The Megyn Kelly Show - Iran Objectives, CPAC Straw Poll Results, Alleged Sheridan Gorman Killer in Court: AM Update 3/31

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

Questions about America's Iran objectives takes center stage as the war closes out month one. CPAC straw poll results highlights the current state of the GOP's future with VP JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at top. Alleged Sheridan Gorman killer appears in court for the first time via videolink, while the White House says President Trump spoke with Gorman's family. A new Costco Easter candy goes viral... all 23,000 calories of it.   Relief Factor: Break up with pain—Relief Factor targets inflammation so you can move better and feel better; try the 3-Week QuickStart for just $19.95 at https://ReliefFactor.com or call 800-4-RELIEF.   Lean: Discover why LEAN is becoming the choice for real weight‑loss results—shop now at https://TAKELEAN.com use code MK. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, March 31st, 2026, and this is your AM update. Days after President Trump says we've won the Iran war, new attacks in Iran, Israel, and Lebanon. We always prefer to settle things through negotiation and diplomacy, but we also have to be prepared for the fact that that effort might fail. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio coming out on top of an influential straw poll ahead of the 28 Republican presidential presidential presidential primary. And I would also add it's despicable that the lack of coverage of this young woman's case of her life and the way that it was tragically cut short. The White House blasting the media for failing to cover a horrific murder allegedly by an illegal immigrant. And an Easter candy going viral all 23,000 calories of it. All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update.

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Go to Relieffactor.com or call 800 for relief. Why shouldn't you be next in getting out of pain? in the Middle East showing no signs of slowing down days after the president said we had won the war. On Monday, President Trump saying serious talks were underway to resolve the war, but also threatening to attack Iran's electric plants, oil wells, and even water desalinization plants if the Iranians did not soon agree to a deal that includes opening the strait of Hormuz. Then, late last night, the Wall Street Journal reporting that Mr. Trump has told AIDS he's willing to end the war without reopening Hormuz. On Monday, Iran hit Israel's largest oil refinery with missiles, and Iranian-backed militias,

believed to be inside Iraq, fired rockets at an Iraqi military base at Baghdad International Airport. Any target seen as too close to the U.S., considered fair game by Iranian proxies. Israel bombing a university in Tehran associated with weapons research, as well as Iranian air defense installations, meaning the systems used to detect and shoot down incoming missiles near the Caspian Sea. The Wall Street Journal reporting the Iranian Parliament Monday approving a plan to collect tolls from vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world's oil typically is transported. Under the framework, vessels associated with the U.S. and Israel would not be permitted to travel through the strait, the journal reports, citing Iranian state media.

President Trump confirming to the New York Post that the U.S. is in touch with the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament and that we will know soon if he's willing to work with the Americans. Secretary of State Marco Rubio telling Good Morning America Monday that the Trump administration prefers a diplomatic solution, but that there's no guarantee the Iranians with whom they are negotiating will have the power or desire to deliver results acceptable to the U.S. If there are new people now in charge who have a more reasonable vision of the future, that would be good news for us, for them, for the entire world. But we also have to be prepared for the possibility, maybe even the probability, that that is not the case.

But the president said they are. Is that the case or is it not? I'm just trying to get some clarity on that. Well, what I mean is, yeah, so you have people that are saying some of the right things privately. Obviously, they're not going to put it out in press releases and what they say to you or put out there for the world doesn't necessarily reflect what they're saying in our conversations. But at the end of the day, we have to see if these people end up being the ones in charge, seeing if they're the ones that have the power to deliver. We're going to test it. We are hopeful that that's the case.

There are clearly people there talking to us in ways that previous people in charge in Iran have not spoken to us in the past. Some of the things they're willing to do, some of the things they're saying they're willing to do. Obviously, they have to go do it. We're going to test that proposition very strongly because we always prefer to settle things through negotiation and diplomacy. But we also have to be prepared for the fact that that effort might fail. With a war costing the United States reportedly around a billion dollars a day,

White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt, hinting President Trump, may ask America's Gulf allies to chip in. During the Persian Gulf War, 1990, 1991, Arab countries paid for the vast majority of the cost of the war, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the UAE. Who's paying for the cost of this war? Will those Arab countries step up to do just that? Well, I think it's something the president would be quite interested in calling them to do. I won't get ahead of him on that. But certainly, it's an idea that I know that he has and something that I think you'll hear more from him on.

