The Megyn Kelly Show - Does Nikki Haley Have a Shot, and Parenting and Friendship Tips, with David Sacks, and Megyn's Friends | Ep. 494

Episode Date: February 15, 2023

Megyn Kelly is joined by David Sacks, of the All-In Podcast and Craft Ventures, to talk about Nikki Haley declaring her candidacy for president, whether she has a shot at the GOP nomination, "The View" trashing her and other Republicans, the possibility that Vivek Ramaswamy will run, the coming Trump-DeSantis war, how DeSantis can attack Trump from the right, Dianne Feinstein announcing her retirement (but seemingly not being aware of it), and more. Then Megyn is joined by two of her best friends, Joelle Cosentino and Yael Denbo, to talk about parenting, bullying, the teen girl who was bullied in New Jersey and then committed suicide, the need to spy on your kids on social media, Harry and Meghan going to the coronation, Jane Fonda's female friendship tips, Megyn's NBC interview with Fonda, Real Housewives storylines, fun stories from their past experiences and friendship, and more.Sacks: http://www.craftventures.com/Follow The Megyn Kelly Show on all social platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/MegynKellyTwitter: http://Twitter.com/MegynKellyShowInstagram: http://Instagram.com/MegynKellyShowFacebook: http://Facebook.com/MegynKellyShow Find out more information at: https://www.devilmaycaremedia.com/megynkellyshow

Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show, your home for open, honest, and provocative conversations. Hey everyone, I'm Megyn Kelly. Welcome to The Megyn Kelly Show. We are live today from Las Vegas, Nevada. How fun. And we're going to get personal. Two of my best friends in life are going to join me. I'm here with a group of women, two of whom are the brave souls willing to come on camera. Not everybody likes this as it turns out. They're going to join me in just a bit and we'll talk about our lives, our friendship, our marriages, our parenting skills, and yours as well, and some of the news relating to all these things. Perhaps a few secrets will be revealed. You'll have to stay tuned to find out. Also going to reveal something about Jane Fonda, something positive that might shock you.

But first, we begin today with the 2024 race heating up on the GOP side. This, as Karine Jean-Pierre calls President Biden, the best communicator in the White House, which is like being the thinnest kid at fat camp. Joining me now, one of the most brilliant minds in Silicon Valley, David Sachs. David's a venture capitalist who now runs Craft Adventures. He's also a co-host of the All In podcast. David, great to have you back. How are you doing? Good. Good to be back, Megan. I love Vegas. Have you ever been to Vegas recently?

It's been a little while for me, but yeah, I go there for poker sometimes. You do your own kind of professional gambling for a living. Right. Yeah. It's kind of redundant when you're in the venture capital business. Yeah. Well, we got to go like, we're going to go gamble a little bit later today. I will say just walking around some of the nicer casinos at night, it's all a hundred dollar minimum. I'm like, who the hell bets a hundred dollar minimum just to sit down and play some blackjack? I got to get over to the Golden Nugget. There's a $5 minimum. That's more my speed. Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah, you need to play with some of us poker degenerates from Silicon Valley. So yeah, well- Isn't that like one of the things of the All In podcast? Aren't you guys

like all poker aficionados? Yeah, that's where the name came from. All In is a poker expression. And the original idea for our podcast, the podcast is me and three friends from Silicon Valley who are longtime investors here, is that we were going to simply record our conversations at the poker table and put it out as a podcast. That's where the name came from.

And we didn't exactly do that. But what you hear on the all-in pod are the types of conversations that you would hear if you were to be a guest on our poker table and hear the four of us talking about different issues. Oh, so I'm kind of taking a page out of your book today and tomorrow. Okay, so let's talk 2024. I have to tell you, I definitely want to talk about Nikki Haley and so on. But the most interesting thing that I think has happened this week is Vivek Ramaswamy saying he might be all in. I had, I've interviewed him many times. You know him, um, the author of woke Inc and a very successful, uh, investor. He went to Yale law school.

He's in his thirties, um, saying he might run and he's been in Iowa. So we'll get to Nikki Haley in a second. But what do you think? Like Vivek is very exciting to me. He's been as aggressive as Ron DeSantis in fighting the woke wars, but he also knows business better than virtually anybody I've seen throw their hat into the ring so far, even talk about it. And the thing is, he's kind of like a Trump in that he's a businessman. He knows how to run a successful business. He's done it. He's made, I think, over a billion dollars just in his first 10 to 15 years at a law school. He's a person of color because there are certain boxes that are exciting to check as presidential candidacies go. What do you make of

Vivek saying, I'm thinking about doing this very seriously? Well, I mean, I love the guy and his critique of woke capitalism, but I don't think he has a realistic shot. And his entering the race really only, I think, ultimately accrues to the benefit of Donald Trump, because I think, you know, the only way to take down Trump is for one candidate, namely DeSantis, to have a clean shot at him. And if there's all these other candidates in the race, you're going to replicate a situation like you had in 2016, where Trump's going to get his solid sort of core 35 to 40% base. They're going to stick with him no matter what. And then all the other candidates will split the rest. I think if you want to take Trump down as the nominee, you really need, again, another candidate to kind of congeal the other, you know, 55, 60% of the votes. And the more candidates that are in the race, the harder that's going to be to do. So I don't know what Vivek brings that DeSantis doesn't already have covered. DeSantis has declared that Florida is a place that woke goes to die. He's basically attacked woke in the classrooms. He's taken

on the college board with the AP courses. He took on the trans issue in classrooms with the so-called don't say gay bill. He's taking on BlackRock and ESG. I don't know that you can get a better carrier of the banner on sort of against woke capitalism than DeSantis. So I don't know that you can get a better carrier of the banner on sort of against woke capitalism than DeSantis. So I don't know what Vivek, I don't know what his joining the race does other than peel away a few votes from DeSantis. Interesting. Well, yeah, certainly when it comes to fighting the woke nonsense, they're both great. But Vivek's got a billion dollars and Ron DeSantis doesn't. He earned it himself completely on his own. So when it comes to managing this struggling economy- Yeah, no one admires that more than me, Megan.

But no, DeSantis is going to be the most well-funded candidate probably in history. He's going to have huge amounts of money behind him. And I think the sort of the main question that's going to affect this primary race for 24 is, again, just whether DeSantis can get a clean shot at Trump or not. I think if he can, then I think he's got a good chance of being the nominee. I think that if the race has a dozen different candidates and they're all peeling away one or two percent of the vote, again, I think that's to Trump's benefit. I would put Haley sort of in the same camp. I don't think she's got a serious path to the nomination. I think she's sort of a Bush-era Republican who's too out of touch with the base.

You know, her main issue that she stressed in her announcement was this hawkishness towards Russia and China. Her most memorable line was about applying her stiletto heels to stomping on those countries. I don't think that's what the base is interested in right now. I think the base wants to hear how we're going to get out of this escalatory spiral that we're in with Russia. I think similarly, I think she's out of step with the base on corporate interests. She's not really comfortable at being a culture warrior on cultural issues. She's not really threatening to corporate interests. I think the base really wants a candidate who, like we talked about with DeSantis or like Vivek, is willing to take on

those issues. So I don't think she has a serious path to nomination, but I do think she creates more of this sort of clutter in the race that makes it harder for DeSantis to get a clean shot. And I think that's exactly why Trump was perfectly willing to bless her running when she called him seeking his permission. So I think Trump wants as many of these establishment candidates in the race as possible. You know, he'd love to have Pompeo in there, Pence in there, you know, and others taking away establishment votes from DeSantis. Yeah. Trump's got to gripe a little, you know, like he said, oh, she, Nikki Haley has to follow

her heart, if not her honor, because she said she would not run if Trump were running. And now, of course, she is. But we both know it's better for Trump to have her in. It's better for Trump to have as many in this race as possible. So he'd love DeSantis to back out, but he loves the Tim Scott's, the Nikki Haley's, the Vivek Ramaswamy's, the Mike Pence's. All of that is good for him. The thing about Nikki Haley's announcement, you mentioned the stiletto. That jumped out at me, too. And let's talk about it. Here's the sound in part one.

