The Megyn Kelly Show - Biden Staff Discussed Wheelchair, DNC vs. David Hogg, Cassie Testifies in Diddy Case: AM Update 5/14

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

A new book by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson reveals how top Democrats concealed President Biden’s physical and cognitive decline leading up to his 2024 withdrawal, a story many outsiders plainly observed without inside sources. DNC Vice Chair David Hogg faces dual efforts to remove him from party leadership over rule violations and his pledge to primary incumbent Democrats. The criminal trial of rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs begins in New York, with disturbing testimony from Cassie alleging decades of abuse. President Trump outlines a bold vision for Middle East peace and prosperity in Saudi Arabia, inviting Iran to join a new era of commerce over conflict.120Life: Go to https://120Life.com and use code MK to save 15%Riverbend Ranch: Visit https://riverbendranch.com/ | Use promo code MEGYN for $20 off your first order. 

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Wednesday, May 14th, 2025, and this is your AM Update. But now we have anecdotes and facts about what was really going on behind the scenes. The first excerpts from a book exposing the behind-the-scenes operation to conceal the extent of President Biden's decline are released. But what's the real backstory? DNC Vice Chair David Hogg faces another attempt to remove him from his party position no sooner than he obtained it. The star witness in the Diddy trial takes the stand. Forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos. And President Trump outlines a vision of prosperity and mutual cooperation

in the Middle East. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update. One in two adults have high blood pressure, and many don't even know it. That's a ticking time bomb. But here's the good news. You have the power to take control naturally with 120 Life. 120 Life is a blend of great tasting super fruit juices that can actually help lower your blood pressure naturally. 120 Life is formulated with ingredients that have been shown to support healthy blood pressure levels. It's trusted by hundreds of health professionals and people have seen real measurable results. You can try it yourself risk-free with their two-week trial. Just go to 120life.com and use the code MK to save 15% and

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next Tuesday, kicking off the media blitz this week. By the way, they'll be here that day. Thompson and Tapper interviewing more than 200 people, they say mostly Democratic insiders, on the final two years of the Biden presidency, finding the White House remaining determined to conceal the reality of Mr. Biden's condition, even at risk of the president's health. In a preview of the book published by Axios, the author's writing, quote, Biden's physical deterioration, most apparent in his halting walk, had become so severe that there were internal discussions about putting the president in a wheelchair, but they couldn't do so until after the election. The book outlines an effort by Biden staffers to spin the president's stiff, shuffling walk

as a complication from a November 2020 foot fracture, instead of revealing he was dealing with significant spinal degeneration. And by spin, we mean lie. The authors report President Biden's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, had long expressed concerns about the physical toll the office was taking on Mr. Biden. Quote, O'Connor sometimes quipped that Biden's staff members were trying to kill him while he, Dr. O'Connor, was trying to keep him alive.

The Guardian also previewing an advanced copy of the book detailing Mr. Biden's mental decline, writing the June 2024 debate in Atlanta was no anomaly. Since at least 2022, Biden has been increasingly prone to losing his train of thought and struggled to remember the names of top aides. When he proved incapable of delivering a two-minute video address without stumbling, aides filmed him with two cameras so the edit would be less obvious. Newsflash, it was obvious. Some of us knew. The authors quote one senior aide admitting, quote, we attempted to shield him from his own staff. So many people didn't realize the extent of the decline beginning in 2023.

President Biden last week on The View denying he's suffered any cognitive decline. Original Sin, this book, also describing the lead up to President Biden's decision to drop his re-election bid and the fallout within the Democrat ranks. Democrat heavyweights, including powerful fundraiser Ari Emanuel, the agent, and Senator Chuck Schumer behind the scenes urging the president to withdraw from the race, some blaming the delay in his dropout for Kamala Harris's loss. Former Obama advisor David Plouffe telling the authors Mr. Biden, quote, totally effed us, describing the 107-day campaign window for Kamala Harris as a, quote, effing nightmare. The details of the book, scandalous, but for many

in this listening audience, they're not exactly shocking. For years, questions about Mr. Biden's sharp decline, raised almost exclusively by right-leaning or independent journalists, were called outrageous and conspiratorial or ableist. It's now safe for establishment media figures to report on the story without risking their precious careers or status. And it is now safe for Democrat operatives to admit what many outsiders could see plainly without needing super secret sources. Joe Biden was rapidly deteriorating physically and mentally while in office. Mr. Tapper here on a Tuesday CNN appearance. Well, Alex Thompson and I were on the case, as were lots of other reporters, trying to figure out what was going on behind the scenes.

