we'll talk to him about it. Ever been in a bad relationship? You know, the kind that just wears you down. You settle in even though deep down you know this is not how it's supposed to be. Well, 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 taking relief factor for about two months and now I'm back to running my business, fishing, gardening, doing the things that really matter to me. If you have back pain, knee issues or stiffness slowing you down. Relief Factor could give you your mobility back. Relief factor is 100% drug free. It targets the inflammation that causes pain, helping you move better, feel better and actually enjoy life again. Try the three week quick start for just $19.95. Go to relieffactor.com or call 800 for relief. Break up with pain and get back to what matters why have I asked
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Jesse Kelly
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Megyn Kelly
Next up, host Mark Halperin is with me now. He happened to be at Mar a Lago during the Iran bombing campaign, which President Trump was spearheading from his Florida residence. That is when it happened on Saturday. Go and subscribe to NextUp on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts for free. NextUphalperin.com has the links to everything you need. And Mark also hosts the Morning meeting on Sirius XM on the Megyn Kelly Channel 111. You can listen to it live every morning at 10am Mark Ashley just interviewed Gavin Newsom on Tuesday, so he's all over the subjects that we're discussing today. Mark Halperin, great to see you again, my friend. So what was that like on Saturday? I mean, I assume the President did not give you any more of a heads up than he gave the rest of the nation. But when you realized you were right in the bigger, the middle of the biggest news story in the world, what went through your head?
Mark Halperin
Well, as you know, Mar a Lago can be kind of a weird place. It's like a cross between Clausewitz drama and a Fellini film because there's so much going on even when there's a matter of national security. So. So I was there for lunch and then back for dinner. And at dinner, there was a massive wedding in the ballroom and on the lawn. The president was doing a fundraiser for his super pac. He was going in and out of the makeshift situation room and the regular members were there having dinner. So it was kind of a four ring circus. And there were lots of familiar faces both from the national security team and the political team all around the club. And just a fascinating look at a president unlike anyone I've ever known or covered. He toggled back and forth between all those things, just with calm and equanimity and energy.
Megyn Kelly
Well, yeah. What kind of mood was he in?
Mark Halperin
Somber, but upbeat and stopped and chatted with club members about all manners of things. But there was a somberness to it. But he was not sort of distracted or just completely consumed with dealing with the war. As I said, he went to a long meeting of a political action committee where his political team was talking to some of the donors there and he talked to club members. I don't know that he went by the wedding. He usually, if there's a wedding in Mar a Lago, he usually goes by and was a daughter of a member. I'm not sure he did that, but he tended to the other three pretty dutifully.
Megyn Kelly
That's pretty sweet. I mean, imagine getting married there and having the president of the United States swing by to say hello. If it happens to be one of the weekends, he's there. We'll get back to Iran in a minute. But I want to start with Mullen and Noem. Kristi Noem's out Fox News, many others reporting that she was fired from the position. She was demoted basically to another position. And Trump, to his credit, gave her a soft landing. She had been loyal to him. So he didn't just fire her unceremoniously out of the position, but some online today, his diehard fans saying she wasn't fired, he didn't fire her. Was she terminated from the position or not? Mark?
Mark Halperin
Yeah, she, she was. Made it clear that she was not going to be allowed to stay in that job. And as you said, pretty generous of him to let her have a soft landing. It's amazing to me, given that she was picked for a job that many people at the time said she wasn't qualified for. How many enemies she and Corey Lewandowski, her top concierge, how many enemies they had at the highest levels of Team Trump? These were not kind of like low level snipers. These are some of the most senior people in the president's orbit who didn't want the two of them around and all the mistakes that she made. It's amazing she lasted as long as she did. So I sort of twist the question on his head, how did she get fired all of a sudden? Again, testament to Corey Lewandowski and Secretary Noem that she survived as long as she did.
Megyn Kelly
What were the reasons? Because I know he was mad about him, her saying he blessed that $220 million ad campaign she starred in. But this had to go beyond, to me, that was the final straw. But many reports that he was unhappy with her well prior to that and didn't want it to want, especially after Minneapolis, didn't want it to look like he was giving the left a scalp. But what do you think it actually was that turned Trump on her?
Mark Halperin
Well, I think it's a drumped of negative coverage, right? He doesn't like negative coverage of his team. He doesn't like negative coverage that obscures what he wants to get done. And as you know, objectively, they all,
Megyn Kelly
none of them has good coverage. They hate the media, hates Pete, they hate rfkj, they hate her.
Mark Halperin
Her negative coverage was directly getting in the way of his getting credit for the accomplishment, for instance, of shutting down the border or of going into these blue cities and saying to the blue cities, there's a different operation going on in here and we're going to deport people from your blue city. Her performance was blamed by the president and people around the president for distracting from that. In addition to he doesn't like when his team loses a congressional hearing, particularly when the Republicans gang up on his team. And so you see other cabinet officials like Pam Bondi, who has some detractors in the administration as well, going to the Hill and owning the libs, right? Doing a really good job theatrically of standing up the Democrats and getting favorable questions from the Republicans. She did not perform well in back to back hearings, both on the issue of those paid ads, also on the allegations regarding her personal life. And I think the President, he just doesn't like that. He doesn't like to see his team lose in a congressional hearing. And it was compounded by the fact that some of the hardest questions came from Republicans and not just from Thom Tillis, who now habitually goes after Trump administration policies, but from Senator Kennedy of Louisiana. Just knowing the President, it doesn't like to see that kind of performance.
Megyn Kelly
I actually wondered whether the Senator Kennedy questions came from the White House.
Mark Halperin
I mean, it certainly could have come from allies of Senator Kennedy who are not friendly to Senator Noem for sure, because I just can't emphasize enough for even before she took office, the number of people at a high level in Trump orbit who do not like Corey Lewandowski at all is quite something. And again, I'll say it's testament to the bond he has with the President because he was the one arguing she should stay on for several weeks even after the President was clearly looking to make a change. The bond he has with the president is strong and his ability to convince the president of things is strong. And these people, they did their best to get them out by leaking stories to the Wall Street Journal and others, to Daily Mail and others. And it finally culminated again in something that even Corey Lewandowski could not turn the President on.
Megyn Kelly
Here is Harry Entin on the Nome termination with some actual numbers around what she was doing for the President.
Jesse Kelly
Sat 12B and the American people wanted a fire. They wanted her removed. She was a political nightmare for the President of the United States.
Mark Halperin
I, I mean, just take a look at this.