Some people look at America and see vulnerability. The socialist left sees an opportunity to rewrite history. China and Russia are on the march. They all think we can be bullied, kicked around. You should know this about me. I don't put up with bullies. And when you kick back, it hurts them more if you're wearing heels. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. That was cringy. I like Nikki Haley. I'm cringing. First of all, know what party you're running for. You're not, you're not a Democrat. The Republican party is not about identity politics. You go girl, that's not our thing. You know, like over those of us who are on the right or center, right? Like me,

we're sick of that nonsense. So, and she should know better. So why is she doing that? Yeah. It's a, you know, she could, maybe she can resurrect the catchphrase, I'm with her. You know, Nikki Haley is the Republican that my liberal Democrat friends on the All In pod wish the Republicans would nominate. They claim that if only the crazy Republicans would nominate a sane Republican like Nikki Haley, that they would finally be enticed to vote Republican. Like John McCain? Yeah, I have serious doubts about that they would finally be enticed to vote Republican. Like John McCain? Yeah, I have serious doubts about whether they would actually do that. I remember that when the Republicans nominated, you know, a supposedly sane, respectable candidate like McCain, like

Romney, the media still portrayed them as, you know, as a Nazi. And the base stayed home. And the base stayed home, exactly. So, you know, I have my doubts about that. I think that, you know, what you're seeing in that video is sort of the traditional neocon hawkishness, where every bad thing that happens in the world is the result of America's failure to project strength and power. That is their narrative. And I just think it's false. I mean, the American military is the most lethal military force that the world's ever created. The United States is the most powerful nation in the world by far. We don't have a failure to project strength. I think that conflict happens for other reasons. Certainly, it can happen because we fail to project deterrence, but it's not the only reason it happens. It happens because of misunderstandings. It happens because other nations have their own vital interests that

they're willing to pursue. And it happens because we are sometimes not willing to engage in negotiation over those vital interests. And I think that that has a lot to do with the current conflict in Ukraine. I think the base of the party is very concerned that we are escalating a conflict that Russia sees as existential for itself into a larger war. We have no vital interest in who rules the Donbass, the sort of eastern portion of Ukraine, and yet we are continuing to get more and more involved in that war. And I think that the eventual Republican nominee is going to speak to that. And you see, I think Trump is already wisely positioning himself on that issue as more

of a dove, which is why I think he's perfectly happy for Haley to come in to the race as a hawk. He knows that's a loser. Can I say, I think there's another piece to it. As she talks so hawkishly with such bellicosity about our military power and so on, her affect, her voice, her body language projects exactly the opposite. And this is a problem for her. She reminds me in this announcement of Dr. Oz in Pennsylvania and some of the problems he had, not connecting. She's got a tiny little voice. I'm sorry. Again, I feel bad because Nikki Haley is a nice person and I, she'd probably be a great leader, but we have to talk politics honestly and how they work.

And she's got a mousy little voice. She wasn't being authentic in that tape. She sounded, she was obviously reading a script and she's not very good at it. You know, there's nothing, it's not like the Trump, you know, coming down the escalator with the, you know, off cuff other stuff that you're like, what's happening. You can't take your eyes off the screen. You can 100% take your eyes off the screen in that Nikki Haley announcement video. And this is a problem for her as a politician. You know,

I realized she rose to the top level in South Carolina. And once you spend time with her, you really like her, but in a way she's introducing herself to a national audience. And she, while she's speaking strong about strength, she's projecting weakness. Well, I think I think you raise a great point that it feels rehearsed, it feels canned, and it's it's kind of a throwback to that sort of Bush era republicanism, the sort of supposed compassionate conservatism. I think what the base wants is a combative conservatism. I think they want a standard bearer to take on corporate interests, to take on the military industrial complex, to take on wokeism in the schools, in corporations, wherever they find it. And the only two candidates that I see that embody that are Trump and DeSantis, which is why I think

those are the only two with a serious shot to get the nomination. So I'm feeling you on this, that now is not the time. The Republican Party, forget the base, is not really looking for genteel given the challenges ahead. They're not looking for genteel. They want a fighter, maybe even a bully on some levels. And so but but the answer to that from some Republicans would be what about Glenn Youngkin? You know, here's the fear of the fleece. Remember with this little sweater vest thing? And he did win. And he was somebody in a state like Virginia, which is now blue. It's not even purple. Who could win with a disaffected Republican women who hated Trump.

And they're important. That's an important voting constituency if you want to win as a Republican in general. Yeah, I'm very impressed with Youngkin. I think he's a tremendous campaigner. I'm not from Virginia, but I've watched him campaign on TV. He has a way of addressing issues like schools in a more non-ideological way. He comes at it from the point of view of, we have to be excellent, we have to have opportunity, we need great schools to do that. And certainly, you know, the phenomenon of Woken Schools also involves, besides just sort of pumping ideology into young minds, it also involves a degradation of standards. It also

involves the abolition of standardized tests and advanced math and even grades. This is what's happening in California. So I think he's got a compelling message. And I like this sort of nice guy affect that he has. I don't think he should try to be something he's not. And I think it would play very well in a general. I think the guy is very electable in a general, but I think the question really comes down to what is the base looking for right now? And I think Yunkin at this point would be more of a VP contender. I don't know that he has a clean shot to get to top two. And I think his presence in the race, again, it really only serves the purpose of creating clutter that benefits Trump. So again, I think

that for 2024, for right now, I think it's a choice between the two more combative candidates that embody, I think, the attitude of the Republican base right now. And if that doesn't work, then I think the party might turn to more of this nice guy image. But I just don't think it's what it's looking for right now. So, David, we're talking about Glenn Youngkin. The thing about Glenn is he can't run for Virginia governor again, at least consecutively. So it's I think it's right. It increases the chances he will throw his hat in the presidential ring. And I know for a fact that a lot of folks connect with the RNC really like him. He doesn't really have any baggage because he hasn't been beaten up by the national press yet.

But they'll find some, you know, they'll get him. So that's Glenn. Moving on back to Nikki Haley, she just said this on camera. Because when she did her announcement, because today's her official announcement, but when she did her little videotape thing that we were just playing, she did not mention Trump. But today she seems to be intimating that we may need some competency tests for certain people of a certain age in presidential politics and otherwise. Listen to what she just said.

In the America I see, the permanent politician will finally retire. Is she talking about herself? We'll have term limits for Congress. And mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old. So, yeah, obviously she's billing herself as the new generation. I mean, she's, I think, 52. So, yes so, just about. I guess there's been a change in the House recently. So with Pelosi being replaced by Kevin McCarthy, but obviously, Mitch McConnell, Joe Biden, they're all in the 80-ish range. Trump is getting close, although Trump doesn't read as someone much older now than he was when he was president.

But I think she has a point there. I think, again, Nikki Haley's problem is that the generation that she represents is really Bush-era Republicanism. And I think that the party or the base, at least, has really moved on and is looking for something different. Yeah. She's 51, just to correct myself. No woman wants an extra year tagged on there. She is already coming under attack by the left. To your point earlier, yes, she is the sort of Republican that a Democrat could love because she's a little bit more establishment, more quote mainstream. She's definitely not a bull in a china shop like Trump.

But they won't love her. The left never does. They love these like sort of softer Republicans to get the nomination. And then as soon as they do, like the Mitt Romney, they try to turn them into a white supremacist, misogynist incarnate. And here's just a sampling of what the view, the ladies over the view had to say about Nikki Haley, just as a preview of where this is likely to go. Listen. You used to actually have some sanity and knew right from wrong. And then you lost your mind. She's part of the invasion of the body snatchers. There are these politicians on the right who now have become mentally crazy. She's an election denier too, isn't she? But she also backed Herschel Walker. And everyone might have been in with her, she's the smartest in the room.

I think she's very much a political grifter and a chameleon. And the bar is very low because it's on the ground. But Nikki hasn't herself cast out on 2020 election. She's not an election denier. She's an election denier adjacent. That was Joy Behar having to read a statement from legal, correcting her own on-air statement that she was an election denier. She couldn't even get off the air without having to admit she had misstated the facts. So, yeah, there's not going to be any love for the Republican candidate, no matter who it is. That's right. I mean, the key word there was adjacent. If being even proximate to the Republican cause is unacceptable in their view, they will never go for the, quote, sane Republican choice

that they always claimed they would if the Republicans would just nominate that person. You know, but I think, you know, Nikki Haley's problem, it's not that she's left wing or liberal the way that the view wants her to be. The issue, I think, for her in the Republican primary, she's just too establishment Republican. She only appeals to that wing of the party. Again, she is uncomfortable taking on corporate interests. She's not comfortable taking on these sort of hot button cultural issues. You know, her story about immigration is a personal story that I think is sort of inspiring and heartwarming, but I don't think she's got a lot to say about illegal immigration. And then of course, on foreign policy, she's very much in line

with the military industrial complex and the foreign policy establishment, the so-called blob that I think the Republican base has grown to suspect. So her problem is she only appeals to the establishment wing of the party. I think the nominee, first of all, has to appeal to the sort of more anti-establishment base and hopefully brings together the entire party. In my view, only DeSantis can do that, you know, because I think he can appeal to both both sides of it. But if you only appeal to one side or the other, you have to appeal to the base. I love the view calling her a political grifter because she's waffled from time to time on Trump, things like that. I guess it's no problem if like your name's Kamala Harris and you call Joe Biden a racist at a presidential debate and then run as his VP. That's not that's not grifting. That's just good politics. Let's talk about Trump to Santas, because that's obviously the main fight.

