The Megyn Kelly Show - Zelensky and Euro Leaders Visit WH After Trump's Putin Summit, Baby Missing in CA: AM Update 8/18

Episode Date: August 18, 2025

President Trump meets Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders today in Washington, days after a headline-grabbing summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. California authorities are investigating the disappearance of 7-month-old Emmanuel Haro, unable to rule out foul play after conflicting accounts from his parents. Hurricane Erin rapidly intensifies to a Category 5 before weakening to Category 3, expected to stay offshore but bringing dangerous rip currents and storm conditions across the Caribbean and Atlantic.Riverbend Ranch: Visit https://riverbendranch.com/ | Use promo code MEGYN for $20 off your first order.Herald Group: Learn more at https://GuardYourCard.com

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, August 18th, 2025, and this is your AM update. I mean, critics of President Trump are always going to find something to criticize. You don't even pay attention to it anymore. Team Trump making the rounds on Sunday, combating Democrat and media narratives, suggesting Friday's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin failed, while the next step toward peace in Ukraine takes place today at the White House. in a meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and more. I fell on a floor and I said as I got up, I couldn't find my son. Investigators unable to rule out foul play in the disappearance of a seven-month-old California baby whose parents say he was kidnapped. And Hurricane Aaron, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025, on a wild ride in the Caribbean,

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Use the promo code, Megan, for 20 bucks off your first order. And let me know what you think. Riverbendranch.com promo code, Megan. President Trump continuing to take the lead in high-stakes diplomacy today, meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and other European heads of state at the White House. days after a landmark summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday. Today's meeting marking Mr. Zelensky's first return to the White House since that infamous Oval Office clash back in February.

A quick reminder of how that went. Mr. President, with respect, I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media. You're gambling with World War III. And what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country. Have you said thank you once this entire meeting? No, in this entire meeting, have you said thank you? The result, lunch canceled, a rare earth minerals business agreement between the U.S. and Ukraine delayed for a couple of months, potentially delaying the prospects of a peace deal.

This time around, several European leaders making the trip to Washington, European Union Commissioner, President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Kirst Dahmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney, and NATO Secretary General Mark Ruta. President Trump expected to meet for bilateral talks with Mr. Zelensky alone, before the entire group takes part in a discussion. Sunday on CBS, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, blasting host Margaret Brennan, and others in the media with similar criticism,

for suggesting the European leaders are joining Mr. Zelensky to prevent President Trump from bullying the Ukrainian president into accepting a bad deal. You know there is concern from the Europeans that President Zelensky is going to be bullied into signing something away. That's why you have these European leaders coming as backup tomorrow. They're not coming here tomorrow. This is such a stupid media narrative that they're coming here tomorrow because Trump is going to bully Zelensky into a bad deal. We invited them to come. We invited them to come. The president invited them to come. Our goal here is not to stage some production for the world to say, oh, how dramatic he walked out.

Our goal here is to have a peace agreement, to end this war, okay? And obviously we felt, and I agreed, that there was enough progress, not a lot of progress, but enough progress made in those talks to allow us to move to the next phase. If not, we wouldn't be having Zelensky flying all the way over here. We wouldn't be having all the Europeans coming all the way over here. Today's White House visit follows the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Putin on Friday, the summit beginning with a red carpet arrival on the tarmac at Joint Base Elmendorf-Ritchardson, as President Trump and Putin walked to the presidential limo for a private ride together.

Mr. Trump greeting the Russian president with a show of military force, a flyover involving a B-2 stealth bomber accompanied by four F-35 jets. The B-2 considered a symbol of U.S. military power. It can fly around the globe without stopping carrying nuclear or conventional weapons, the same kind of bomber used by the U.S. to bomb Iranian nuclear sites in June. After about six hours on the ground in Alaska, the summit concluding with brief remarks, no questions, and no ceasefire deal. However, both leaders hailing the event as a positive step forward,

President Trump at a brief Friday press conference signaling future economic cooperation with Russia once the fighting stops. And I will say that I believe we had a very productive meeting. There were many, many points that we agreed on. most of them, I would say, a couple of big ones that we haven't quite gotten there, but we've made some headway. So there's no deal until there's a deal. It'll, of course, call up President Zelensky and tell them about today's meeting. It's ultimately up to them. I'm going to have to agree with what Marco and Steve and some of the great people from the Trump administration who've

come here, Scott and John Radcliffe. We also have some tremendous Russian business representatives. representatives here. And I think, you know, everybody wants to deal with us. We've become the hottest country anywhere in the world at a very short period of time. And we look forward to that. We look forward to dealing. We're going to try and get this over with. Critics blasting the summit as a win for Vladimir Putin, pointing to the lack of a ceasefire and the red carpet reception for the Russian leader. Here, a sampling beginning with Democrat Senator from Connecticut, Chris Murphy. That meeting was a disaster. It was an embarrassment for the United States. It was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted.