Jesse Kelly
Wanted known removed as DHS secretary. Overall last month, Quinnipiac University found the majority of Americans, 58% wanted to be. Adios, amigos, goodbye, see you later. Among independents, you can see it right here, 62% of independents, we're talking more than three in five independents wanted a kick to the curb. So Donald Trump here making the politically popular move because Americans were simply put sick of Kristi Noemi. Kristi Noem's net popular popularity rating during Donald Trump's term, positive in none, zero, nada. None of the polls did she have a positive net approval rating in all the polls. She was underwater, swimming in the deep blue sea. She had a negative net popularity rating in every single poll conducted during Donald Trump's second term. Simply put, Americans did not like the job that she was doing as DHS secretary.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, now I have a point I want to make and then I want to give it to you if you could absolutely say that same thing about RFKJ and Pete Hegseth, both of whom have had universally negative coverage. Universally, absolutely no positive coverage. Fox, of course, and independent media, but I'm talking about mainstream so called media. But they're doing their thing. RFKJ is getting things done at hhs. Obviously Pete Hexa death is too in terms of what the president wants from him. And their negatives are not so great and their news coverage so big that they are hurting him. I think she hurt him with the behavior in Minneapolis, you know, calling Alex Preddy a domestic terrorist. And saying he went there to try to, like, you know, interfere with law enforcement. And like, overstating. He. What he did was bad enough. It was clear he interfered with law enforcement and that's why he wound up dead. But she overstated it and made ICE as a result look bad. And that turned into a negative story around Trump. And sure enough, Trump's numbers went down after Minneapolis, and that's the reason why he pulled her and put Homan in there. So I think she started to creep into his numbers. And then that thing with Senator Kennedy was just like the final example of it. Even if Trump had approved that ad campaign, and I believe him that he didn't, he did want her to do ads and photo ops calling attention to the deportations. I do. I've been told that. But 220 million? Probably not. But even if he had approved it, Mark, the underling doesn't say, yes, the President told me to do it. The underling says, no, it was my call. Senator Kennedy like. Or they dodge and just say, the decision was mine. I'm the one, like, they protect the President. And she didn't. So it just, to me, it seems like a whole slide of like, she didn't protect the President. She was a problem for the President. Her negatives hurt him. And we see that still in his numbers. And therefore she had to go.
Mark Halperin
I agree with everything you said. I'd only add two things. One, my friend Harry talks awfully loud on tv. Not sure who's what producer's in his ear, but, man, I have dinner with Harry, he doesn't talk. Yeah, it's a shtick.
Megyn Kelly
Love the accent.
Mark Halperin
I agree with everything you said. All I'd add is this, like, Bobby Kennedy is really important for MAGA for the midterms and Maha for the midterms, rather. P Tag says this in the midst of a war and has done a lot of the things the President once done regarding reforming the culture of the military. And doesn't neither of them have the kind of scandals and controversies that Secretary Noem has in this respect. There's relentless coverage of her and her decisions about contract approvals, about those ads, about her personal life. And then it all came into sharp focus at the hearing. The other two have controversies, but they've avoided having these kind of very high profile set piece moments. The President thinks of his life as a movie with big scenes and characters. He's the main character. Other characters. She had a horrible day in two straight days in the news cycle. And I think although he was having questions about her previously. It's just too relentlessly downside negative about her, as you said, affecting him on one of his signature issues. And as I said, also Secretary Kennedy, Secretary Hegseth, they have detractors in the administration, but not like she has. Not like Corey Lewandowski has.
Megyn Kelly
Kennedy had the scandal with the reporter who.
Mark Halperin
But he never got asked. But never got asked about it.
Megyn Kelly
He never got asked about it, and she didn't work for him. That, like the reason that that Democrat felt comfortable bringing it up with Gnome is that Lewandowski works for Gnome.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
And so this is somebody who's on the public dollar, you know, reportedly living with her. I mean, that the reports are that they basically live together in that apartment. And so that's what made a fair game. It would have felt really sleazy to bring it up. Just ad homine in at some Kennedy hearing where there, there's HHS oversight, Congress.
Mark Halperin
Totally agree. And the Democrats, I think, did a good job explaining why it was relevant.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, I know she was, she was clever to put that in. And then Gnome was all over the board. It's like Noam, look, I think we all believe it's 100% true. So she was in a tough spot because she, I'm sure she did not want to lie under oath. So she went with the, this tabloid garbage. I'm shocked you would allow this. And Trump, of course, saw through that in two seconds. And Trump, trust me, and I know you know this too, he knows all the gossip of his administration, all of it. There isn't anybody better informed on what's happening than Trump is. So he 100% knows about this. And I'm sure it's like you can keep it quiet and keep it out of my, you know, business. Not a headache of mine. Fine. If it's my headache, I'm gonna deal with it. Okay, so now we have Mark Wayne Mullen.
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I'm just gonna say it builds on the point you just made. He knows all the gossip, but he's got a game respects game thing. If you've got dirty laundry, he wants you to be able to handle it the way he does. Like, I bet he thinks it's awesome that Bobby Kennedy has never had to answer questions. She, she put herself in a situation where she had to answer them and then answered them in a way that everybody thought was, was not good. And he just, he wants, he wants, he's fine with people having messy lives. He just thinks you got to have the skill to handle it and not let that Messiness splatter onto him.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah. And maybe be somewhat discreet about it.
Mark Halperin
Yeah, that too.
Megyn Kelly
So Mark Wayne Mullen is now the new nominee to take over Homeland Security. This is what a lot of people remember Mark Wayne Mullen for. He's from Oklahoma. He's a former MMA fighter and wrestler. And he had this infamous exchange with the Teamsters president, Sean o', Brien, who wound up, remember, not endorsing, which was a huge deal because the Teamsters and the unions always go for the Dem. But this guy clearly liked Trump and he came on the show and was a great interview. In any event, these two didn't get along then. Reportedly they do now. But here was November 14, 2023, in. In the US Senate at a hearing chaired by Bernie Sanders. 11.
Jesse Kelly
I sure remember working pretty hard and long hours. Pretends like he's self made. What a clown. Fraud. Always has been, always will be. Quit the tough guy act in these Senate hearings. You know where to find me. Any place. Anytime, cowboy.
Megyn Kelly
Sir, this is a time.
Jesse Kelly
This is a place if you want to run your mouth. We can be two consenting adults. We can finish it here.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, that's fine. Perfect.
Jesse Kelly
You want to do it now? I'd love to do it right now. Well, stand your butt up then. You stand your butt up.
Megyn Kelly
Oh, hold on.
Jesse Kelly
Stop it. Is that your solution? Every problem? No, no. Sit down, sit down.
Mark Halperin
Okay.
Jesse Kelly
You know, you're a United States senator.
Megyn Kelly
Actively. Okay.
Jesse Kelly
Sit down, please. All right, can I respond?
Mark Halperin
Hold it, hold it.