The annual conservative political action committee, or CPAC, straw poll for the Republican presidential primary is out. J.D. Vance coming in first place with 53%, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 35. Rubio's support surging compared to 2025 when he was at 3%. Vance also winning last year's poll at 61%. Reuters reporting this week that Mr. Trump has been asking his allies and advisors about who would be a better successor as the Republican Party standard bearer, with the president asking, quote, J.D. or Marco? Reuters reporting, quote, some see signs of Trump leaning toward Rubio,

but note he could change his mind quickly. Here's what the president had to say to NBC news about Rubio and Vance on February 4th. You've suggested that J.D. Vance, Vice President J.D. Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be a tough ticket to beat. Who should be at the top of that ticket? Well, I don't want to get into this. We have three years to go. I don't want to, you know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don't want to have an argument with, or a, I don't want to use the word fight.

It wouldn't be a fight. But look, J.D. is fantastic. And Marker is fantastic. How are they different? And I do think this, it's a great question. I think that's your most interesting question. I would say one is slightly more diplomatic than the other. I think they're both of very high intelligence.

I mean, they will do shows. They will do Joe Rogan as opposed to. the opponent not doing it because they couldn't handle it, they will be able to do whatever they have to do. Neither Vance nor Rubio have officially made any announcements about seeking the nomination, but if they do, they might not be the only other candidates. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky telling CBS News he's considering a run and that he believes there may be a lane for a Republican like Rand, who identifies more as a libertarian and less as a populist. Yeah, I don't know yet. So maybe they know something I don't know.

We're thinking about it, and I would say 50-50. We'll make a decision after the election. There used to really be a free market slash libertarian wing of the party, and now is not much left. In fact, on many days, it's me in the Senate, the only one left for free trade. But I think there still is a desire among business for it, and it may make the so-called libertarian vote, which might not be big enough to ever win anything. If you combine that with the Chamber of the Commerce and the traditional business community that doesn't like protectionism, there may be a far. force out there for a different direction from the party other than being continued to be led by populism.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last week telling Sean Hannity, he also has not ruled out another presidential run. We'll see. I mean, you know, I think that, you know, in 24, like in Iowa, the people that voted for Trump, if he wasn't running, I would have gotten like 90 percent of those people. They were conservative voters, right? They didn't want the non-conservative that, you know, they wanted me. and so, but the timing didn't work out, obviously, for that. So you just got to see what happens.

Governor DeSantis getting just 2% of the CPAC's draw poll vote, Senator Paul getting 1%. Coming up, the White House is blasting the media for failing to cover a murder allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant. And you're going to want to be all ears to hear what special item Costco has for Easter. Everybody's talking about weight loss injections because the results can be so very. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite. But what if you're looking to lose weight, but you're not interested in painful weekly injections, especially when you hear about some of those intense side effects. That's why doctors created a weight loss supplement called lean, and the results could be remarkable. Lean says the studied ingredients in their product have been

shown to lower your blood sugar, burn fat by converting it into energy, and curb your appetite and cravings, so you are not as hungry. But listen, lean is not for the casual dieter with only a few pounds to lose. The doctors at Brickhouse Nutrition created lean for frustrated dieters with 10 or more pounds to lose. You could get started with 20% off in free rush shipping, adding lean to your healthy diet and exercise plan. Visit takelein.com and enter mk to get your discount. That's promo code mk at takelein.com. The White House today confirming that President Trump has spoken to the family of 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman. Sheridan shot and killed on March 19th, allegedly by 25-year-old illegal immigrant Jose Medina from Venezuela.

Sheridan was out with friends on a pier taking in the Chicago skyline, hoping to see the northern lights. When prosecutors say a masked Medina dressed in all-black emerged, chasing her, then shooting her. in the back as she fled. Caroline Leavitt addressing the Democrats' refusal to fund the Department of Homeland Security and ICE and the media's lack of coverage of the case. And it's despicable that Democrats are currently defunding the department that's responsible for removing illegal aliens like that. And I would also add it's despicable that the lack of coverage of this young woman's case

of her life and the way that it was tragically cut short. I saw a survey over the weekend that I'd like to bring to all of your attention. This is the media coverage of the case of Sheridan Gorman. You have ABC News has spent one minute in 19 seconds between two days when this case was first alerted. You have CBS, two minutes in one second. You have NBC 23 seconds spent on the life of a young, beautiful American woman whose life was taken short by an illegal alien who should have never been here in the first place. When we are in the middle of a battle on Capitol Hill with a major political party, the Democrat Party, who wants to defund the agency that is responsible for protecting Americans.