And all these other people can throw their hats in the ring as much as they want. But we all know where the main event is. Tim Scott, by the way, also now meeting. He's doing something in South Carolina. And that'll be interesting. Tim Scott versus Nikki Haley on the South Carolina vote. But he's also going to get into this race from the sound of it. So there will be a lot of people, Pompeo, Pence, and so on. Trump versus DeSantis is already starting to get ugly. Trump being Trump is taking aim at DeSantis in some weird ways. I have to be honest. I didn't expect this. He shared a post on his truth social from somebody that said Ron DeSantis was having a drink party with his students when he was a high school teacher, having drinks with underage girls and cuddling with them

certainly looks pretty gross. And a long word that I don't know what it means. FFO philia esque FFO philia esque along with a picture that purports to show DeSantis with and a long word that I don't know what it means. Ephibophilia-esque? Ephibophilia-esque? Along with a picture that purports to show DeSantis with blurred out images of young women. Producers telling me these girls reportedly attended Darlington School, where Governor DeSantis previously taught history. Earlier, some publication called The Hill Reporter reported an exclusive story in the photograph,

and these allegations in October 2021 saying DeSantis was about five years older than the girls at the time they were seniors in high school. Trump responded this by saying, no way, with a question mark, and then went on from there. So DeSantis. There was no actual whiff of impropriety here, and DeSantis hasn't had a whiff of impropriety when it comes to women. Yeah, I think Trump is struggling to find the right attack vector on DeSantis. You remember he first tried to brand him as Ron DeSanctimonious. That didn't take off. It didn't connect at all. Then he tried to relabel him as Shutdown Ron, which was laughable in light of the fact that DeSantis is so well known for opposing lockdowns.

And then, you know, more recently, he's been calling him Meatball Ron. I'm not quite sure what the point of that is. I don't know if that's... He's trying to say he's fat. Yeah. I didn't know if it was that or a dig on his Italian-American ancestry or something like that. I don't know. Once again, why is Trump calling anybody fat? Please, take a seat. Right. Exactly. None of these things have connected. I think this groomer accusation he made is in a similar category. I think the fundamental problem here is that these

are left-wing attacks on DeSantis. It's an attack that a member of the liberal media would make on DeSantis. And for that reason, I think the base has either brushed off these attacks or even, I think, been sympathetic towards DeSantis. I think these attacks have backfired against Trump. And I think DeSantis has handled it really well. What's his response been? He hasn't responded directly. He's kind of shrugged it off and said, look, who has put points on the board? Who's winning his elections by greater margins? Who's having coattails in his state and with congressional districts in his state, and who is actually delivering on legislative victories, not just tweeting about things.

So he's indirectly hit at Trump in terms of his effectiveness. So I think that Trump is still struggling to find the right attack on DeSantis. Meatball Ron, you said, also shut down Ron, which is also rich. I mean, you know, given that Trump was president during that whole thing. But DeSantis responded as followed when asked by a reporter about it. Quote, I spend my time delivering results for the people of Florida and fighting against Joe Biden. That's how I spend my time. I don't spend my time trying to smear other Republicans.

That's fine. He's going high road. Can't can't stay there forever. Trump will get you eventually. They will start slinging. Yeah, I think this is the right approach for DeSantis to take right now when he's not officially in the race. He's a sitting governor.

He should focus on governing and delivering these legislative victories the way that he did with schools, the way that he's doing with ESG, the way that he did with Disney. I think that's the smart play from right now. But I agree with you that at some point, they're going to get on a debate stage. Hopefully, it's a one-on-one race by that point. And I think at that point, it's going to be unavoidable that DeSantis will have to take on Trump and attack him the way that Trump is trying to attack DeSantis. And I guess my view on how DeSantis can do that effectively is this. I think that DeSantis must attack Trump from the right, not from the left. I think there are many ways to do that. I think first and foremost,

he can point out that the main reason Trump lost reelection is he listened to Fauci on COVID and he endorsed the shutdown, the lockdowns of our entire economy, which tanked the economy. And I think that was the primary reason why he lost his reelection is that he basically got euchred by Fauci. I think he can also go there with vaccines. I mean, Trump endorsed the vaccines. He made it a central talking point. He made Operation Warp Speed a huge priority of his administration. I think you could say at this point that the vaccines, at this point, no one really believes in their efficacy. The safety data is mixed. It resulted in billions of dollars going to big pharma. It was less good for, I think, the people of the country.

I think there's other ways to attack him. I think DeSantis can say that the wall was a great idea, but Trump didn't get it done. And as a result of that, Biden was able to stop the construction and millions of migrants have flowed through. I think on Afghanistan, DeSantis can point out that Trump had four years to get us out of Afghanistan. And he waited until literally the last few months of his office, where it was like this afterthought, oh, wait, maybe I should get us out, thereby leaving for the issue for Biden, who did get us out, but in a very messy way. And I think even on Ukraine, I think that DeSantis can point out that Trump perpetuated the Obama-Biden policy of wanting to bring Ukraine into NATO, and Trump went further and flooded the zone with weapons. And both of those things helped precipitate this war. I think that we could have easily avoided this war if we had simply taken NATO expansion off the table. That was the Russians' central demand. So I think there are vectors of attack here that would be popular with the base. And that is the way to basically dethrone Trump, is not to make left-wing attacks on him, it's to make right-wing attacks on him. And let's face it, the Republican establishment

has nowhere else to go. So DeSantis does not have to worry about losing them. And I think that is the path for DeSantis here. I just, I mean, experience with Trump tells me that you can try not to get personal with him. Not me personally. I never did, but I watched Ted Cruz. I watched Marco Rubio. I watched them all. He will pinch one nerve that gets you. I will predict right now with Ron DeSantis, it'll be something about his wife because he will protect his wife and Trump knows it. And that's how he baits you into saying something. And it starts like Trump revels in the mudslinging. You know, it's the old don't get in a fight with the pig, right? Because the pig, you get dirty and the pig enjoys it. And that's kind of, that's the way Trump fights. It's one of the reasons the base loves him because he fights that way when he's taken on people like Merrick Garland too, when he's taken on the FBI, when he's like, they love that about him. He'll get DeSantis eventually. They will be slinging the mud. They'll both be in the sty rolling around in it. If DeSantis is the one who finds a way to avoid that, he'll be the very first one ever. Well, I think, I think DeSantis

should point out that, um, you know, that, that on the issues, I think that there may not be a huge amount of difference in terms of the issues. I think both of them, uh, do a good job channeling the instincts of the base. The issue, I think, is effectiveness. Who actually is delivering victories? Who's actually growing their margins of victories? Who actually is winning elections and has coattails? Remember, Trump basically has, we've now had three losing elections, two midterms and then 2020 with Trump at the head of the ticket. So I think DeSantis can make a case here that, A, he's more electable and B, he has a history of getting more done, delivering more victories. And I think the reason for that-

I mean, Trump got a lot done when he was in the White House. A lot. He just is out of office right now. What could he possibly be achieving at the moment? And the thing is, DeSantis, he hasn't been tested by the media the way trump has not even close yeah i mean i so i think that trump in his first two years uh got some things done uh remember he passed that big uh tax cut and so on but that was more of um mitch mcconnell the establishment wing of the party he started to build the wall, didn't complete it.

He ran on a campaign- He got three Supreme Court justices confirmed. Yes, he did. But that was, again, Mitch McConnell's agenda. Under very contentious circumstances where any other president would have been weak-kneed and caved on somebody like a Kavanaugh. That is what made a lot of Republicans love Trump

and realize his kind of fighting works. Fair enough. I mean, look, fair enough, Megan. But do you really doubt that DeSantis would choose from a different list of nominees? It's not about choosing. No, it's not about choosing. It's about buckling when the when the serious pressure comes. And DeSantis has a good history on this. I'm just saying to suggest that Trump didn't accomplish a lot in the office is not true. He did. And actually some bipartisan things that a lot of Republicans may not like. But Trump was an effective legislator if you look at what he did policy wise. I mean, I could go down

the list, right? The the anti-sex trafficking act, the the prison reform that he did. These are things that the left loved tax reform for the Republicans, the Supreme Court, as I mentioned. I mean, there's a lot that that left Republicans really have, not to mention the rollback of regulations, which fired up the economy and business in a way we hadn't seen in a long time. So Trump, his weakness is his mouth. It's his thumbs. It's his tweeting. It's not his policy. Yeah. I mean, I agree with that. I think it's the lack of personal and message discipline. I mean, that's basically his problem. And that's the big contrast with DeSantis.

I agree. It's less about issues and more about personal style. And that was another thing, by the way, restoring due process for young men accused on college campuses while maintaining a fair procedure for the women accusing them. Can we do Dianne Feinstein for a minute? Because since Nikki Haley is bringing up competency tests for people over 75, I wish somebody would give one of those to Dianne Feinstein right now. So you're in California. She was mayor of San Francisco. Now she's a US senator and has been for a long, long time. Announcing her retirement,

it's embarrassing. So she's 89, which by the way, is think, what Joe Biden would be at the end of a second term, right? He'd be closer, at least, 86 or 80 or up there. He would be 86. She made it at the announcement yesterday and didn't seem to be aware that she had made the announcement. Here's the audio of her being confused about whether she had, in fact, announced her retirement or not. Well, I haven't made that decision. I haven't released anything. It would be my plan. You put out the statement. Oh my God. I didn't know they put it out. So it is what it is. I think the time has come. I have a whole other year. This is so it's upsetting that she has a whole other year, but she doesn't even know whether she's announcing her retirement or not.

