Jasmine Crockett Enters Senate Race, Paramount's Hostile Takeover, Mamdani's Mansion： AM Update 12⧸9
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
160.74403
Summary
Paramount announces a hostile bid to purchase Warner Brothers Discovery, just one day after Netflix announces a signed deal to do the same. U.S. Congresswoman from Texas, Jasmine Crockett, announces a run for U. S. Senate. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has his contract extended for a year, months after the host was yanked off the air for a whopping six days. And New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani announces he is prepping for his move to a NYC mansion. All that and more on today's AM Update.
Transcript
00:00:00.000
In a world of customizations, nothing compares to the deep customization capabilities of the
00:00:04.680
TD Active Trader platform. Your dashboard, your domain. Build it in your name, because no one
00:00:10.180
trades like you. Live. Breathe. Trade. TD. Ready for you. Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly.
00:00:19.820
It's Tuesday, December 9th, 2025, and this is your AM Update. Our offer is $30 a share,
00:00:25.960
all cash, $41 billion in equity that's backstopped by the Ellison family. Paramount announcing a hostile
00:00:32.520
bid to purchase Warner Brothers Discovery just one day after Netflix announces a signed deal to do
00:00:39.020
the same. Turning Texas blue is what I want to talk to y'all about today. U.S. Congresswoman from Texas,
00:00:46.660
Jasmine Crockett, announces a run for U.S. Senate. Late night host Jimmy Kimmel's contract extended
00:00:52.500
for a year, months after the host was yanked off the air for a whopping six days. And New York City
00:01:00.520
Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani announces he is prepping for his move to a New York City mansion. All that
00:01:07.160
and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update. As President Trump is settling into his
00:01:16.140
new administration, one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda
00:01:20.660
is Senator Dick Durbin. And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition,
00:01:26.240
Senator Durbin has a new scheme, a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans
00:01:31.820
have thousands of choices in credit cards, but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less
00:01:36.960
competition and less security. And that means more risk for your credit and identity. Learn more at
00:01:43.240
guardyourcard.com and consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government takeover of your
00:01:49.500
credit card before it's too late. Paramount Skydance on Monday launching a hostile takeover bid to
00:01:57.880
purchase Warner Brothers Discovery, taking its offer directly to shareholders just one day after
00:02:03.380
Netflix announced a signed deal to purchase the legacy studio. A hostile takeover is when a buyer
00:02:09.640
takes control of a target company without the approval or consent of the target company's board of
00:02:15.260
directors. Paramount offering shareholders an all-cash offer, valuing the company at about $108 billion as
00:02:23.540
opposed to Netflix-signed deal of $83 billion paid out in a mix of cash and stock. CEO of Paramount Skydance
00:02:32.080
David Ellison pitching his offer yesterday morning on CNBC. Our offer is $30 a share, all cash, $41 billion in
00:02:40.880
equity that's backstopped by the Ellison family and Redbird, $54 billion in debt with commitments from
00:02:46.640
Citi, Bank of America, and Apollo. We have faster regulatory certainty to close, and our deal is pro-consumer,
00:02:55.060
it's pro-creative talent, it's pro-competition, and we believe that when you actually, to further
00:03:01.140
contextualize, there are $30 in cash, or sorry, $30 a share is basically $17.6 billion in cash more
00:03:10.060
than the $23 in share that they signed up. And we believe when they see what is currently in our offer
00:03:15.860
that that's what they'll vote for. Paramount taking the position that Warner Brothers never quote
00:03:20.640
engaged meaningfully with its proposals throughout the high-stakes bidding war. Paramount's offer would
00:03:26.280
by all of Warner Brothers Discovery's assets, including its cable networks like CNN, TBS, and TNT.
00:03:33.780
Netflix's deal, by contrast, would acquire only the film and TV studios, including HBO and HBO Max,
00:03:41.680
with Warner Brothers spinning off its cable channels into a separate company. CNBC host David Faber with
00:03:48.240
more on how the upcoming process will play out. What this will have the effect of doing essentially
00:03:53.380
is making the shareholder vote on the Netflix transaction the key, where shareholders will
00:03:59.920
be making their voices heard conceivably, according to Paramount. And the fact that throughout in this
00:04:05.800
press release, they feel as though they were not given the attention they deserved and were not treated
00:04:11.980
on equal footing to Netflix. And hence, in bringing a tender offer of this type to shareholders,
00:04:20.060
they are going to share everything with those shareholders of Warner Brothers in the hopes,
00:04:25.800
of course, that they will put pressure on the company in some way and or at least indicate that
00:04:31.060
they're unwilling to vote in favor of the current transaction with Netflix. As these things go,
00:04:36.540
when you file a tender offer, you are then put the company you filed against in the position of having
00:04:42.180
to file a D9, which requires them to come out with all the reasons why they decided what they did.
00:04:50.860
And so we're going to get a lot more explication, let's say, around the process itself.