But the bottom line is the White House was lying, not only to the press, not only to the public, but they were lying to members of their own cabinet. They were lying to White House staffers. They were lying to Democratic members of Congress, to donors about how bad things had gotten. And then after the election, we found out all of these things that when you looked at what was going on with President Biden at the time, it probably doesn't surprise you the extent to which he was deteriorating. But now we have anecdotes and facts about what was really going on behind the scenes with details that Democrats wouldn't share with us until after Election Day. Mr. Tapper himself regularly defended President Biden's verbal mishaps as symptoms of a childhood stutter. Radio host Buck Sexton, Tuesday on The Megyn Kelly Show,

reacting to the media's sudden curiosity about the inner workings of the Biden White House. Everybody, everybody knew that Joe Biden was in a state of cognitive decline from just watching him on television for years. On my show with Clay, the Clay and Buck show, we were making comments about how this was the weekend at Bernie's presidency. We all knew, all these reporters knew they are lying now because they have to figure out a way to regain some credibility and to regain some ground even within their own side because they made a mockery of their own audience. They didn't miss it. They sold their souls to defeat Trump and they failed. And now they're trying to buy them back off of, you know, layaway. Like this is not something that's hard to understand when you look at it in the totality. Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, again, will join the Megyn Kelly show on Tuesday. Should be interesting.

David Hogg, progressive activist turned DNC vice chair, now facing a second attempt to remove him from his position. Mr. Hogg running into conflict with party leadership following Hogg's PACs, pledged to spend 20 million bucksarying Democrats in safe blue districts. That effort, Mr. Hogg says, is meant to freshen up his party. DNC Chair Ken Martin heading an effort to force all DNC leadership members to sign a neutrality pledge or to vacate their party positions. Mr. Hogg fighting that effort. The vote is set for the August DNC meeting. Meantime, in a second challenge unrelated to the neutrality pledge, a DNC member who lost

her bid to fill one of the vacant vice chair positions filing a different challenge within the DNC. Kaylin Free, alleging David Hogg and another male male vice chair won their seats based on a flawed and sexist process. Ms. Free says the DNC violated its own rules, amounting to a procedural issue she says gave male candidates more chances at winning a seat, making it virtually impossible for female candidates to win. To achieve gender parity across leadership, including male, female, and oh, of course, non-binary candidates, the DNC developed a convoluted process. Listen here to one DNC official laying it out ahead of the elections earlier this year. The rules specify that when we have a gender non-binary candidate or officer, the non-binary individual is counted as neither male nor female, and the remaining six

officers must be gender balanced. With the results of the previous four elections, our elected officers are currently two male and two female. In order to be gender balanced, we must elect one male, one female, and one person of any gender. So again, this is what we have to do for this vice chair race. Even that guy sounds confused. The DNC panel agreeing with Ms. Free in a 13-2 vote to void the elections of Mr. Hogg and Malcolm Kenyatta. The resolution now must be voted on, though, by the full DNC. If it passes, Hogg is gone, and and Malcolm Kenyatta. The resolution now must be voted on, though, by the full DNC. If it passes, Hogg is gone, and so is Kenyatta. Mr. Hogg reacting to the decision

in a statement, quote, while this vote was based on how the DNC conducted its officers' elections, which I had nothing to do with, it is also impossible to ignore the broader context of my work to reform the party, which loomed large over this vote. The DNC has pledged to remove me, and this vote has provided an avenue to fast-track that effort. The full DNC vote not yet scheduled. It may be held in the August meeting, or it could be held virtually ahead of that meeting. Hogg and Kenyatta will remain in their positions until that time. Good luck. Coming up, the star witness in the criminal case against rapper Sean Diddy Combs takes the stand. And President Trump delivers remarks in Saudi Arabia,

inviting the Iranian regime to join in a new era of peace and economic partnership. If you haven't heard about Riverbend Ranch, listen up. They have just introduced their Riverbend Ranch steaks to the marketplace, and you need to try them. Riverbend Ranch raises their own beef on beautiful mountain meadows only a few miles from West Yellowstone. Unlike most ranches, Riverbend Ranch never uses growth hormones or antibiotics. They treat their animals humanely and with respect. There are advantages of buying directly from the ranch. They can track the health of every animal from the day it is born and can guarantee that it has been healthy every day of its life. Riverbend Ranch has its own state-of-the-art processing facility on the ranch

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criminal trial of rapper Sean Diddy Combs in New York City. Mr. Combs pleading not guilty to charges of racketeering, conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Prosecutors aiming to prove Mr. Combs led a criminal enterprise using force, coercion, and manipulation to traffic women for sex with help from his inner circle. It convicted Mr. Combs could face life in prison. The criminal investigation gaining momentum following a civil sexual assault suit filed by Cassandra Ventura, known professionally as Cassie, the on-again, off-again girlfriend and employee of Mr. Combs. Her lawsuit was settled right after it was filed in 2023.