And this is on the heels of a San Francisco Chronicle. I think it was report with a top Democrat who sat with her and was horrified that when in the course of 15 minutes, she forgot his name something like six times. They were sounding the alarm behind the scenes saying she needs to be forced out. Like this is not a competent person. She's wonderful as her history of serving the country has been, regardless of your politics. She should not be in office. Yeah, I mean, I think that she you're right. She didn't even realize that her staff had announced her retirement.

She it's it's kind of sad, but it's a testament to the power of incumbency in our system that she's still there at 89, even though her brains have appeared to turn into mush. So, yeah, it's kind of a sad statement. Sad for her, but also sad for our system. She's not leaving right now, right? We have another year plus with her and with John Fetterman, who the hell knows what he's understanding and not understanding. Just got out of the hospital. These are our leaders, David., it's a one party state. And so the party effectively decides within itself who the who the candidate is going to be. And incumbency is a very, very powerful force, especially in Senate elections. I don't think one incumbent lost in the in the Senate races of 22. Maybe you feel better if you look at the top dog over on the Democratic side, Joe Biden

himself, because rest assured, notwithstanding your lying eyes and ears over the past few years, Joe Biden is an effective communicator. Just ask the other effective communicator in the White House, Corrine Jean-Pierre, in a soundbite you really have to hear to believe here it is, KJP on Tuesday. I will tell you this, the president is the best communicator that we have in the White House. Bridge over the Holly River. Look, and Warshaw, or excuse me, Washoe County in Nevada. Yeah, that was her touting him as the great communicator and an example of him, I guess, doing that. Yeah, I mean, yeah. So what can you say there?

I think that they're starting to tee up Biden, though, for 24. I think the main theme that you saw in State of the Union is two things. One is they're taking a page out of Bill Clinton's playbook, and they seem to be emphasizing small ball issues, kind of like Bill Clinton focused on school uniforms. Biden is focusing on things like ticketmaster fees and red light signals. And then the other thing they're doing is portraying Biden as the protector of middle class entitlements, like Social Security and Medicare Medicare against these Republicans who want to cut them. So I think that's what they're teeing up for 24. And they're trying to now pretend after Biden has really spent two years governing like Elizabeth Warren, they're trying to pretend that he's Bill Clinton. Yeah, exactly. Which absolutely nobody is going to buy. I mean, it's very sad to me that this is what we're stuck with. Karine Jean-Pierre, who can't get two sentences out and doesn't even understand NORAD or that Canada is called Canada and not Canadia. Um, and her boss, who's not much better than she is.

David Sachs, always a pleasure, my friend. Thank you for being here. Absolutely. Good to see you, Megan. All right. When we come back, my friends will join me. This'll be fun. They're going to be here. They're actually right next to me and you'll meet All right. When we come back, my friends will join me. This will be fun. They're going to be here. They're actually right next to me, and you'll meet them. And remember, folks, before we get to that, you can find The Megan Kelly Show live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel, 111, every weekday at noon east, and the full video show and clips. The clips are always fun by subscribing to our YouTube channel.

That's YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly. If you go there today, you'll see our fun Vegas background. If you prefer an audio podcast, I mean, I love the audio podcast. I have to say, it's an easy way to entertain yourself while you're doing your errands, while you're shopping, while you're doing your makeup, ladies, go to Apple, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, wherever you get your podcasts for free. And there you'll find our full archives. We're going on 500 shows now, more than 490. Check them out. Two of my best friends in the world are joining me now,

right here on set in Las Vegas, Nevada. Yael Denbo and Joelle Cosentino for a chat on friendship, parenting, and some of the craziest celeb news that we are looking at right now. Ladies, thanks for being here. Hi, ladies. Thank you. The Blanc Garage.

Thank you. It's descended on Las Vegas. Thank you for having here. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Descended on Las Vegas. Thank you for having us. This is so fun and so cool to be here. It's my pleasure. So this is just so the audience understands. These are two of the ladies I met in New York. And I'm always telling everybody how all my New York friends are liberals, but it's a little more complicated in your cases. But we met back when our daughters, how old were our daughters when we first met? Two and three. They were in the polar bear room with Miss Brenna.

Shout out Miss Brenna. That's right. So we met just as like harried, youngish in my case, or you were actually young, Joelle. New York moms trying to like get our kids to school and manage strollers in the New York City subway and the Montclair school system, which is up and down. It's just like, it had its challenges.

It was awesome. It was a really great time and tough years. Yeah. And we all banded together so quickly. And you were, and to some extent remain, a single mom. That's right. And such a scrapper. Like you had Barlow. You didn't have much support.

You were in New York trying to build your dance company and make it on your own, living in a studio apartment, hustling, just trying to pay the bills. I love this about her. She's just like, never say die. Thank you. Yeah. Those were tough times, but you guys made it a lot easier. I mean, you guys were at every show. Even when Trump was coming after you, you'd be sitting front row at my show like the next day. Loved it. Well, you know, it's so great because you, this microphone is kind of giving me problems. I'm trying to fix it. During that whole time, and it was so crazy with Trump and the election and all that, I remember many times where something else would blow up, like he'd do some attack on me and we'd have to

have a meeting at Fox. And I would literally just drop Yardley off to wherever you were. And you'd be like, we got her and she'd be with your girls. And that's one of the reasons like, and all the other women who are out here are also from the same group of moms who had kids at this school. And all these moms would just help each other, right? Like the daughters would help each other. The moms would help each other. It was a crazy time. It played dates. It was great. We were such a great group. I love our group. Oh yeah.

One other nice story. So during, then I moved to NBC and one of the first things I did was interview Vladimir Putin and I did not like it was going to air. The big long interview that I did with him was going to air on a Sunday night and I didn't talk to the girls about it. They knew from promos and so on. Next thing I know it's about to air. It's like 30 minutes to air. They all show up at my apartment.

They're like, MK, we are watching this together. You are not sitting here in your apartment. Just you and Doug, like, this is a moment. It was just so nice. You guys have always been so sweet. Well, first we went to Tessa and we did shots of vodka, Russian vodka first. I don't know if you remember that. We gave you the bottle of Russian vodka. I mean, how often is your best friend going over to Russia and interviewing Vladimir Putin? No, I mean, it was amazing. Although in my case, it happened a few times. Yeah, that's right. Exactly. But yeah, it's rare. So and now, Yael, you have been somebody who we're not going to go political, but we've gotten very close over the past couple of years. The COVID craziness.

Oh, wow. And you really have been living it. Joelle moved to Florida. That's right. But you have been in the thick of the COVID craziness with your kids, not going to school, all that BS. And you were there for me when my son was in school for 15 days, literally one year. I mean, you were there for me.

It was unbelievable. It was. It's insane. It was insane. It people like because there there's a study in the news just today about the, the mental health damage that's been caused in particular to teenage girls. And while they're not saying, Oh, it was due to COVID. It was clearly in large part due to COVID or the most recent, the COVID policies. Yeah. The COVID policies. Thank you. Good clarification. Yeah. Right. And it's like, you became one of those sort of mother warriors trying to fight, like seeing that coming toward your kids. You have a boy and a girl and trying to say like, I want to speak up. Like I I'm not, I'm not naturally inclined to be a confrontational person, but I need to speak up. Yeah. They needed

to be in school. They needed to be around friends. They needed to learn. I was really pushing for it. Yeah. Yeah, it was hard. It was tough. Now, do you feel like, have you changed dramatically? Forget politics, but like just you as a woman, do you feel like these past couple of years have? Yes, yes.

It's been a great growing experience, the whole thing. Yeah. And you too, like Joelle, you've been out there like- I'm a Floridian. Well, you're a New Jersey. I'm a Floridian. Well, you're a New Jersey. I'm a Jersey Floridian. You're a Jersey native, which is where you get your fighting spirit. That's right, by way of Los Angeles.

So that brings me to today's news, which is I want to kick it off with a terrible bullying incident. The couple of them, right? There was that hideous bus beat down that we saw out of Florida. And then we just saw this young girl in New Jersey beaten in the school by a girl who they said had been targeting her for a while. And then she took her own life. She died by suicide a couple of days later. How old? 14 years old. And forgive me, there is video of the beating that took place in the school. We'll show it in just a bit. So they're beating the hell out of this girl for the listening audience.

And the girl's down. She's down on the ground and they're beating the hell out of this girl for the listening audience. And the girl's down. She's down on the ground and they continue beating. And two days later, she killed herself. She took her own life. 14 years old. So now the superintendent decides it would be a good idea to come out and comment on the fact that that girl's mother supposedly, according to him, took her own life not long before. And he mentions the fact that the dad had an affair and moved his affair partner into the home. Superintendent, shut the F up.