Trump's number one priority is just keeping his friend Vladimir Putin happy. I don't know if Donald Trump is or is not a Russian asset. He certainly acts like one. It looked like Putin was in control of this summit. What happened on Friday was a historic embarrassment for the United States. This is what Putin wants. He wants to be seen as an equal of the U.S. president. He made no concessions.

Russia has not changed its positions on the Ukraine War one inch. That last sound bite from President Obama's former Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes, whose boss was once caught on a hot mic telling then-Russian president, Dmitri Medvedev, he'd have, quote, more flexibility with Russia after his 2012 re-election. Team Trump, countering the critics, special envoy Steve Witkoff, who participated in the summit, hitting the Sunday shows, outlining multiple concessions the Russians are willing to make, including accepting U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine. which Mr. Wickoff calls, quote, game-changing.

The exact scope of that commitment reportedly could be hammered out at today's White House meeting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, another member of Friday's delegation on ABC, slamming critics for suggesting the war can end without President Trump meeting with Mr. Putin. Pop and circumstance, the red carpet, the warm handshake, that President Trump simply lost that, that Putin gained there, just by being on the world stage and walking. down a red carpet with the president. Your reaction to that? Well, I mean, critics of President Trump are always going to find something to criticize. You don't even pay attention to it anymore, but I will tell you this. Putin is already

on the world stage. The guy's conducting a full-scale war in Ukraine. He has the world's largest tactical nuclear arsenal in the world, and the second largest strategic nuclear arsenal in the world. He's already on the world stage. When I hear people say that, oh, it elevates him. Well, all we do is talk about Putin all the time. All the media's done is talk about Putin all the time for the last four or five years. That doesn't mean he's right about the the war. That doesn't mean he's justified about the war. You're not going to end a war between Russia and Ukraine without dealing with Putin. That's not, that's just common sense. I shouldn't even have to say it. President Trump blasting the media yesterday morning on truth social, quote,

if I got Russia to give up Moscow as part of the deal, the fake news and their partner, the radical left Democrats, would say I made a terrible mistake and a very bad deal. The president following up Sunday night with another true social post, quote, President Zelensky of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately if he wants to, or he can continue to fight. The effect of today's visit could have massive global implications. We'll bring you the very latest. Coming up, a seven-month-old baby missing in California, parents say he was kidnapped. Investigators have their doubts.

And Hurricane Aaron setting records in the Atlantic, will this powerful storm affect the East Coast? As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, Senator Durbin has a new plan, a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans have thousands of choices in credit cards, but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security, which means more risk for your credit and your identity.

You can learn more for yourself at guardyourcard.com. And you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government takeover of your credit card before it's too late. California's San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announcing on Saturday it is unable to rule out foul play in the Thursday disappearance of seven-month-old baby Emmanuel Harrow. Baby Emmanuel's mother, Rebecca Harrow, originally reporting. the baby missing around 747 p.m. Thursday evening telling authorities she was changing her son's diaper in a sporting goods store parking lot in Yucaypa when an unknown male attacked her. Harrow sporting a black eye recounting her story to Los Angeles's ABC 7 on Friday. I fell on a floor and I said as I got up, I couldn't find my son. I got him out of the car seat.

And I laid him down and so I could get his diapers ready. And somebody said, oh, and that's all I remember. And I saw white. And a hearing son, I fell on the floor. And I said, as I got up, I couldn't find my son. I checked all around my truck. And I ran into Big Five. And I asked the lady if she saw a baby or someone with the baby.

She said no. It was a happy boy. Canine teams and helicopters deploying deputies from San Bernardino and Riverside counties conducting an extensive search that night, yielding no results. Police have not yet said whether there is any relevant camera footage from the alleged scene. Authorities searching the couple's home on Saturday, reportedly bringing cadaver dogs. It is unclear if evidence was recovered. The sheriff's department releasing a statement on Saturday morning that reads in part, Rebecca was confronted with inconsistencies in her initial statement and declined to continue with the interview.