I think her life was worth more than 23 seconds on cable television. Medina making his first court appearance Friday by video link from Cook County Jail's medical unit due to his recent tuberculosis diagnosis. According to WGN, at one point Medina could be seen throwing up during the proceeding. Cook County Assistant Public Defender Julie Kohler attempting to garner's sympathy, not for Sheridan, but for her client. According to reports from inside the courtroom, she told the judge, Medina is, quote, severely brain damaged and disabled, and that he has the brain development of a child, thanks to a bullet fragment lodged in his brain. He was apparently shot in Colombia after fleeing Venezuela in violence. And get this, Medina's attorney requesting he remain detained, not because he's guilty, but because they're afraid of ice. Here's Kohler speaking after the hearing. We are very concerned that if Jose was released, that he would be detained by ICE and transported

to a third country where he, without the benefit of due process. The judge ordering Medina detained, his next court appearance is scheduled for April 15th. Sheridan's family, releasing a statement following the hearing, quote, We sat in a courtroom and listened as the person accused of taking Sheridan's life was described through the lens of his background, his circumstances, and his struggles. We heard a call for compassion, and we understand that instinct. Every life has a story. But we cannot lose sight of the simple, devastating truth at the center of all of this. Sheridan had a life too. There is a difference between understanding a life and excusing a loss. A private funeral and burial held for Sheridan

on Saturday, with her parents also speaking at a public memorial. She was our joy, our collective joy. And now that joy is gone. As a mom, I'm agwick. That is, like, completely heartbroken. And we're going to fight for justice for our sweet charity. And we're going to fight for change. What matters is that we don't turn away from each other,

that we actually listen, that we try, really try to understand, to stand in each other's shoes, even when they don't quite fit, even when it's uncomfortable, even when it hurts. It is the heart of all of this. We all look the same thing. For your children,

then for ours to be safe, to be protected, to come home. Our deep condolences to the Gorman family. Five days till Easter, and are you still searching for that special Sunday surprise? Maybe you've tried Cadbury eggs, peeps, jelly beans,

or the classic malted milk balls. Well, move over, Russell Stover. Now there's something chocolateier. The Costco giant bunny. Pete's name, sugar's the game. Weighing in at 10 pounds and chalk full of some 3,300 grams of sugar, this delectable resurrection rabbit sits at just over two feet tall with a big round belly and giant at attention ears.

But don't fall too in love with his dandy candy, or you won't enjoy the best part, those tasty, creamy bites-o bunny. Given Pete's size and because Costco must not think much of the intellect of its shoppers, the packaging breaks down how to go about eating Pete. Quote, wrap Pete in a towel and give one bold whack, using a hammer, a mallet, a rolling pin. There await you some 151 servings of Jesus-loving junk food, ordered by Costco from the Minnesota-based candy company, Maude Borup,

which Costco asked for the delectable. In years past, Costco has offered consumers other cotton tails, Once they sold a 4.4 pound chocolate hopper for Easter. But this year they had a vision, reports Rackett News, Minnesota. A large, head-turning, show-stopping chocolate bunny to outdo all chocolate bunnies ever for Easter. The candy maker obliged, making what they call their most viral creation, Pete. According to the New York Post, Pete ranges in price from a bargain $57 to a hop in 140

buckaroos depending on local market conditions. He's got it all. Milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate, too. In addition to whacking him with a blunt force object, they suggest you cut Pete with a serrated knife, with a package recommending folks, quote, cut gently, ears or feet first, up to you. One reviewer at first feeling trepidation about whether his little ones would feel comfortable, beating, battering, and slicing up their special bunny, happily reported on the joy Pete's total annihilation brought the wild-eyed youngsters. And what will Pete set your waistline back?

150 calories if you just have a nibble. Eat the whole thing and it's nearly 23,000 calories. Enjoy every bite. We won't tell RFKJ if you won't. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show, live on SiriusXMs, the Megan Kelly Channel 11 at New Newn East,

on YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.