Yeah. Just be quiet. All right. The family's going through enough. If he made some marital mistakes, that's just be quiet as the girl has just died. And we both have young daughters who are now right now going into this phase where like bullying this is when it happens middle school into young high school this mean girls stuff is happening it's just i see it it started it's sickening yeah what's so alarming about that video though is most of the time with bullying with young girls it's covert they they don't leave a trace they know how to do it it's it's really underground but that girl is getting beat up at school. And they still blame the girl or the girl's family circumstance. I mean,

why wasn't something done earlier there? That's insane. That's exactly right. And that's what her dad is asking. Why weren't the police called? The dad went to the police after this beating, but the school didn't call the police. And other parents at the school are saying, this a pattern. They never they never like you'll get a suspension, but it's a slap on the wrist. That's a day off as opposed to like real consequences. But it's not just covert because now it's also online. It's the bullying's not happening on Snapchat and TikTok. They're also you can capture these. These are here forever on Instagram. So they're there. They're doing it to each other. I know. In this public forum. That's why if like you let your kid on social media, you have to spy on them. Yes, you do.

You've got to take a look at the comments coming in their way. This is like they say this. The cyberbullying is like the most pernicious. Like we've heard testimonials from parents talking about how their kids got cyberbullied and then did something drastic. So what's happening with these girls? How many girls are there? Now there's four girls who are in trouble and who are facing criminal charge. Now the cops are involved, accusing them of harassment and assault and conspiracy to commit assault. But that didn't happen until the girl took her own life. And the thing is, if you had taken the suicide out of it, like there is a debate to be had about whether you call the cops every time there's an assault at a school, because sometimes kids fight, especially I'm thinking about boys in particular,

you have a boy, I have two boys. Sometimes they are more likely to throw a fist. This was girls. But like, do we want to criminalize every was there anything up leading leading up to this was just this an isolated incident was was no they had called to school multiple okay so this wasn't going so there's been a pattern that's bullying it's a pattern of of behavior so there should have been maybe intervention they should have called the cops i mean she's really getting her butt kicked. That's terrible. Do you think it's situational where it's like,

it's got to look like that? Or anytime hands get laid, like a kid punches another kid, the cops are involved? It's a really tough question. It's a really tough question. But if that were my daughter and the cops weren't called,

I'd be upset. All right, so Joelle, you need to know how true that is. Oh my God. She is a Jersey girl at heart. So she, back when we were all in New York together. Oh, my God. That's a story.

Some kid on the school bus made the mistake of messing with Barlow, Joelle's daughter. And again, you got to understand, she's a single mom. You know, we talk about this a lot. She did not have, like, the partner to help her navigate this. It's hard, so hard, even if you do have that and if you're on your own. So she's trying to look out for her kid. And Barlow's getting bullied on the bus. And what Joelle did reminded me of this classic scene.

We've pulled the clip from the movie Hand That Rocks the Cradle starring Rebecca De Mornay, who she was the nanny who was getting a little too close to the family and really wanted to sort of replace the wife in this movie and the mother. And she had just been told by her charge, the young daughter, that there was a little boy in a certain shirt who had been bullying her. And this is what happened next. Ow! Get it, man! Let me go! Don't forget it. Joelle, does this look familiar? Yeah, well, you know... Is that your inspo for what happened next? Well, I love that clip.

I love her, Rebecca DeMornay. I've actually met her. She's very nice. My daughter told me she was getting... Barla was getting bullied and I had an out of body experience walking to the bus. And then all of a sudden I was just standing on the bus. Like I don't, I don't have any recollection of how I got there. And then I explained to the kid what I expected to happen from this day forward. And then I think they tried to tell me to get off the bus. I told them, please step away from me.

And then I was afraid I was going to, I was afraid the cops were going to get off the bus. I told them, please step away from me. And then I was afraid I was going to, I was afraid the cops were going to come to my house. I called my sister-in-law. So I ended up going to the school and I tried to work it out there, but I doubled down. I didn't hold back. Our friend, Christina,

we were reliving this last minute dinner. Our friend, Christina is like, good, I'm glad you got yelled at. You were being inappropriate. You should not have been on that bus. She was yelling at me last night to put my shoes back on at the table. Some things don't change.

You took your shoes off? Why are you always undressing when we're out to dinner? Oh, God. Can I tell a story about Joelle? Oh, no. Okay, my favorite story about you, and I have a photo I sent. Is this Amaranth? Is that the restaurant?

Yes. So we were at this restaurant for a birthday, sitting in the back by the kitchen, a big group of us. And it was so hot in the restaurant. I don't know why we were. And it was really hot. You're wearing your turtleneck. You're in your turtleneck phase. Yeah, this is when we were all trying to dress like Chiv Roy.

And she was like, OK, OK. And all of us were wearing turtlenecks like crazy. You're sweating. And you're like, what am I going to do? And I was like, I have a scarf, my Chanel scarf. And I gave it to you. You go into the restroom. You come out and I don't know you come out and you made the scarf like a piece of art only only Joelle can make uh this scarf look like a piece of art she looks I mean I

sent the photo she looks beautiful she this is a pattern because when we did our Victorian lady tea. Wait, did you strip them too? She did. I had them to my house at the Jersey Shore one year. It was a birthday party. And I rented these fun Victorian lady costumes and we had a Victorian tea. And we had a horse drawn buggy take us to dinner.

And we had a string quartet. It was actually really fun. And we went out to dinner at this place that kind of has that vibe of like, you know, time travel. And you took off your dress there too. I don't remember that at the restaurant. I'm sensitive with temperatures and I got really hot. So I just took it off. So yes, you are so artistic. I love that so much about you and that birthday, that weekend, that Victorian weekend, what I love so much about you. And that birthday, that weekend, that Victorian weekend, that's what I love so much about you. You're so thoughtful. It was your birthday and you put together an epic weekend. And when we arrive and you have costumes and the quartet, the table was set up with

pastries. You remember that? Abby was there. And then're, okay, we're going to go out to dinner. Okay. Let's get in your car. No, we go outside. There is a carriage. It's freezing and horse and carriage. We go outside. And remember the police escort home? Yes. We got pulled over three times. Yeah. The place was like a mile away. We got pulled over three times because we were going too slow. It's like, dude, it's winter. No one is here. Get off of our case. Yeah. Literally police harassment. it was it was they saw you and you were waving they were like oh okay no problem you were so thoughtful i mean that was such you that you're you love costumes and it's so fun and everyone knows you as serious but you have this whole fun side with your costumes i do what about and karaoke what about

what about the night in paris when we all came back and Megan was like, everybody has to come to my room because we have to play Murder in the Dark. That was one year ago. Exactly. That was March of last year. I love Murder in the Dark. So I got that. That was a woman who came on my show this time last year.

I'm blanking on her name. But she was talking about keeping love alive and injecting novelty in your relationship. She was saying long-term relationships need novelty, novelty, novelty. That's what she said. And she was talking about that game murder in the dark as one way of keeping novelty going. And we played it all, all of our friends. It is the funniest game. So you have to, I'm trying to remember exactly how to explain. Your fiance just left you. Yeah, PR. You tell, yeah. He didn't really. Your fiance.

My fiance didn't really understand the rules. And this is after like a couple nights out of like, we were having fun and, you know, we were drinking. Everybody was having fun. So we get to Megan's room. We explain the game. He wasn't really listening, but he was supposed to be the murderer. You're supposed to murder one person. Just tap on them.

The lights are out. It's dark. Right. Hence the name. And he ended up to be the murderer. You're supposed to murder one person. Just tap on them. The lights are out. It's dark. Right. Hence the name. And he ended up touching every single person. So when the lights came back on, everybody in the room was dead. We were hysterically laughing.

It was a mass murder. It was really fun. It was such a fun trip. Our trips are so fun. You know what? They're important. That's one of the reasons we're all together out here. I'm actually doing an event in Vegas later today. And we use it as an excuse to say, let's get the gang back together. We call our little group of gals Joe Palooza. It's after Joel, because when Joel turned 40, we went on this big trip together and there were seven of us. And we sort of sounded off by number wherever we went to make sure everyone's there. And Abby got the lead. I was number one. So Abby was 1A because she was planning everything and corralling the group.

And Joe Palooza has been doing, trying to do annual girls trips here, there, wherever we can. It's hard with seven working moms and active moms and people with busy lives, but we've done a pretty good job. Yeah, it's great. I'm so glad we're here. Yeah. It's so fun. And we don't really have anything crazy planned. Are we doing the magic show today? Let's go. Yeah, I really want to go. It's so fun. So I'm going to. And are we going to gamble? Are we factoring in any here? He lost a little money last night. It was crazy. It was a bad wave. You can tell it was too expensive. Yes, I can find any good table. I am prepared to lose like a few hundred bucks. Okay. A gambling,

but I don't want to lose it in two minutes. I agree that I don't want a hundred dollar table. So we'll find a $25. We got to go to the golden nugget. Okay. That's where you go to the $5, $15 tables. The drinks are delicious.