Megyn Kelly
So he's a fighter. Trump would like that. I did see Ann Coulter's not happy. She wrote as follows. She pulled a headline about Mullen that reads, there is possible conversation about legalizing some who are in the US illegally. Her comment was great. There are 47 people who would have been better to lead Homeland Security. Hard to avoid the impression that Trump doesn't care about immigration at all. That's, of course, her number one issue. Everybody is judged through that. But this, I mean, he is heading up hhs, so. Sorry, dhs. So it does matter. His positions on immigration. What do we make of the choice and his chances of getting confirmed.
Mark Halperin
Well, he's good on tv and he can be confirmed by his colleagues. Even if he doesn't get a ton of Democratic votes, I think he'll get some. And he's available now. And he's got a good leadership quality to him that a lot of people respect. He doesn't have a ton of experience in this, but being a Cabinet secretary in the Trump administration, a lot of it is about messaging and about leadership and about running the department as opposed to being a super policy expert. So I suspect he'll be confirmed. I suspect he'll get at least some Democratic votes. And, you know, for the sake of the security of the country, I hope he throws himself into this and does a really good job. But he's not. He's not going to have the same number of enemies because he's very well liked as the current. The incumbent in the office has. And I think he's going to have an opportunity to build on the successes that she did have and correct some of the problems that she had running the department.
Megyn Kelly
He is taking shots from the elite media because he doesn't have a bachelor's degree. He's the only senator without a bachelor's degree. Meanwhile, here's his actual resume. He attended Missouri Valley College on a wrestling scholarship. He later dropped out of school at the age of 20 after his father, Jim, fell ill and he needed to help the family with their plumbing business. He went back to school in 2018, eventually achieving an associate's degree in applied science and construction technology from Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology. He has a wife of nearly 30 years. They have a family business. He was an undefeated MMA fighter. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Wrestling hall of fame in 2016. And they have six children, which I think your average American would stand up and cheer for that resume. Mark, I think the media's. They're off. They're off. They're offbeat. They don't have their finger on the pulse of what Republicans want or regular working class Americans want. And no one, literally no one is asking, does he have a bachelor's degree?
Mark Halperin
I don't know if he'll be good at it, but he could be. And regarding immigration, Ann Coulter doesn't think the president's tough enough on immigration. So I don't know that her fight's really going to be with the new secretary if he's confirmed, but it's really more with the President. I find him to be a very charismatic and impressive guy. His colleagues in both parties like him. And like I said, I don't know that he'll be good. He's never been a cabinet secretary. He's never run anything this size. It's larger than his plumbing business. Business by a factor of many hundreds. But. But he's. I think he'll be confirmed and I hope he does a great job for the sake of the country.
Megyn Kelly
I like him, too. I've watched him in some of these confirmation hearings and he's always entertaining, he's reasonable. He. And he seems like in command of himself, notwithstanding that moment with the Teamsters president. But you kind of got to respect that. I don't like. I don't know. There's something I, I like to see a little testosterone. You know, it's in short supply in D.C. these days.
Mark Halperin
He's got a little. He's got a little more than a little.
Megyn Kelly
Bernie. Yeah, here he is with Bernie Sanders in a different Exchange. This is February 25th, Sachin.
Jesse Kelly
Well, we can agree that it is absolutely not affordable. 100% not affordable. Yet it was supposed to be affordable. That's what we sold by Obamacare. So how about we work together and say, hey, scrap aca. Admit it doesn't work, admit you guys made a mistake, and let's work at something with President Trump to make affordable health care healthy and affordable for everybody. But there's zero chance you guys could do that. Zero chance. Yet everybody we bring up here, you guys chastise for trying to make changes. God forbid we change and go after and try to fix our broken system. Anyways, I ranted too long. Let's talk about some. Yes, you did. I'm sorry I didn't ask your opinion on that. And if I cared about you, I would ask you, but I don't care about your opinion. Well, you're part of the system. You're part of the problem.
Megyn Kelly
Problem.
Jesse Kelly
You've been sitting here longer than I've even been alive. This is your problem. You should have fixed this a long time ago. You've been rel on it so long. What do you decided not to run for Surgeon General. You're the nominee. I've decided that nominee. That is definitely something we would never accept.
Megyn Kelly
This is at the Surgeon General confirmation hearings for Casey Means. That was amazing. Like, that's. I. Trump likes that Mark.
Mark Halperin
Yeah. I mean, he. He's a really nice, relaxed guy, except when he's not. And you know, he's going to be a very energetic presence in the job. And I agree with you. The president would look at that and think, that's awesome.
Megyn Kelly
Yes. And then he was also the one who at the State of the Union pulled that sign out of Representative Al Green's hands. Al Green showed up with a sign that said something like, black people aren't apes. Apes. Which everyone knows that. And President Trump didn't say anything to the contrary, but he was trying to impute it to President Trump because of that video controversy where it. That. That picture of the Obamas as Apes Auto ran at the end of a reel that President Trump had promoted, and it was Mark Wayne Mullen who pulled it. He pulled it out of his hands. We're trying to get it queued up and we'll show it. But he tried. He tried to grab it, and ultimately it was Steve Scalise who got it. But that's exactly how you get the notice of the president. And frankly, he loves fighters. President Trump loves fighters. Physical, actual fighters. Like, he loves ufc, he likes mma. And this certainly would not inure in any way other than to his benefit, as Trump was evaluating who's worthy of being in his cabinet. You have to be a fighter. They're going to come for you all day, every day, especially in this position.
Mark Halperin
President likes people, as he says, from central casting, and this guy from central casting to be the head of Homeland Security.
Megyn Kelly
Now, do you feel that Gavin Newsom is from central casting because you talked to him on Tuesday?
Mark Halperin
I mean, for a certain category of people, I will say you showed earlier in the program that clip with Katie Courage. And sometimes I'll see something in the media, and my first reaction will be, oh, Megan's gonna play that on her show. And as soon as I saw the Katie Couric thing, I said, yeah, Megan's gonna play that on her show.
Megyn Kelly
Such a dereliction.
Mark Halperin
Yeah. Gavin Newsom is an interesting guy in a lot of ways. And the book is an attempt, I think, that he wrote, is an attempt to give people more of a view of him that he thinks is accurate. I get such a big reaction when I interview him, when I talk about him, people across the country, across the spectrum, he really not the Trump level, because there's nobody at that level. But as much as any Democrat around today, more than aoc, more than Chuck Schumer, more than anybody, people really react to the topic of Gavin Newsom. So I don't know that he's from central casting for anything germane to this conversation, but in terms of people responding to him positively, negatively, he's as a hot button as anybody else I know of. And I talk about.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, so you mentioned the Katie Couric exchange. I'm sure you saw the other one, which we have to play again, because you and I have got to dissect this like a patient on the table. This, again, is the Adam Friedland show. Let's take it in together, because we all enjoyed it so much the first time. 16.
