The Megyn Kelly Show - Catastrophic Texas Flooding, Netanyahu Visits the White House, Musk Starts New Party: AM Update 7/7

Episode Date: July 7, 2025

Catastrophic Texas flooding leaves dozens dead, including young girls at a summer camp, while some try to place the blame on President Trump's cuts to the National Weather Service. Israeli Prime Minis...ter Netanyahu visits President Trump at the White House following a joint U.S.-Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites, as ceasefire talks with Hamas remain stalled. Elon Musk officially launches the America Party, vowing to fight government spending and influence key House and Senate races. Patriot Mobile: Get a Free Month at https://PatriotMobile.com/MEGYN or call 972-PATRIOTDone with Debt: https://www.DoneWithDebt.com

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, July 7th, 2025. And this is your AM update. This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time that could not be predicted. Extreme flooding in central Texas, leaving dozens dead and many missing as crews work around the clock on rescue efforts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting the White House today, fresh off of the successful military campaign that crippled the Iranian nuclear program. The principles of those were very popular. I think if you look at the polling, Elon was not. Elon Musk announcing he will follow through on his promise to form a new political party following the passage of the one big
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Starting point is 00:01:42 Make the switch. Defend freedom with every call and text you make. That's patriotmobile.com slash M-E-G-Y-N or just call 972-PATRIOT. Devastating flooding across central Texas. At least 70 dead so far across five counties with flood warnings still in effect in multiple counties. Eleven campers and one counselor still missing from Camp Mystic, a popular Christian camp located along the shores of the Guadalupe River, which has already seen five of its campers confirmed dead. The New York Post reporting the youngest campers were sleeping in their cabins,
Starting point is 00:02:20 just over 200 feet from the river's edge when the flash flooding began early July 4th morning. In a matter of a few hours, the river rising from one to 34 feet with enough force to push RVs, lift massive boulders, and rip fully grown trees out of the ground from the root, leaving a trail of destruction across the Texas Hill Country. Crews working night and day to locate displaced victims across the region, searching for children and adults, so far making more than 850 rescues. Adult camper Brian Eads describing the experience to a local NBC station on Saturday. I woke up about 3.30, 4 o'clock in the morning, and there was just a torrential river coming
Starting point is 00:03:03 through the campground. I got my wife up. We tried to make it to my truck, we didn't make it, we were washed away. Got into another truck, he was able to get it started, we made it 20 feet, a fight for survival at that time. Me and my wife got separated, I grabbed a hold of one tree, I was trying to push something for her to float on. I took a tumble in the river. I came back up and I couldn't see her. I couldn't hear. Mr. Eads' wife did not survive.
Starting point is 00:03:33 Amid the devastation, also some miracles. A local CBS station describing the young woman surviving under seemingly impossible odds. And if there's any hope in this story, it's that this 22-year-old woman went into the water in the Ingram, Texas area, which is about 20 miles upstream. She had been in the tree for several hours at that point already because she was swept out of her campground, out of her tent
Starting point is 00:04:03 at four o'clock in the morning. Firefighters, the paramedics, checked her vitals. She had a few bumps and bruises and they said that was amazing because she had gone over four dams and been dropped. She told them the story of fighting refrigerators, dodging recreational vehicles as she traveled down that long 20-mile stretch of being wiped away. President Trump's Sunday morning signing a major disaster declaration for Kerr County, freeing up additional resources for rescue and recovery efforts. Throughout the weekend, questions and accusations swirling about the level of warnings before the natural disaster. Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief
Starting point is 00:04:45 Nim Kidd saying original forecasts from the National Weather Service did not predict the level of rainfall that was to come. The original forecast that we received on Wednesday from the National Weather Service predicted three to six inches of rain in the Concho Valley and four to eight inches of rain in the Hill Country. Everybody got the forecast from the National Weather Service, right? You all got it. You're all in media. You got that forecast. It did not predict the amount of rain that we saw.
Starting point is 00:05:13 Some seizing on those comments to point to the Trump administration's cuts to the National Weather Service earlier this year through Doge, CNN national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem, who never misses a chance to bash Trump posting to X, quote, the question we have to ask is whether any ability to notify or warn was impacted by decreases or Doge on weather services. I don't know the answer and we can't assume it. The camp may have been isolated, but I'd want to know if I were a parent. That narrative quickly taking off online and through legacy media outlets.