That those are my people. Okay. We'll go. I'll go. Let's see what happens. All right, let's talk about some of the fun things that are in the news right now because I know, Joelle, you became famous on this show, whether you know it or not, when I read a series of your texts to me over Meghan Markle. Yes. Just to refresh the audience's mind. This is when she had given her, it was after the Netflix documentary hit, and Joelle went off in this text thread to me that was so epic. I read it to you guys. It was about how, MK, if Harry married me, I would have made use of the platform. I'd be

helping those children in Africa, not ripping on people for paying attention to them instead of me. You went on this epic rant. There is Meghan Markle news today. According to the UK papers, they're going, they are definitely being invited to the coronation. They are expected, they think, to appear. They're not going to be invited up on the balcony. That's like for the working royals. But what do you make of the decision of King Charles to let these two whiners, backstabbers go to the coronation. It shows me that he's a classy guy. Oh yeah.

L that is not the lesson here. Sorry. Go ahead about him. I think you know how I feel about them, but he is doing, he won't die with regret. Really? When is enough enough?

I mean, look at what she has done to this family. I mean, it's not the royal family to her. Those are her in-laws. Those are your in-laws. That's your family. I mean, in my opinion, I get that and I understand that. Prince William is also his son who has been backstabbed by the mean scheming brother for the better part of a year

plus now. So where's his obligation to protect him? If you want to take a step back, take a step back, but really take a step back. Well, no, they haven't. And then they just complain about the press, even though they're in the press. It's just that they seek the publicity and then they complain about the press following them. Yes. I do not think that they should be invited. Okay. And I promise you, if they go, I will be booing them every time they're on camera. I do not think that they should be invited. Okay. And I promise you, if they go, I will be booing them. Every time they're on camera. I don't care if I'm alone in my living room. You guys can come over again with a vodka from Tessa. Do you think they'll go though? Do you think they'll go? Well, when are they going to go? When do they not? Yeah.

They'll bash them and then show up and wave. But he would have looked worse if he didn't invite them. I do think he looks better in the end. Okay. Let me think about that. That could be true, but I don't know. I know it isn't because he has, he has an obligation, not just as a father, but as a monarch. And these two are trying to undermine the whole monarchy. They've called half of the British population racist because of Brexit. That was all over their dumb documentary on Netflix. And now they're being rewarded. If I were a Brit who voted for Brexit, I would be really rip roaring mad over this.

Yeah, I come back. It's like an abusive relationship. Yes. Yeah. And they get themselves out of it. That's right. Right. Now, speaking of abuse, all of us are Real Housewives fans. So I have recently fallen in love with the Real Housewives of it. That's right. Right. Now, speaking of abuse, all of us are Real Housewives

fans. So I have recently fallen in love with the Real Housewives of Miami. These two, these guys are like, MK, step away. No, I need to start again. I'm feeling a little jealous. I was just writing last night to our friends. It's like, to me, it's almost like a cocktail. It's just like a frivolous thing that you know isn't really good for you, but it feels good in the moment. But it's not that bad for you. It's just like a getaway. And my hairstylist, Sarah, was saying, you've got to try Miami. Not the first version, which happened 10 years ago, but the current version, which is only two seasons in. It's delicious. I'm really enjoying it. Your favorite, who likes New Jersey and who likes Beverly Hills or New York? I like them all.

I like Jersey. Oh, I even like Orange County. I watched them all. I think I watched everything except early on, though I stopped. I've had a little bit of a break. I watched them all except Salt Lake. And then there was, they did Potomac. Didn't they?

They did Real Housewives of Potomac. Didn't you describe yourself as Orange County? Don't you say I'm Orange County? Yes. That's your look. I embrace it. I like that. Even though I'm born and bred in New York city, I embrace it. Yeah. I love that. You know who you are. I do. All right. No. And what's your fave? I like Jersey because it's all about family and they speak my language, but I love Beverly. I like the old Beverly Hills when it was actually like real money, decadence. Yeah.

Now it's a bunch of, now it's really actually sad. It's very thirsty. We saw a real housewife here in Vegas last night. Yes. Dorit. I don't know who she is. Cause it must be a newer one,

right? She's from Beverly Hills. I don't think she's that new. She's been around for a while. I have to say, Dorit has some of the nicest fashion of any of the Real Housewives. Yes. She looks great. Whatever she was wearing, I wanted to.

She looks great. I went through this. I was like, oh, it's a Real Housewife. But oh my God, she looks amazing. What is she wearing? I want to know her. Wait, no, I don't. I know.

So I'm on a tear right now about the Real Housewives of Miami. Her name is Larsa Pippin. And she was married to Scottie Pippin. And so I made the mistake, even though my hairstylist told me, don't pay any attention to the 2010 and 2011 version. She's like, it's a waste of your time. But I got confused. Then I started there.

And Larsa Pippin was part of the original crew. And can I just show you, this is what Larsa Pippen looked like back then. We'll put it on the board and you can check it out on YouTube. She looked like a beautiful woman who had married Scottie Pippen, right? On the right is how she looks now. 10 years later, I tuned back in. I'm like, who is this person? What has happened to the original Larsa Pippen?

She looks completely different. She's had a ton of filler. She admits to having had her nose done and her lips done. Look at the lips now. Would you look at this? And if you're thinking those lips look familiar, they look like Kardashian lips. You ain't seen nothing yet. When she turns around, she's all Kardashian. And I find out from the tabloids, it's because she's been Kim Kardashian's best friend. So she comes back. Look at this. That was her before. This is her after. Her aster.

Her aster. Look at this. This is what happens when you spend time with Kim Kardashian. She corrupts everything she touches. She didn't need it. She didn't need it. This woman is beautiful. Oh my God.

She did not need it. This is why you really have to be careful who you hang out with. Yeah. It's content. Thank God you guys. I go with you guys. Who knew that bottom was contagious? It's absurd. Wow. Yes. So I'm sorry, but I object to the whole Kardashian isation of our nation. And as three women with young girls, I will say again, I am developing a deep loathing for that entire family and what they're doing to our daughters. Yeah, it's pretty crazy their influence, how vast their influence is. Their reach is wide. It doesn't matter.

It does not matter the entity. They can touch it. They can reach it, and they can influence it. They drive clicks. That's right. That's right. Right. I will say some of the supermodels of like our era, you know, the 90s, whatever, they are speaking out saying they are not supermodels like Kendall Jenner, the Hadid daughters. They're not. These

are Instagram famous people who just get clicks. These are not actual models who have made it, you know, in a field of millions thanks to their beauty and their talent. There are people whose parents put them on TV and who had millions of dollars to make them in our faces. Right, right. Not like the George Michael video women who are in that gorgeous, the gorgeous set of the supermodels. Or think about like Cindy Crawford. She like, yes, she took some provocative pictures as a model but i wasn't looking at cindy crawford's boobs no her ass at every turn like she earned it based on her talent and her face and her style and her just her presence right not an easy industry no no and by the way she looks so good right now cindy yes she's somebody who's had like very little work

done she just is aging beautifully yeah not like oh god sorry yeah that brings me to madonna wow wow did you see her yes okay so now she is saying that the critiques on her face at the grammys which will show you the face are misogynistic and ageist oh that she is sick she first of all she says the only reason she looked like this is because the photographer who shot her used a long, some sort of a lens. I'm like, well,

why didn't everybody look like that then? Why didn't the photographer? Who is doing this work? You're taking one of the most iconic faces of all time. And this is what you're doing to it. I mean, she's obviously not injecting herself. Right.

Whoever is doing that, that's a problem. She's getting Michael Jackson-esque at the moment. But is she asking for it and someone's just obliging or are they guiding her? They say no. You've gone too far. Yeah. This is I I'm the professional here. I'm the one with the needle. No. Yeah. You don't need that. No. And she's really crossing over into like looking somewhat deformed. She doesn't need it. I mean, you're talking about someone who has, I mean, this is a huge mega superstar.

Just age gracefully. You're okay. And I'm, look, I'm fine if she doesn't want to age gracefully. If she wants to get a nip and a tuck and a needle, but like this is crossed over. It's like the facial version of body dysmorphia. Yes. Right? Like we would no sooner celebrate the facial version of body dysmorphia. Yes. Right?

Right. Like we would no sooner celebrate the end stages of Karen Carpenter's look than we should celebrate this, which is true. Like deformity now. It's crossed over to a very unhealthy place. And it's not misogyny or ageism. She's the one who's ageist. She's refusing to accept what a 64-year-old person actually looks like. That's right.

Right? So it's like. That's right. You can't in any event, I will say this. She made another comment about how the American media has tried to tear her down for years. Okay. Maybe that's true. I don't know. I feel like this country has only built her up and made her a billionaire. Okay. But I will say there is something about America and older women that it's like not allowed. You're not allowed to age on camera in America in a graceful way. I do these weekly hits on GB news. It's a great news. And the women who go on there, they're allowed to age. I see women who look their age and they're embraced by the British public. And it's like, you're allowed to age in great Britain. And over here, there's an expectation that when you get to a certain age,

you're just going to keep holding on to your youthful glow or else. Yeah, I think that's true. Except if you're on Broadway. Why? I mean, so I had a career in Los Angeles. I had a career in New York. In Los Angeles, you really can't age.