The New York Times reporting an eight-figure payout by Combs to Ventura. Dozens of civil suits against Mr. Combs followed Ms. Ventura's case. Federal investigators also kicking off a criminal investigation into Mr. Combs, raiding his L.A. and Miami homes in March 2024. Agents seizing guns, ammo, drugs, and large amounts of baby oil. Prosecutors argue Mr. Combs coerced Ms. Ventura and two unidentified women into sex with him and male prostitutes in events known as freak-offs. In opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Johnson telling the jury, quote, during this trial, you are going to hear about 20 years of the defendant's crimes.

But he didn't do it alone. He had an inner circle of bodyguards and high-ranking employees who helped him commit crimes and cover them up. They've already put on witness testimony from a male sex worker talking about how Sean Combs paid him to have sex with Cassie. The Fed's outlining instances of alleged violence against the women in graphic detail. Prosecutors will show security footage of Mr. Combs throwing Ms. Ventura onto the floor of the Hotel Intercontinental in a public hallway, kicking her and violently dragging her.

Defense lawyers arguing Mr. Combs' sexual habits were consensual and part of a swinger lifestyle. Defense attorney Tenny Garagos, daughter of famed attorney Mark Garagos, telling the jury, quote, you will hear about swinger parties. They will testify about things that should never be heard in a federal courtroom that he liked to watch. You may not like that, but you are not here to judge him for his sexual preferences. The defense saying it's not a crime to use baby oil, imploring the jury to keep an open mind. Ms. Ventura, now the star witness of the criminal case against Mr. Combs, taking the stand on Tuesday, describing various graphic sexual encounters, at times in tears. Ms. Ventura describing physical abuse, quote,

he would knock me over, drag me, kick me, stomp me in the head, telling prosecutors there were no conversations about her preferences during these freak-offs. Trials expected to last eight to 10 weeks. President Trump delivering keynote remarks at the Saudi U.S. Investment Forum following a day of high-level meetings and royal pageantry with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and senior Saudi officials. The conference bringing together global business and political leaders to spur investment and cooperation between U.S. and Middle Eastern nations. President Trump striking an optimistic tone, outlining a prosperous vision for the Middle East built on economic cooperation. Before our eyes, a new generation of leaders is transcending the ancient conflicts of

tired divisions of the past and forging a future where the Middle East is defined by commerce, not chaos, where it exports technology, not terrorism, and where people of different nations, religions, and creeds are building cities together, not bombing each other out of existence. We don't want that. The president setting his administration apart from past U.S. Middle East policy. Far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it's our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use U.S. policy to dispense justice for their sins. They loved using our very powerful military. I believe it is God's job to sit in judgment, my job to defend America

and to promote the fundamental interests of stability, prosperity, and peace. Mr. Trump also extending an invite to this new vision to Iran. Yet I'm here today not merely to condemn the past chaos of Iran's leaders, but to offer them a new path and a much better path toward a far better and more hopeful future. As I've shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be very profound, which obviously they are in the case of Iran. I have never believed in

having permanent enemies. I am different than a lot of people think. I don't like permanent enemies. Some of the closest friends of the United States of America, nations we fought wars against in generations past. And now they're our friends and our allies. The Trump administration is in ongoing talks with Iran to secure a new nuclear deal, one that may allow the regime to retain its civilian nuclear program. While the president expresses openness

to a working relationship with the Iranians, the positive talk also coming with a warning. Iran can have a much brighter future, but will never allow America and its allies to be threatened with terrorism or nuclear attack. The choice is theirs to make. We really want them to be a successful country. We want them to be a wonderful, safe, great country.

But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. This is an offer that will not last forever. President Trump's Middle East trip extends through Friday. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on YouTube.com slash Megyn Kelly,

and on all podcast platforms.