Starting point is 00:05:46 The New York Times' report on the tragedy headlined, As floods hit, key roles were vacant at weather service offices in Texas, focusing on staffing shortages within the National Weather Service, some of which were Doge-related, and some of which predated the current Trump administration. However, there's more to the story. Curville city manager Dalton Rice describing the unusual conditions causing the rapid flooding for one.
Starting point is 00:06:11 Under normal conditions, if you call it that, you'll hit water in one of those areas and those two forks will converge into the Guadalupe which comes through the city of Curville. This rain event sat on top of that and dumped more rain than what was forecasted on both of those forks. When we got the report, it was about seven feet or so on the South Fork, and within a matter of minutes, it was up to 29 feet.
Starting point is 00:06:34 And all of that converged at the Guadalupe, and that's where we saw those very quick rise and flood. So there's not alarms everywhere on the river. No, sir. Rice saying that local officials remained in constant contact with the National Weather Service, but the speed and scale of the flooding could not have been predicted. I was running the river trail at 3 a.m. this morning. There was no signs of it. The rain was here on the river trail, which is down below at the water's edge at 3 30 and four o'clock. When I left, there was no signs of it rising at that point. This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time that could not be predicted. at 3.30 and 4 o'clock when I left, there was no signs of it rising at that point. This happened very quickly over a very short amount of time that could not be predicted,
Starting point is 00:07:10 even with the radar. Our team constantly reviews radar, constantly has NWS, National Weather Service messages. We send them out on a regular basis and we communicate effectively. This is not like a tornado where you can have a siren. This is not like a hurricane where you're planning weeks in advance. It hit, it hit hard, and things like this happen in a very strategic, very isolated area and when those two things converge, you have what happened today. So this happened within less than a two-hour span very, very quickly. The Associated Press reporting, the National Weather Service office in New Braunfels, which is responsible for forecasting that area, actually had extra staff on duty during the storm.
Starting point is 00:07:50 The rain began falling around midnight, the NWS issuing its first flash flood warning at 1.14 a.m. local time on Friday. The Texas Tribune reporting all National Weather Service flash flood warnings set off emergency push notifications through cell phone towers. The Service reportedly updating that warning nine times throughout Friday. At 4.03 a.m., the most serious warning, a flash flood emergency, warning of a quote, extremely dangerous and life-threatening situation. The Texas Tribune reporting quote, the timing of the flood may have been a complicating factor.
Starting point is 00:08:25 The alerts came out during the start of the Fourth of July weekend, when RV parks, cabins and homes are filled with tourists who might not be familiar with the flood risks or the habits of the water. An independent meteorologist based out of Houston, Matt Lanza, writing on Substack, quote, we have seen absolutely nothing to suggest that current staffing or budget issues within NOAA or the NWS played any role at all in this event. Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly telling the AP several years back the county considered a flood warning system along the river that would have functioned like a tornado warning system,
Starting point is 00:09:01 but the idea never took off because of the expense. Meteorologist James Spann posting to X, quote, one takeaway is the importance of having a NOAA weather radio at every home, business, and any place where there are large numbers of people gathered, like a camp on a river. I would imagine cell service is spotty along the Guadalupe where the camps were located. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at a Saturday briefing saying the Trump administration is committed to upgrading national weather systems.
Starting point is 00:09:30 The National Weather Service over the years at times has done well and at times we have all wanted more time and more warning and more alerts and more notification. That is something and one of the reasons that when President Trump took office that he said he wanted to fix and is currently upgrading the technology and the National Weather Service has indicated that with that and NOAA that we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years. And that is the reforms that are ongoing there. On Sunday from Rome, Pope Leo offering a special blessing for those impacted by this terrible tragedy.