Jesse Kelly
What is your defined political project? Like, what. Throughout your career and like, right now, like, what is. What is the thing you want to, like. You want to accomplish, like, politically, you know, I don't. In your life, I don't have, like, a brand. I don't have a tag. Make America great, or I don't, you know, the Great Society or, you know, something like Medicare for all the billionaires. But I, you know, but for me, no bullshit. It's just standing up for ideals, striking out against injustice. It defines my why in every way, shape, or form. Stand up for ideal. Strike out against injustice. I'm a Sarge Shriver Democrat. I'm into that whole 60s, the vernacular of the 60s, solving for ignorance and poverty and disease and the spirit of the 60s and the spirit of King and, you know, and how the nonviolent movement in Gandhi and, you know, Havel and, you know, Mandela, that whole.
Mark Halperin
Whole.
Jesse Kelly
That moral authority now for that whole space. That's the zeitgeist.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Jesse Kelly
And. And that's that. So that's me. That's my dad. That's my mom. That's the book, and that's my why. So if you had to define it, like, I need your help, and you get. You tell me you're better at this. I don't know. I don't know who you. I just gave you my why. But how do you translate that into human what? So if you say, like, make an
Mark Halperin
appeal to a voter.
Megyn Kelly
Right.
Jesse Kelly
Say if you vote for me, you get X. Like, what? In the.
Mark Halperin
In a.
Jesse Kelly
In a kind of concise, tangible sense. Talking to a regular guy. Yeah. No, no. I've struggled with. Be able to communicate. I told you what my why is and why I'm here. And. And I mean that. That's ingrained in every aspect of my life, and it connects the dot.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, first of all, I hate how people are saying this. That's my why.
Mark Halperin
That's.
Megyn Kelly
I really can't stand that. It makes my skin kind of crawl. It's my. That's my why. And to have a politician. The question what do you want to accomplish? Mark, we went through Gandhi, Mandela, King, his mom, his dad. I need your help to define it. You tell me you're better at this. I don't know. Your shit says the great Adam Friedland.
Mark Halperin
I want to play. If there's a.
Megyn Kelly
This is a fail.
Mark Halperin
If there's a play with Adam Friedland as a character, I want to portray him. I think I could own that role.
Megyn Kelly
Yes.
Mark Halperin
With the right wig.
Megyn Kelly
We might have to take you up on that as part of our MK Media parody series.
Mark Halperin
I would love to play that guy. Look, he Talked way too fast. The governor did. And he's trying really hard on this book tour he did in his conversation with me to give people a sense who he is in a way that's not superficial. And I think for some people, ironically, it's having the exact opposite impact. I put that's my why right up there with, with don't yuck my yum. I just don't want to hear anybody ever say it. I just don't. I just don't want to hear anybody ever.
Megyn Kelly
Or my truth.
Mark Halperin
Yeah. Or my truth.
Megyn Kelly
I don't want to hear any of it. I want to hear my truth, and I don't want to hear that's my why it's so weird. Crunchy California.
Mark Halperin
I don't want to hear. I don't want to hear any of that. At the same time, in this very, very weak Democratic perspective, Democratic presidential field that passes for an A game, by the way. Oh, does, does it does. Maybe not that moment, but in general,
Megyn Kelly
I'm starting to take another look at Pete Buttigieg.
Mark Halperin
I am, too.
Megyn Kelly
We did a little reel. We posted it on Insta. Yeah, right. Because, like, now he's, he's getting more masculine than Gavin Newsom. Like that. Wouldn't that be ironic? Because he's like, kind of a feat, but not more so than Gavin. Pete is openly gay. Gavin is allegedly straight with a wife and children and second wife. Wife, now his first wife's a pal of mine. And Pete Buttigieg, like, he can talk policy, he can sell himself. He can have a substantive conversation. Not to mention somebody we haven't discussed really much at all, Rahm Emanuel, who will run circles around this guy intellectually. How is he going to win a primary? Gavin Newsom, next to people who actually, they may not share my own politics, but they're smart and they can stay substantive.
Mark Halperin
Well, a lot there. First of all, Gavin Newsom is not dumb. And I'll take a bunch of heat for saying that, but I know I've known him pretty well for a while. He's not dumb.
Megyn Kelly
I, I, he says he is.
Mark Halperin
I know, but he's not. He plays dumb.
Megyn Kelly
Okay. Just for the record.
Mark Halperin
So I'm, I'm working on my next 8 for 28 coming up next week on Next Up. And it's very difficult to come up with a eight slots these days because most everybody's moving down. He's going to be almost certainly be number one by default. I am moving Buddha Jeff. But I will say this. A lot of the people who are Talked about are women, women of color, gay men or Jewish men. And I think it's going to be very difficult for the party to nominate anybody in any of those categories. And then I haven't even talked about short men, of which there are many, too. And the two you named are both pretty short. So. So these immutable characteristics. Jewish is, I guess, semi immutable. These are things that the Democratic Party normally would not reject. A lot of Democrats would be offended if you said about their party, they're not going to nominate anything but a straight white man, a Christian, straight white man. But I really do think there's a lot of sentiment in the party, including amongst women of color, to say we got to go safe. And safe is heterosexual white man who's a Christian. And on my list of eight, there's nearly no one, except for the governor of California who is those things.
Megyn Kelly
How tall is he?
Mark Halperin
Tall enough. I forget how tall. He's maybe 6, 1, 6 2. I forget. All right, but he's tall enough.
Megyn Kelly
He's up there.
Mark Halperin
He's tight. He's taller.
Megyn Kelly
When you say those two men who aren't, you're talking about Pete and Rom. They're not. They're not tall.
Mark Halperin
They're not tall. And one's gay and one's Jewish, and they're really not. And they're really not tall. I forget how tall they are, but they're. They've never. They've never been introduced to six feet, let alone cleared it.
Megyn Kelly
They're really not tall. Okay, I've never heard a phrase quite that way. But, yes, you are right. And it matters. Right? Have we. Haven't we, like, always had tall presidents? It is a thing.
Mark Halperin
The taller. The taller man. We've only had men win so far. The taller man has won every time. There's one exception, I think. I think Ford was taller than Carter by a little bit. But otherwise, the taller guy typically wins in the tv.
Megyn Kelly
Well, you have JB Pritzker shooting himself up with Ozempic like, three times a week because you also can't win if you're morbidly obese. And that's also true. I can't do anything about your height, but you can do something about your weight.
Mark Halperin
But he's Jewish.
Megyn Kelly
No question in my mind.
Mark Halperin
But he's Jewish, too.
Megyn Kelly
Pritzker.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
Pritzker is.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
Okay. But we say this because the Democrat Party is. Is anti Jewish now, like, what is the. Why is it, like Kamala said she couldn't pick a Jewish person.