I mean, at age 30, you're old. You cannot age. But in New York, you can sort of age on Broadway. It's okay. It's just different. I wonder why that is. But I don't even mean on camera. Don't you think in your daily life, we're running out of faces that look their age like i remember um this woman who worked for the hillary clinton campaign once came on my nbc show uh jen and paul mary and she was saying she takes comfort in seeing wrinkles on women's faces you know like she takes comfort looking at her own face and seeing lines and remembering like you know what this means it means i'm a child of the 70s and i grew up in in the carter era and the you know what this means? It means I'm a child of the seventies. And I grew up in, in the Carter era and the, you know, when gas lines were long and Reagan came in and I was there for the cold war. And like, that's what my lines say. And we've gone just to a place. And I,

and I know we're all conscious of our appearance and we all do what we can to keep ourselves looking good. So I'm not saying I'm above this. I'm definitely in this, but wouldn't it be nice if it was still okay to just age and not have to feel self-conscious about it? Because I see it with my friends who are not on camera and with just other women who are going about living their regular lives. It's a challenge. It's a challenge, right? We all want to look good. We want to feel good and look young right I'm vain yes right I'm vain me too that I mean I can't that's which is my career in the performing arts it's like if you're if you don't look a certain way if you're not a certain way it's really hard to get the job but that's just you know that really is ingrained in our American culture. So you have this amazing friend who is like a one

woman wellness spa. Unbelievable. Brooke Barlow. And what's crazy. Brooke Barlow nickel. So what's so crazy about Brooke Barlow? She brings you these latest things. And didn't you tell me there's some nose spray that makes you tan? No, a pill. I just vacationed with Brooke actually a few times this year and she had like an energy droplet. She had an all natural anxiety medication. She was, I'm like, why are you tan? She's like, I have a nose spray that makes me tan. Um, I'm like, Oh, your hair came back after COVID. Cause she lost all of her hair. She's like, Oh, I do this for her. She's a one-stop shop. She's in Austin, Texas. And she is on the cusp of everything. How can a nose spray make you tan?

This should not be going into your lungs. Research that. I don't know, but she's doing it and it's working. I need to know more. I mean, but I also want to feel good. And I think health, we were talking about this last night, exercise and working out. It's important for everything, for the inner exercise and working out. It's important for everything, for the inner, for the outer. It's all together. I'm a big soul cycle person. Oh,

my God. Shout out to them. I love my t-shirts. They keep me sane. They keep me so I wouldn't go on a bus and do things. Oh, my God. Come on. I've been a soul cycle. I've still the same. Literally never been. I'm in the cult so Yael has been trying to get us I like to do the costume parties for my birthday I she tries to get us to go to soul cycle where they've all come I've never gone they've all come not me not once how about if we wear costumes and sing karaoke no I'm not doing it. All right, when we come back, a really kind of surprising moment with Jane Fonda. I am going to have something nice to say about Jane Fonda, who offered a pretty good pearl of wisdom recently,

right after this break. More with the friends as we take a quick, quick break. Don't go away. Here with me today, two of my greatest friends in the world, Yael and Joelle, pals I met in New York many moons ago when our whole crew had young daughters in preschool together and we bonded like young mothers do to try to help each other get shit done. I was always the one who, whenever we go to the playground or the park, I literally never brought a thing. I never had a bag. I never had a snack. I never had a water. And our friend Christina, she was exactly the

opposite. Not only would she have all that stuff, she would have a porta potty so that the girls remember her porta potty. She would travel. You had Christina and I had Ify. And basically we had it all. Ify is an extraordinary mother. She's got four kids. Eliza's are also out here with us. She's got five kids. She just had one. She was pregnant with her fifth. She goes, what kind of a person has five children? But you're so self-deprecating. But I want to tell a story about how we met, which you might not remember. Okay. Because I was looking back at emails. And in 2015, when our girls were in the polar bear room, they went to the American Ballet Theater for a workshop. And they each needed a chaperone.

So my father, who lives in Manhattan, loves the ballet. So he went as the chaperone. And everyone had a great trip. Do you remember it? I don't think I went. I think I was working. Okay. So you sent probably your mom. And so they had a wonderful day. I get

home. It's a great day. My dad was lovely. I'm checking my emails later that night. It was early in the year. So we hadn't even really met. And there's emails from you. I was like, what? You sent me all these emails of Izzy and Yardley together. But then you sent me a photo of my father reaching down to give Izzy the biggest hug and kiss. And I was like, who is this nice, thoughtful person going out of their way to do something like this? And you talk about how you don't give gifts, but there was such a sweet, thoughtful, generous, spirited action. Yeah. And I was like, wow, who is, it was so nice of you.

Anybody would do that. No, no one else did. You're the only person that ever tried to set me up and repeatedly. I was insistent. I just want to add with this story, then later we became friends and I learned that your father passed away um when you were younger and that uh Doug doesn't have a his dad died right so there are no grandfathers in the picture and I said and I thought to myself she went out of her way to capture a candid moment that she can never have oh and that was so thoughtful because I, you know, without having my mother and, you know, when I see sometimes grandmothers,

I can't always capture that moment for others. And it was double thoughtfulness. So you say you make fun of yourself for not being there, but look at all that, look at that action you did. You're such a doll. No, it was. I remember that moment. It really was sweet.

I still have that photo of my dad. Probably one of the reasons why I recognize how tender it was, you know, how special it was. I always feel that like when you go to weddings and the dad gives the daughter away, it's like, Oh God,

you know, it's, it's bittersweet, but it does remind you of the value. Like I, thank God I have Doug, you know, for my kids.

And I'm so thankful for it, but I will say this, you know, on the, on the value of friendship, you find out, like I mentioned you guys with the Putin thing, that's just one silly example. I could will say this, you know, on the value of friendship, you find out, like I mentioned, you guys with the Putin thing, that's just one silly example. I could do a 10, you know, 25 examples of just extraordinary giving. But here's something small. If he's also here and

if he and Joelle are like sisters and if he Verano is this just incredibly special person who is, you have to know her to meet her because she's great at everything, but you managed to love her anyway, right? She's a very rare combination. Yes. And when I was post-NBC, licking my wounds, very sad and very down at home. And kind of like, I always refer to myself as on the couch like i couldn't get off the couch and that's kind of true um ify verano and you you guys said mk you're coming with us to yoga oh god and i'm not much of an exerciser i used to be i'm like i'm not doing fucking yoga yes mom you're like you're coming yeah so i went it was ridiculous I broke my nose the first day. Remember?

Yeah, in Crow. Were you in Crow? Yes, I tried to do this. I have a photo of you. I didn't send it though, but I have a photo of you in Crow. You're like, look at it. I'm gonna take a photo.

Oh, like I can do this. By the way, we regretted that decision shortly thereafter because the paparazzi was following you every day. So there were photos of our asses walking into the yoga place every day on daily math. I thank you. But I was like, who would sign up for this? This is crazy. And remember, sometimes when you'd be talking to me, all of a sudden I would turn and want to be shoulder shoulder with you. And I'd be like, let them get us both from the front because I do not want my

butt on the daily mail anymore. I can't take it. Yes. But one thing you said, you were not sitting licking your wounds. You do not lean into victimhood. And that's something that bothers me right now about we were talking about Meghan Markle going back to that. Sorry, but that she you do not you did not lean into that. You had a brief period of understandable sadness and then you moved on. Yeah. But you guys helped like just the experience of like getting me to exercise where you go out and you're with other people and then you're doing something that's physically good for yourself. And then you get like, you get stronger in every way, you know? And then I flash forward to, um, there was the day we were going over to yoga and one of you guys sent me, I think it was you, Joelle. I can't remember, but one of you guys

sent me, it was the day that the news broke that Justin Trudeau had been in blackface like a thousand times. We started a collection of photos of all of these people who were literally slinging mud at you, but they had been in blackface. And I have never worn blackface. I just was talking about how, when we were young, it was a thing that didn't cause the kind of problems for people that it does now. So it was like, that was a day where I remember, oh my God, like this is, I knew what I had said was true that back in the seventies, people used to wear this with impunity and not even back in the seventies. But I remember going to sort of coming full circle, being at the yoga class. It was really hard. And for the first time ever and only time while exercising, I cried. It was such a release.

It was like a, it was a release of all that shit. Yeah. You know, one that I really needed, but it started with my friends. It started with friends who were like, MK, you need to move. You need to do something that's good for you. You need to be out with us and you need to be with friends. And it could be something as simple as like going to a stupid yoga class. Anyway, I a stupid yoga class anyway or we sat and watched that great movie about the twins that were three that i love that that was stunning if you haven't seen three identical strangers you must or we'd go for drinks at our favorite place across the street from iffy's house with our cucumber martini yeah garden martini i don't think a lot of people realized at that time what you were going through but like to us you were you know yardley's mom that had been such a great friend

to all of us we like really got in i mean it was such a it was such a great loving crew well you put yourselves through a lot because you mentioned the paparazzi and there there was one birthday of mine your birthday went out to the hampshire for a wine tasting. Yes, really bad. No costumes, no karaoke. No, just alcohol. They slaughtered us. And we did not know we were being followed. Well, I think the driver at one point did.