At this point in the investigation, investigators are unable to rule out foul play in the disappearance of Emmanuel. Investigators will continue their investigation to locate Emmanuel Harrow. The statement did not name the mother, Rebecca, or the father Jake, as suspects, nor did it expand on what inconsistencies they found. We asked the Sheriff's Department on Sunday if it remains the case that they have no suspects, but have not received a response. On Saturday, the Yuvalde Foundation for Kids,

a National Child Advocacy and Violence Prevention Group, announced it was withdrawing its search teams and reward offer for Emanuel, saying, too much is missing in this case, and noting, quote, the inconsistencies in the details and the sudden decision by the mother to end communication with law enforcement,

the group asking, quote, what parent would do that? Emmanuel's grandmother speaking out in support of her daughter Saturday to KTLA. Tonight the grandmother has confirmed to us that the couple is no longer cooperating with investigators and has lawyered up just hours after they made that desperate public plea for their son's safe return. They're not going to hurt that maybe those, that couple were just homebodies. The grandmother also says investigators asked her daughter to take a lie detector test, but her husband said no until they had a lawyer.

She's just going crazy, you know, she can't handle it anymore. And we have learned tonight that the baby's father does have a criminal record. The Orange County Register reporting Mr. Harrow has a June 2023 conviction for child cruelty, stemming from a 2018 arrest. He was scheduled to 180 days in jail and 48 months of probation and is scheduled to appear in court in early September for an alleged probation violation. The grandmother also noting a two-year-old. year old child had been moved out of the home, though it is unclear if that choice was made by

parents or mandated by authorities. Also unclear if and how many other children live in this house. Harrow originally telling investigators she went to a sporting goods store to purchase a mouthguard for her stepson who plays youth football. Authorities have yet to activate an Amber alert, saying the criteria has not been met with no suspect or vehicle description. Baby Emanuel said to weigh about 21 pounds, approximately 24 inches tall, brown hair, brown eyes, and is said to be cross-eyed. He was last seen wearing a black Nike onesie. Anyone with information about Emmanuel's disappearance is asked to call 911 or the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department at 909-8904. Hurricane Aaron, the first Atlantic hurricane of 2025 and the fifth named

storm on a wild ride through the Caribbean. Aaron at one point reaching a CAT-5-level hurricane, the fiercest designation, but as of Sunday night, downgraded to a category three, with sustained winds of 125 miles per hour, centered just over 310 miles northwest of San Juan Puerto Rico. The hurricane center predicting the storm will continue to fluctuate in size and intensity. The 5 p.m. advisory warning, quote, Aaron is likely to remain a dangerous hurricane. through the middle of the week. While its maximum winds diminished, the storm's overall size grew. The Hurricane Center reporting Saturday night that Aaron was experiencing an eye wall replacement cycle, where the storm becomes so powerful and its eye wall so intense

that a new eye wall forms enlarging the radius of the storm's eye, ultimately strengthening the storm potentially. Hurricane Aaron still expected to avoid a direct landfall passing north of Puerto Rico, then curving northeast into the open Atlantic between the east coast and Bermuda. But the hurricane center warning, Aaron could still produce life-threatening rip currents along the Bahamas, the U.S. East Coast, Bermuda, and all the way up to parts of Canada over the next several days. Turks and Caicos and the Southwest Bahamas bracing for tropical storm conditions today, nearly all of St. Thomas Island reportedly losing power with scattered outages throughout the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Aaron making the history books

jumping from a cat 1 on Friday morning to a cat 5 in just over 24 hours, one of the fastest intensifications ever recorded in the Atlantic. Foxweathers, Michael Estime, with more on the record-breaking nature of this storm. We went from what was a little kitten to a big ferocious tiger in literally 24 hours. This was yesterday at about 11 o'clock in the morning, 75-mile-per-hour winds, and we ramped those winds up by nearly 90 to 95 miles per hour in just 24 hours. We literally call that, quote, rapid intensification. That, though, is when you see winds increase by 35 miles per hour in 24 hours.

This was 90 plus miles per hour in 24 hours. So almost a super rapid intensification is what we're calling it. This marks the fourth straight season with at least one category 500. hurricane, acque weather forecasters tracking two other potential systems, one with a low chance of development, the other with a medium chance. Peak hurricane season is in September. The full season extends through November. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for the Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 11 at New East on YouTube.com slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.

Thank you.