Mark Halperin
It's A two for one is the energy in the party is anti Israel. And even though all of these Jewish prospective candidates have taken positions at times in criticism of Israel, you know, it's going to be, it's going to be a challenge for them to get past the wing of the party that's really hostile to Israel. And then second is just, you know, worried about prejudice, worried that you, you put your, you, you maximize your chances of winning in a nation that's got some anti Semitism by not picking someone who's Jewish.
Megyn Kelly
They, they would say, it's not that we're anti Semites or we're homophobes, it's that those evil independents we need to vote along with us are. Yeah, so we have to get somebody.
Mark Halperin
And it's pal. It's not, it's not irrational because if you look at the sample space face of presence, there's never been a Jew. There's never been an openly gay person. There's only been one person of color, you know, so.
Megyn Kelly
And there's never been a woman.
Mark Halperin
And there's never been a woman. It's never been a short person, you know, particularly short person in the TV age. So these are not irrational things.
Megyn Kelly
So you were back to Gavin Newsom. You need to be tall, you need to be a male, you need to be white. You can't be Jewish, you can't be gay.
Mark Halperin
That's.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, I see by process of elimination how we.
Mark Halperin
That's, that's, that's a big. That's a preview of the next. Next for. Next up, the 8 for 28. Because you go down the list, almost everybody on the list is at least one of the three or one of the five.
Megyn Kelly
I mean, Hot Gandhi it is.
Mark Halperin
Could be Hot Gandhi could be. It could be the towering Christian heterosexual governor with a hell of good hair.
Megyn Kelly
All right, Mark, I want to ask you about something that's not involving a presidential candidate, and that is speaking of Ozempic, Oprah Winfrey. I know you go on all these podcasts. Everybody wants your political opinion because you're very genius when it comes to all things politics. But you and I need to talk about Oprah for a second. And then. And then we'll take a break. Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King arrived at Paris Fashion Week, Chloe's Paris Fashion Week show, and got filmed by. I don't know, who is it? Tick Tock is on Tick Tock. I'm not sure whose tape this is. We'll Paris Match. Look at this. Oprah is skinnier than I am now. She looks like next to skin and bones Mark Halperin.
Mark Halperin
Wow.
Megyn Kelly
She is wow. Ozempic too far. And by the way, Gail in the background is kind of similar, but I would not have recognized this as Oprah Winfrey if it were not labeled as such by the video taker online.
Mark Halperin
Is that what. Is that what you and the media call today video?
Megyn Kelly
Yes, that's today video. Yes, it is.
Mark Halperin
Wow.
Megyn Kelly
And by the way, this comes on the heels of did you see Demi Moore at that whatever event that was last week where she was in the full leather with a little dog? She looks like she weighs 90 pounds. She looks like she could get blown away if a good spring breeze came through. Not to mention what's happening with Kelly Osborne, who is not even recognizable. And I don't want to say more because I love Sharon Osborne and they've been dealing with a lot with the loss of Ozzy. But you tell me your take, Mark, because I know you do keep your finger on the pulse of all things cultural. Why people, so many people in the public eye cannot seem to manage their ozempic to a point where they stay looking like a normal human as opposed to someone we need to have an intervention for.
Mark Halperin
I mean, I blame the doctors, too, but.
Jesse Kelly
But, But.
Mark Halperin
But I don't get this. I just think, you know, go to the gym a little bit more, lay off dessert for a while. Don't drink wine. Like, there are ways to lose weight now. It's harder for some people than others. And Oprah and I are the same way. Oprah and I run heavy, but I just. I'm just. I'm just amazed.
Megyn Kelly
I wouldn't say you're. We run quite as heavily as Oprah ever does.
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I have, but. But I just. I mean, I see that. I see people around my neighborhood, same thing. That's just these fallen faces. Like, people ask people. People tell me to do it, and I'm like, why don't you tell me to, like, like, solder my eyes shut? Like, this is not proven that this is a healthy way to live. And. And you don't look good. And I know you have a friend who's a ballad ballet dancer who says, nothing tastes good as being thin feels.
Megyn Kelly
And. And I. I get the Kate Moss.
Mark Halperin
Yeah, I get that. I get that.
Jesse Kelly
But.
Mark Halperin
But I mean, I just. I just don't understand making this life choice for anybody, particularly if you're well off enough to, you know, order in some healthy food. You don't need to eat at Bojangles. Or McDonald's, order in some lean protein and some vegetables, do some portion control, go for a five mile run and just work it out. But to take these, these injectables are now pills. If you're Oprah Winfrey. I just don't get it. I just don't see how you possibly take that risk with your life. I just don't at all.
Megyn Kelly
I, I also feel like, okay, you're gonna take it for your appetite control. Great. Why do you have to become anorexic? Yeah, like why they become like the, they look almost non human. Like there's no fat in their face. Although there's rumors that like Kelly Osborne may have gotten that, that buccal fat, whatever removal from her face. But they're going full skeletal.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
And I was looking at Oprah, who, she's not skeletal, but she's extremely thin for Oprah. And I have to say, I miss heavy Oprah. Like, not, I don't need 300 pound Oprah, but I miss somebody with like, like a little weight on her body. I don't know what this is. Like she's going for hot at 72. Yeah, like, like whatever. She, her whole thing was always like, she was like a mother Earth character who you could like hug and who would feel your pain and you could cry on her couch. And now she's gone full like, you know, Demi Moore. Like, that's what she's going for now in her 70s with the tight grade.
Mark Halperin
Yeah.
Megyn Kelly
The super tight outfit. Like, I don't like it.
Mark Halperin
Do you know the one that really bothers me is Megan Trainor because her biggest hits, her biggest hit song, all about that bass. Megan, you've given up the bass. You've gone all treble. Like you're not supposed to, you're not supposed to give up your, your theme song. But she has.
Megyn Kelly
It was a lie. It was a lie when she told it and it remains a lie. Okay, actually, let's just do Iran now. We'll take a break afterward. So you were with the President on the day we launched the war in Iran. Now just today we've had news break on that, thanks to Dana Bash who spoke with Trump. Trump, he told her we're doing very well militarily, better than anyone could have dreamed. He said on. Because we have a report today of low unemployment numbers, lower than expected job losses, and also rising gas prices. Gas. Oil's going way up and gas prices are going way up too. And the President said, that's all right. It'll be short term. It'll go way down very quickly. When asked about the next leader of Iran, President Trump said, it's going to work like it did in Venezuela. And when I asked if he's okay with having another religious leader, he said, I may be. Yeah. He added that the next leader needs to treat the United States and Israel well. And we've reported an AM update this morning that he said it's going to be somebody who he helps select because he doesn't have to keep going over there every five years. So how do you think the Iranian thing is playing politically and will play out over the next, whatever, eight months, how many ever it is, until we get to the November midterms?