Starting point is 00:10:06 I would like to express sincere condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones, in particular their daughters who were at summer camp in the disaster caused by the flooding of the Guadalupe River in Texas in the United States. We pray for them. Coming up, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House today as Israeli officials negotiate toward a ceasefire deal with Hamas. And Elon Musk forms a new political party, ruffling many feathers on the right. It wasn't supposed to get this bad. You don't remember the time when you actually were on top of your bills? Then inflation hit, groceries, gas, everything shot up, prices up 26% from just a few years
Starting point is 00:10:56 ago. It's not necessarily your fault if you have fallen into real debt. Let me share a smarter, faster, far easier way out of it. It's called done with debt. And they are not like other debt relief companies. They don't push loans or bankruptcy on you. Done with debt has legendary negotiators who go head to head with your credit card and loan companies. And they have one goal, to drastically reduce or eliminate your debt altogether.
Starting point is 00:11:20 They move lightning fast. Most clients see more money in their pocket month one. But a word to the wise, hurry, because some of their debt erasing strategies are time sensitive. So consider talking to a done with debt strategist before you make another bill payment. It's free. Visit donewithdebt.com, donewithdebt.com, donewithdebt.com. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visiting President Trump at the White House
Starting point is 00:11:44 today. The meeting in part a victory lap following the successful U.S. military strike on three key Iranian nuclear weapons facilities, as well as Israeli operations against Iran's nuclear program. This, the third White House visit for the prime minister since the start of the second Trump administration. The two leaders are now focusing on what comes next in the war on Hamas. Ceasefire negotiations with the terrorist group have so far remained unsuccessful. On Sunday, Israeli and Hamas officials meeting in Qatar to restart indirect negotiations.
Starting point is 00:12:15 Prior to departing for the White House, Prime Minister Netanyahu telling reporters, quote, we will not allow a situation where there will be more hostages, more murders, more beheadings, more invasions. This means one thing, the elimination of Hamas' military and governmental capabilities. Hamas will not be there. President Trump also likely to bring up Syria. The administration is reportedly working to bring Syria into the Abraham Accords, thus
Starting point is 00:12:40 normalizing relations between the two countries for the first time since the creation of the modern Jewish state in 1948. In May, President Trump becoming the first U.S. president in 25 years to meet a Syrian leader, President Ahmed al-Sharah, who in December toppled Bashar al-Assad's regime. Despite al-Sharah's militant background and ties to jihadist groups, President Trump extending an olive branch, inviting Syria to a new opportunity to join the global community. Elon Musk on Saturday announcing the formation of the America Party, resulting from Musk's highly publicized outrage over the projected deficit increases within President Trump's
Starting point is 00:13:21 One Big Beautiful bill signed on July 4th. The CBO predicting the bill will increase the deficit by trillions through fiscal year 2034. The Trump administration arguing the CBO does not properly account for economic growth or tariff revenue, which they say will largely offset the added debt. On Independence Day, Musk posting a poll to X asking users if he should create the America Party. 65.4% responding yes versus 34.6% responding no. Several users quickly noting the poll was not restricted to Americans and consists of
Starting point is 00:13:56 Musk's followers and others on the platform he owns, X. Musk on Friday outlining a possible strategy for the party, quote, one way to execute on this would be to laser focus on just two or three Senate seats and eight to ten House districts. Given the razor-thin legislative margins, that would be enough to serve as the deciding vote on contentious laws, ensuring that they serve the true will of the people. Though a full platform has yet to be published on X, Musk's signaling the America party will focus on reducing debt, modernizing the military with AI and robotics, reducing regulation across the board, especially in energy, promoting free speech, and promoting
Starting point is 00:14:36 centrist policies. Many on the right criticizing the move, voicing concerns that a third party will only divide the Republican vote, boosting Democrats. Founder of Early Vote Action, Republican Scott Pressler, posting to X, if Republicans lose the house in 2026, which the creation of a third party is likely to do, there will be no budget for DHS to deport criminal illegal aliens. We will likely lose 2028 and there goes control over the census. The border opens up again and it was all for naught. We will likely lose 2028 and there goes control over the census.
Starting point is 00:15:05 The border opens up again and it was all for naught. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson reacting Sunday on CNN to Musk's new venture. The principles of Doge were very popular. I think if you looked at the polling, Elon was not. I believe that the boards of directors at his various companies wanted him to come back and run those companies, which he is better at than anyone. So I imagine that those board of directors did not like this announcement yesterday and will be encouraging him to focus on his business activities, not
Starting point is 00:15:35 his political activities. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show, live on Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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