Do you remember? Because at one point, he started to do some crazy driving. And he was, Joelle, we went to the beach. The beach is that way. And he wasn't listening to you. And he was doing some fancy driving. It wasn't until like the next day or whatever the pictures hit on the Daily Mail. Oh, no.

And Yael, so dumb, decided to read the comments. Oh, God. Now you've learned. Yeah. Haven't we learned? Don't read the comments. Not read the comments. She was so mad because they were referring to her like, what was the line?

She looked like my it was the line. She looked like my bag was out of the Sears catalog. Can I say where it was from? It was a Chanel bag. I'm sorry. It was a Chanel bag. It was not from the Sears catalog. I was like, no offense to Sears. They're never going to offense to Sears, but it's not the Chanel.

Even though we didn't know. No. And you put up with this nonsense. But they took a lot of photos of your butt yes your butt yeah it was every photo so at the end of at the end of that trip we were coming back from the hamptons and my friend leslie sent me a text that just said it's not that bad that was the text and i said what and she and then she just sent the picture of my butt going up the steps to the restaurant. So wrong. It's not that bad.

That was the only text I got. You know, I have since learned that if you cooperate with the paparazzi, when you see the photog there, if you just smile at him and like let him have his shot, they will make you look so much better. There, we didn't have the opportunity because he was in hiding. Yeah, we didn't even know because we were taking photos on the stairs that we were having so much fun that there's such great, great, terrible pictures of me when I was in Hawaii. Thatcher was like three. So that's I'm

saying that by way of defense for the ass photos that appeared of me at the time. But granted, three years, you should probably have worked something off by that point. But I had been busy and I was dodging and weaving this guy the entire time in Hawaii. I did not wish to have my photo taken. Certainly not with my family on the beach. I was using my children as human shields, like, cause I knew that they wouldn't publish my kids cause I don't put my kids out there. So I'm like, stand in front of mommy coming out of the ocean. And then sure enough, the guy got me and they're, they're the least flattering, most disgusting, but what can you do as part of the, you know, part of life?

I don't know how you do it. Yeah. No, this is, yeah. Unpleasant piece of being in the public eye. Okay. Jane Fonda on the subject of friendship. Now, you know, I have a checkered history with Jane. Yeah, she didn't like when you asked the question about plastic surgery.

She's been talking about plastic surgery her whole life. That didn't make sense. Remember, we actually all went out to dinner that night. We were like, what is going on here? But she does look great. Anyway, sorry, Meg. Keep going. She looks great.

How old is she? She looks amazing. She's like 82. So she's an example of someone who America is accepting. She's 85 years old. So she's, right, unlike Madonna, she's done great work. Right. Her work is amazing.

But it's appropriate. It's age appropriate. She looks her age. She just looks great for her age. You can tell she's an older woman. You can't tell she's done great work right yeah she's amazing but it's it's appropriate it's age appropriate she looks her age she just looks great for her age you can tell she's an older woman you can't tell she's 85 i would love to look like jane fonda when i'm 85 love yes and i realize it's going to require a lot of nipping and tucking and cutting maybe i'll work up and some workout videos fine i'll do it all yeah i used to teach so it's a mixed relationship because she came on my show and actually i'll tell you a story that I've never told before about that moment. I'm going to break some news here. Jane Fonda was on the set.

So was Robert Redford. You may not remember. He was starring with her in a movie. And they were kind of like this older couple that was all over each other in the movie. Endless Love? Not Endless Love. What is it? Brooke Shields.

Oh, wait. What's the movie then? This is Current. Oh, Current. She was doing the NBC show. Oh, but what's the movie? I don't remember the name. Oh, okay. the movie then? This is current. Oh, current. She was doing the NBC show. Oh, but what's the movie? I don't remember the name. Oh, okay.

But they were on to promote it. And she had been doing on the publicity tour all this weird sex talk about him. She kept wanting to talk about being in bed with Robert Redford in the movie. And you could tell he was visibly uncomfortable with it. Oh. And during the commercial break, Robert Redford's publicist specifically asked me if I would try to keep her off of that. If I would like redirect the conversation to something else. So I'm like, sure, I will.

I'll do Robert Redford this favor and frankly a favor to Jane Fonda too because it was a little awkward. So that's why I thought I'd come back in with something she talked about a million times before, her plastic surgery. And it was relevant because this is a movie about aging right and a woman coming to terms with what that means right so like that i thought would be like the non-awkward place to go wrong wrong okay she attacked you right away is that how it happened yeah she's like you want to talk about plastic surgery yeah she was like now that's what you're asking me meanwhile she's on a talk show and she's talked about it her whole life. Right.

And she was a workout icon. I mean, she's really just trying to steer you off of your weird obsession of your sex scenes with Robert Redford, who you're making uncomfortable. I'm doing you a solid. Take the gift I'm giving you. After the show, does she say anything like, I'm sorry, I just had to fence up for a second? No. What was the name of the movie?

Now I need to know the name of the movie. She was mad because I was a Fox News anchor and she knew that she was right. I did not really like her. Her instincts were correct. I was not really her fan at that point. And she'd been so political in the Vietnam ship, the veterans and all that stuff. Anyway, having said all that, this is a nice moment about James.

She's in some movie with Lily Tomlin and Sally Field. Oh yeah, all those ladies. Something about Tom Brady, 80 for Brady. Right, right. And they did a clip, they went on CBS this morning, and she said something great and educational to me about female friendships. Listen to this.

Women's friendships are very different than men's friendships. And they're very important to our health. Because you guys, you kind of sit side by side and watch sports or cars or women. Women sit facing each other eye to eye. And they say, I'm in trouble. I need you. Can you help me? You know, we're not afraid of being vulnerable.

My favorite ex-husband, who's Ted Turner, said to me, you don't make new friends after 60. But I think that he's really wrong. That what you have to do is you have to be intentional. You have to pursue people that you want to be friends with. And you have to say, I'm intentionally wanting to be your friend. And it works. People hear that, and then they stick around, and you develop new friendships. And the longer Cliff goes on to have all the others say that she did that to them, that Lily and Sally were both like, I don't like people.

I don't want to be out there. And the only reason we're friends is because Jane Fonda pursued them. She just didn't let up. I'm like, that is such good advice. pursued them. She just didn't let up. I'm like, that is such good advice. Yes. And I love our group of friends. I mean, we've all scattered across the country now. We used to all be together, but we stayed, our friendships have stayed together. You are really good at that. I try, but you are too. We're here because of you. But you're the glue, Yael. I mean, honestly, you're an important piece of like making the contact continue to happen because I try and I feel rejected. If somebody doesn't get back to my

text, I feel rejected and I go away. Let's talk about getting back to text. Right. I'm so bad at it. I have an amazing relationship with her. You and I are good with text. Very good. That's true. Maybe immediate. That's true. You know what though? You never ask anything of me in the text. If people want me to commit to a date or commit to a— That's when I go silent because it's like— No, if I want to commit to a date, I go to 1A. You go to 1A. I don't even go to—

It's true because she keeps the schedule. Because you'll be like, I'll be there. No, you won't. I'm paralyzed with you. You don't know. You don't know. She keeps your schedule, so I know to go to her. Can we say 1A for the first time in like our history together had a fail yesterday?

Oh, no, you're going to talk about this. I'm going to talk. We got here to Vegas and 1A went to the wrong terminal to pick up her luggage. And we went to the right terminal. Thank God. I kind of followed our friend, Eliza, who was looking up at the signs while I was just talking, talking, talking, talking. She's like, no, this way, this way, this way.

I would have gotten lost, too. It a, there was a shuttle and Abby screwed something up. Come on. This isn't, this is a big moment. It doesn't happen that often. Oh no. She's, it was so fun. She knew I was going to tell her that I was going to tell us. Anyway, we wind up getting in a car that we had ordered to take us to the hotel and they had given, they wound up giving us a limo cause they ran out of regular cars. So that's, we're in the, you, Liza and I are in the limo and tell them what the driver does. She said, do you want to stop at the liquor store? And you said, how far is the drive? 10, 15 minutes. And we can last 10, 15 minutes without liquor. We just, we'll be okay. We

will be okay. You know, you're in Vegas when they're like, you're never going to be able to make it without a trip to the liquor store in these 10 minutes while we made it. And then she's like, you might need it for the hotel. I'm like, what kind of hotel is this? They have liquor everywhere. Although my first drink last night was not good. Yeah, you know what?

You got to get the standard martini. But I'm a margarita. I am just lime juice and tequila. You know what? We have another night to make it happen. That's right. Love you ladies so much. Love the rest of Joe Palooza. And let this serve as a reminder to those folks listening, be in touch with your friends, do better than I do on the texts. It always feels so good to get up off that couch and get together with the people who love you and who you love. And you are two of those for me. Thanks for listening to the Megyn

Kelly show. No BS, no agenda, and no fear.