Mark Halperin
I think how it's playing out politically is not germane because there's no election and because it's too soon. I think for the American people to reach a conclusion about whether it was a good idea. How it will play out depends on how long it lasts, what it does to the economy, what the loss of American life is, how much it costs. I think it's pretty clear what the variables are that the American people will use to evaluate whether this was a good idea or not. I think people are, are kind of lulled into a sense that the President is kind of now hostage to the situation. He's really not. I don't think. I think he could stop it today if he decided it was a bad idea for him politically or a bad idea for the country. He, what he wants is the same thing he wants in Cuba and Venezuela and Greenland. He wants the United States and, and Ukraine and Russia, really. He wants the United States to get into business with everybody after bringing them to their knees politically. And I think if he can do that with Iran, he'd love to. He'd love to start taking some of that oil profit for the United States. But if it can't be because the Iranian people don't rise up, as he's urged from the first day, to change the nature of the government and it ends up being a theocracy that's just as hostile to the United States but has been decimated in its capacity for nuclear missile, terror and naval. He'll say, okay, well, that's what I said we were going to do. And I think it would take a lot for him to fail on the very metrics of success that Caroline Levitt laid out. Caroline Levitt didn't say it has to be someone friendly to the United States. All she said, and these are big goals that previous presidents didn't accomplish. No Nuclear, no. Missile, no. Terror networks, no Navy. And I think just in a week's time, the United States has gotten pretty far down the road on all four of those.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, I mean, that's one of the reasons why I would love to see Trump declared a win and peace out of there very, very soon.
Mark Halperin
He could, though.
Megyn Kelly
He could spare the lives of the American soldiers and cut the losses. We did do a lot in one week's time. I mean, I think there's an opportunity here for him. I mentioned in the first hour, NPR is up first this morning did a report on Venezuela that you would have thought you were listening to Fox and Friends as you listened to it list. I had the team go back and pull it while you and I were chatting. Listen to this.
Jesse Kelly
What's it feel like to be in Venezuela?
Mark Halperin
It is absolutely surreal because you land at the airport and the signs are in Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese, which
Jesse Kelly
tells you just where this country was
Mark Halperin
facing a few months ago.
Jesse Kelly
And then you go out on the
Mark Halperin
streets and people here tell you that they feel like a weight has been lifted for the first time in a long time.
Jesse Kelly
There are street protests.
Mark Halperin
Opposition groups are holding public meetings. I was at the Justice Department building yesterday, and there was a group of protesters calling for all political prisoners to be released.
Megyn Kelly
I mean, you and I both know what it would take to make up first do a report like that. It's time to declare the Venezuela situation a resounding success. And if Trump could get to anything close to that between now and November on Iran, then he would persuade even the doubters, I think, that this was the right thing to do.
Mark Halperin
Couldn't agree more, couldn't agree more. And. And again, you go back to Trump's philosophy about this stuff. I've talked about this on Next up, the critics. I think it's incumbent upon them to say, what would you have done? Joe Biden didn't want Maduro there. Joe Biden didn't want Iran to be a menace in all those dimensions. He didn't do anything about it. He thought about it, he talked about it. He assigned Tony Blinken and others to work on it, but he didn't get it done.
Megyn Kelly
Want.
Mark Halperin
And Trump's really into asymmetrical advantages where he as a business burn, had an ace, a business person had an asymmetrical advantage. He would leverage that, and he feels that way about the United States. What's one of our asymmetrical capacities Advantages? We have the best military ever, ever in the history of the world, and better than anything on the planet today. So if you can fix a problem in, in Venezuela or fix a problem in Iran, use the American military in a way that doesn't involve nation building, explicit regime change, quagmire, endless war. Of course he's going to use it and use it with confidence and with some due diligence on the front end. People think he does this haphazardly or with that thought? No. He's gotten a lot of briefings about what the chances of success are, how to mitigate the negatives. And what he did to get Maduro out was unorthodox. Some people would say it was illegal. Bothers the heck out of Rand Paul. But Maduro is no longer running Venezuela. And as that report suggests, the Venezuelan people and the United States at the same time seem to be better off for Trump having acted than they were before. Doesn't mean there aren't risks, doesn't mean that there aren't tens of millions of Americans who don't like it. But he was elected to get stuff done, and he's getting stuff done with the exact method you would expect from a guy who uses asymmetrical advantages.
Megyn Kelly
Mm. Well, I was not in support of the Iran action, but now that it's underway, I do feel it's my patriotic duty to support the troops and support the President and root for and very much hope for the best. And so far, our troops are doing an amazing job over there. Mark Halpern, how many layers are you wearing? How cold is it where you're sitting?
Mark Halperin
In honor of the MAGA on MAGA fighting over. Over Iran. I'm dressed like Steve Bannon today. It's not Halloween, but this is my, my Steve. Steve Bannon costume. Right. Layer upon layer, topped by a vest. And you can't see it, but I've got a three day, three day growth here. And I'm trying to look wild eyed.
Megyn Kelly
Yeah, like a little Pete Buttigieg action.
Mark Halperin
No, no, no. Bannon just all Steve, All Steve.
Megyn Kelly
All Banning.
Mark Halperin
All Steve Today, multiple layers. Layers. Colors that don't really work together. I got four layers. You can't even see the fourth layer. Very banished, very Bannon. That's what's going on.
Megyn Kelly
He's gonna be thrilled that he is your fashion idol. I'm text him as soon as I
Mark Halperin
like, I like send him a still photo of this. Don't send him a screen grab because he'll appreciate the notion of the colors. This is, this is a big ban in color. There's people listening to the podcast. I Don't even know. What is this? This is like a orangey. I don't even know what color it is. But only Bannon would wear this.
Megyn Kelly
It is orange.
Mark Halperin
Yeah. I don't know what it is.
Megyn Kelly
Okay, I'm gonna put that picture. Yeah, there we go.
Mark Halperin
And always top.
Megyn Kelly
There we go. I got it. I'm going to take it.
Mark Halperin
I was topped by a vest. And Steve. Steve will appreciate the homage. That's what it's. I don't know how. I haven't left the house today, so I can't tell you what the temperature is. This is too much. I'm a little warm, but I had to. I'm going to a costume party later as Steve Bannon, so I have to be practicing for the part.
Megyn Kelly
All right, so we've gone from hot Gandhi to hot Bannon. Warm Bannon run the full gamut. And I think that it's officially time for the weekend. Thank you.
Mark Halperin
Thank you.
Jesse Kelly
Megan.
Mark Halperin
Great to see you. Have a great weekend.
Megyn Kelly
Bye. Bye. You, too. Okay, I got a little bit more for you on the back end, but I'm gonna do these ads first. Don't go away. At a certain point in life, you realize you're responsible for a whole lot of things, but the most important is your health. Because without it, nothing else matters. We may not think about our liver very much, but it's our body's daily filter, processing everything you consume. It performs 500 plus daily functions. Think energy production, digestion, fat metabolism, vitamin storage. And when your liver is overworked, you will feel it. Dose for your liver is a clinically backed liver health supplement taken in a daily 2 ounce drink. Dose says its highly absorbable liquid formula can cleanse the liver of unwanted stressors that may be slowing it down. Zero sugar, zero junk, zero calories. They say people who take dose consistently report less sluggishness, less midday crashes. That would be better. Better digestion and even less bloating. New customers can save 35% on their first month of subscription by going to dosedaily co mk or just enter mk when you're checking out. That's d o s e daily. D a I l y co mk for 35% off your first month subscription. 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 more@guardyourcard.com and consider telling Congress to guard your card. Why have we asked our contractor we found on Angie.com to be our kid's legal guardian? Because he took such good care when redoing our basement that we knew we could trust him to care for our kids, all eight of them, should something happen to us. Are you my dad now?
Jesse Kelly
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Mark Halperin
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Jesse Kelly
And each one more expensive and more cost complicated than the last. It can be pretty stressful.
Mark Halperin
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Jesse Kelly
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Mark Halperin
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Megyn Kelly
Hey, everyone, it's me, Megyn Kelly. I've got some exciting news. I now have my very own channel on Sirius xm. It's called the Megyn Kelly Channel. And it is where you will hear the truth unfiltered, with no agenda and no apologies. Along with the Megyn Kelly show, you're going to hear from people like Mark Halperin, Link Lauren, Maureen Callahan, Emily Jasinsky, Jesse Kelly, Real Clear Politics, and many more. It's bold. No BS news. Only on the Megyn Kelly channel, SiriusXM111 and on the SiriusXM app. Okay, I've got to talk to you about Meghan Markle because our pal Brit Maire sent me Meghan Markle merch. She sent me this, this box of her chocolates. This is what the bars look like. Abby and I agree the packaging is pretty. I have to give her that. I like the flowers. You know, that's her big thing. You get to edible flowers on everything that, you know, may or may not actually be edible. Don't try this at home. And so the presentation on the chocolate bars was Nice. I did something that I never do when somebody gives me a gift, but I did it because it's a news story now, and that is. I looked up how much this shit costs, and this pretty box with just four chocolate bars in it cost $62. Brit, I'm so grateful that you thought of me, but $62 on this crap. So I tried the raspberry spread, sea salt, dark chocolate first. And I'm not gonna lie, it was disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. Cannot recommend you stay away from it more strongly than I do. Then I went to shortbread cookies, bee pollen, milk chocolate. I mean, shortbread cookie sounds good, right? So I opened it up to see what this is all about. So it's. It's more chocolate with, like, some sort of orange spread on it. I guess that's the bee pollen. Also disgusting. Don't recommend. So, thumbs down on the $62 chocolates, then, Brit included. Two. Count them, two, as ever, little jam packages here. One is strawberry, one is raspberry. I know that our pal link, Lauren, tried the apricot, I think, and thought it was disgusting. I'm going to try. It's. I mean, it's not a very. Look, this is the raspberry. It's kind of gross. It's coming out of the jar. I'm gonna try it, see if we like this. Yeah, it's good. It's your typical raspberry jam. The problem is she's charging $12 a jar for this. And you can get jam that tastes just as good, if not better, for $4. You're paying all that extra money so you can get Meghan Markle to send you a stupid little card that reads Enjoy in her lame little calligraphy on one side, and as ever, on the other with. I don't know what that is, if it's a royal seal or what, but it's got a palm tree on it, so I'm guessing not. Then there's the cheesy little packaging for the jams, which I have to tell you, is in a very cheap little cardboard circular thing. I guess she was trying to be fancy, but it was a fail. And again, the as ever thing, I've just got to say, it's so. It's used. It's not clever. It doesn't. It's not a play on words that you find fun. It sounds like someone who's trying. Trying to offer this, like, ephemeral brand to, like, entice you into another world. That doesn't get you there. So big thumbs up on Brit Mair not on Meghan Markle. And sadly, Netflix has officially cut ties with Markle's polarizing lifestyle brand. As ever, per Page Six. We all agree. Thanks for joining us back Monday. Have a great week. Thanks for listening to the Megyn Kelly Show. No bs, no agenda and no fear.
Jesse Kelly
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Megyn Kelly
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Mark Halperin
Why have I asked my electrician I found on Angie.com to bury my pet hamster Nibbles in our yard for me? Because I was so moved by how carefully he buried my electrical wires, I knew I could trust him to bury my sweet Nibbles after his untimely end.
Jesse Kelly
Huh, Nibbles gone too soon.
Mark Halperin
May he scurry in peace.
Jesse Kelly
Hey, sorry about your pet, but I just wire stuff.
Mark Halperin
Nibbles would have loved you like a brother.
Jesse Kelly
Connecting homeowners with skilled pros for over 30 years. Angie the one you trust to find the ones you trust. Find pros for all your home projects at Angie Combination.
Date: March 6, 2026
Guests: Jesse Kelly, Mark Halperin
Main Topics: Trump’s Noem and Cornyn Decisions, Newsom’s Meltdown, and Oprah’s Ozempic Weight Loss
This episode dives deep into the seismic political week: Trump’s firings and endorsements (specifically Kristi Noem and the Texas Senate primary involving John Cornyn and Ken Paxton), Gavin Newsom’s stumbles on the national stage, and the pop culture angle of Oprah Winfrey’s shocking weight loss. Jesse Kelly gives an insider’s view from Texas and Mark Halperin shares first-hand impressions from Mar-a-Lago during the Iran military campaign. The tone is sharp, irreverent, and unfiltered.
Jesse Kelly’s Warning on Cornyn Endorsement:
Jesse warns Trump against endorsing John Cornyn in the Texas Senate race. He describes Cornyn as "the face of the swamp" and an "amnesty guy" who has repeatedly sided with Democrats on issues like gun control and immigration, frustrating grassroots Republicans and Trump’s base.
“If Donald Trump steps in and kneecaps the effort to actually drain the swamp, it will be by a mile the biggest betrayal of his base and the biggest mistake he has made in his presidency.” —Jesse Kelly, [09:30]
Cornyn’s Power & Money Machine:
Cornyn’s immense campaign war chest (over $100M) is attributed to years of keeping lobbyists and DC insiders’ pockets lined—fueling skepticism about Trump getting advice from the same “swampy loser dorks.”
“15% of $100 million is a lot of cheddar cheese. They stand to make a whole lot of money if John Cornyn keeps winning and keeps spending money.” —Jesse Kelly, [10:36]
Paxton’s Viability & the "Blue Texas" Myth:
Jesse rejects the argument that Ken Paxton is less electable, calling fears of Texas turning blue overhyped. He claims it’s a myth pushed every cycle and that the real risk is turning off energized, MAGA-type voters.
“Texas is not turning blue. That’s one. Two, that fruitcake the Democrats chose to nominate... My dog could beat that guy running as a Republican in Texas.” —Jesse Kelly, [13:05]
Deal-Making & the Save America Act:
Megyn and Jesse dissect possible backstage deals—Trump withholding endorsement unless Cornyn delivers on demanding a vote on the SAVE Act (voter ID and registration restrictions). Jesse is skeptical Cornyn could deliver.
“Trump is asking for something he knows they can’t deliver... This is more about John Thune than anything else.” —Jesse Kelly, [19:00]
James Talarico’s Statements:
Clips are played of Talarico calling Christianity "a feminist religion" and Jesus "a radical feminist," raising eyebrows and drawing Jesse Kelly’s ire. He accuses Talarico of co-opting faith in a classic leftist-communist strategy, likening it to Soviet manipulation of clergy.
“He is coopted pretending to be a pastor, telling everybody that Jesus would want the communist revolution... [He] is going to get crucified for that.” —Jesse Kelly, [22:07]
“James Talarico is going to burn in hell if he doesn’t repent.” —Jesse Kelly, [24:29]
Democratic Nominee Issues:
Megyn and Jesse mock Talarico’s potential as a candidate and reflect on the changing demographics and shifting drama in safe blue House districts (e.g., Pastor Haynes succeeding Jasmine Crockett).
Reaction to Kirk’s Death:
Jesse and Megyn criticize left-wing attempts to avoid the word “assassination” for Charlie Kirk, arguing this is classic leftist language policing.
“Words are weapons to Communists. They carefully select their words... Always a red flag when someone’s trying to police you with what language you are and aren’t allowed to use.” —Jesse Kelly, [31:56]
The Adam Friedland Podcast Flop:
They play Newsom’s rambling, evasive response to the question about his “defining political project.” Megyn and Jesse mock Newsom’s reliance on vague platitudes and 60s iconography, with Jesse suggesting this persona will not land in the Midwest.
“You have to take a stance on something or nothing inspires people to go vote for you. You’re not running on Zeitgeist and Gandhi and walking into the White House.” —Jesse Kelly, [39:29–40:52]
Katie Couric’s “Zoolander” Interview Fangirling:
Katie Couric is ridiculed for conducting a sycophantic interview obsessing over Newsom’s looks, leading Megyn to joke that Newsom’s slogan should be "Too Good Looking to Run."
“Maybe he stumbled upon his slogan. Maybe that could be the thing... ‘Too good looking to run.’” —Megyn Kelly, [42:05]
Is Newsom Still Presidential Material?
Both doubt his national appeal, especially in swing states, and Jesse assesses Democrats’ desperation in their 2028 bench.
Mar-a-Lago During the Iran Bombing ([53:48]):
Mark Halperin recounts a surreal night at Mar-a-Lago—weddings, fundraising, and Trump managing the bombing campaign from his “makeshift Situation Room.”
“It’s like a cross between Clausewitz drama and a Fellini film... a four ring circus.” —Mark Halperin, [53:48]
Trump’s Mood and Priorities:
Trump reportedly remains calm, toggling between events, and focused on both politics and military matters.
Jesse Kelly’s Take:
Jesse urges caution: it’s easy to break things, hard to build them after (referencing regime change failures).
“Breaking things is easy. Making things is difficult. Who is going to run Iran that will ... serve our interests and be acceptable to the people of Iran?” —Jesse Kelly, [46:08]
Mark Halperin on Trump’s Asymmetric Strategy:
Halperin argues Trump is motivated by asymmetric advantages, using U.S. power to force quick, advantageous outcomes and then move on, as in Venezuela.
Why Noem Was Ousted:
Negative press, distractions from Trump’s agenda, poor congressional hearings, and her relationship with Corey Lewandowski all contributed. Trump expects “dirty laundry” to be handled expertly and discreetly and doesn’t tolerate it becoming his headache.
Polling Data:
Harry Enten reports 58% of Americans, and 62% of independents polled, wanted Noem gone.
“Her negative coverage was directly getting in the way of his getting credit for the accomplishment.” —Mark Halperin, [57:15]
Background:
MMA fighter, plumbing business owner, only Senator without a bachelor’s degree, seen as “tough” and a fighter—traits that resonate with Trump.
Confirmation Prospects:
Halperin expects confirmation, sees him as charismatic and respected, but he lacks deep experience.
“President likes people, as he says, from central casting, and this guy’s from central casting to be the head of Homeland Security.” —Mark Halperin, [73:49]
Identity Politics in Play:
Mark Halperin breaks down structural challenges faced by Buttigieg, Rahm Emanuel, and others—noting the party’s likely preference for a straight, Christian, tall, white male (i.e., Newsom) due to perceived voter biases.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult for the party to nominate anybody in any of those categories.” —Mark Halperin, [79:38]
Shock Over Oprah’s Thinness:
Oprah’s dramatic Ozempic-induced weight loss (“skinnier than I am now”) draws both awe and discomfort. Mark Halperin laments society’s turn toward extreme thinness and the risks associated with “falling faces” from Ozempic.
“I miss heavy Oprah… She was like a mother Earth character.” —Megyn Kelly, [87:31]
On Cornyn & Trump’s Base:
“John Cornyn fills [the swamp] up. Donald Trump ran on draining the swamp. If he kneecaps the effort, it’s the biggest betrayal.” —Jesse Kelly, [09:30]
On Newsom’s Platitudes:
“You’re not running on Zeitgeist and Gandhi and walking into the White House.” —Jesse Kelly, [39:29]
On Political Semantics:
“Words are weapons to Communists. … Always a red flag when someone’s trying to police you with what language you are and aren’t allowed to use.” —Jesse Kelly, [31:56]
On Oprah’s Transformation:
“Oprah is skinnier than I am now. … I miss heavy Oprah. … Now she’s gone full Demi Moore.” —Megyn Kelly, [84:31, 87:31]
On Mar-a-Lago During Warfare:
“It’s like Clausewitz drama meets a Fellini film… a four ring circus.” —Mark Halperin, [53:48]
This episode distilled the tumult of the 2026 political moment—Trump’s high-stakes primary maneuvers, the chaos and image-management syndrome of Gavin Newsom, and the cultural surprise of Ozempic-fueled celebrity makeovers. True to its promise, the show is unsparing and unapologetic in tone—serving up the week’s drama with biting analysis and pointed humor.
For listeners who missed the episode, this summary covers the essential arguments, best soundbites, and the wider political/cultural undercurrents explored throughout the episode.