00:04:55.720
Any deal, regardless of whether it's Netflix or Paramount, will require regulatory approval from
00:05:01.700
the Trump administration. In a sign of Netflix's confidence its merger will be approved,
00:05:06.880
the streaming platform agreeing to pay Warner Brothers a $5.8 billion breakup fee if the deal
00:05:13.700
does not go through. Conversely, Warner Brothers must pay Netflix $2.8 billion if it pulls out of
00:05:20.180
the deal to go with someone else. Paramount arguing the Netflix deal faces steeper regulatory hurdles
00:05:26.100
since it would combine the number one streaming service, Netflix, with the number three service,
00:05:32.160
HBO Max. President Trump's Sunday at the Kennedy Center conceding,
00:05:38.480
Should they be allowed to buy Warner Brothers? Should Netflix?
00:05:41.520
Well, that's the question. They have a very big market share. And when they have Warner Brothers,
00:05:46.120
you know, that share goes up a lot. So I don't know. That's going to be for some economists to
00:05:50.620
tell. And also, and I'll be involved in that decision too. But they have a very big market share.
00:05:56.320
There's no question about it. It could be a problem.
00:05:59.080
David Ellison's father, chief technology officer and co-founder of tech giant Oracle,
00:06:03.980
Larry Ellison, is also a strong Trump ally. Paramount expecting its offer could be approved
00:06:09.980
in one year, whereas the Netflix deal is anticipated to take 12 to 18 months. The junior Ellison appealing
00:06:17.060
to movie fans vowing to put 30 movies per year into theaters. The Netflix deal drawing industry
00:06:23.540
backlash from those worried about what a streaming giant's takeover of a legacy studio could mean
00:06:28.740
for traditional movie theaters. Netflix attempting to calm those fears, though not entirely successfully,
00:06:35.520
saying it, quote, expects to maintain Warner Brothers' current operations and build on its
00:06:41.660
strengths, including theatrical releases for films, but without any guaranteed number.
00:06:47.540
Netflix, with limited exceptions, does not release its movies theatrically.
00:06:51.580
Possibly complicating Paramount's bid to fund the deal, the company is backed by multiple
00:06:57.440
foreign sovereign wealth funds, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi, as well as President
00:07:03.180
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's fund, Affinity Partners. Wait, so could Jared Kushner soon be
00:07:10.360
running CNN? Can you imagine? Ah, alas, each of those players agreeing that they will not take any
00:07:17.020
governance role in the company should their takeover bid be completed. U.S. Senator from
00:07:21.980
Maryland, Democrat Chris Van Hollen, attacking the deal in an ex-post, quote, more grift. The Warner
00:07:28.140
Brothers merger was already suspect, but now Trump's family is getting in on the act. This cannot stand.
00:07:34.980
President Trump asked yesterday at the White House about Paramount's bid.
00:07:38.380
Do you support the Paramount bid for Warner Brothers that came up this morning?
00:07:41.980
I don't know about it. You just talked about Netflix last night saying you have concerns about them.
00:07:46.940
I know the companies very well. I know what they're doing, but I have to see. I have to see what
00:07:50.780
percentage of market they have. We have to see the Netflix percentage of market, Paramount,
00:07:56.460
the percentage of market. I mean, none of them are particularly great friends of mine.
00:08:01.180
You know, I just, I want to, I want to do what's right. So it's so very important to do what's right.
00:08:06.140
Paramount is supported by Jared Kushner, Mr. President. Would that impact your decision?
00:08:10.860
If Paramount is, I don't know. I haven't, I've never spoken to him. He's really tried to
00:08:20.940
The Warner Brothers board of directors responding to Paramount's bid,
00:08:24.300
telling shareholders it will evaluate the offer and release its decision
00:08:28.300
within 10 days. Paramount's offer expires on January 8th, 2026.
00:08:34.940
U.S. Congresswoman from Texas, Democrat Jasmine Crockett,
00:08:38.300
officially launching a run for Senate on Monday. Crockett now set to challenge Texas State
00:08:43.980
Representative James Tallarico in the primary. Her announcement coming after weeks of speculation
00:08:49.580
and just hours after former Congressman Colin Allred dropping out of the race. Allred confirming
00:08:54.860
yesterday on CNN his decision to exit the race was due to Crockett's decision to enter.
00:08:59.020
Jasmine Crockett is very openly considering running. Is that part of why you decided to
00:09:07.580
Yeah, of course it is. And I think, you know, listen, Jasmine's a friend of mine and we've
00:09:12.140
served together. I've known her since before we were both, you know, in elected office.
00:09:16.620
But it was about the fact that with, you know, three strong candidates running that we would certainly
00:09:22.060
have a runoff. And to me, going through a bruising primary was not in the best interest of the state
00:09:28.380
or the party. Ms. Crockett, the 44-year-old congresswoman first elected to office in 2022,
00:09:33.980
quickly rising to national prominence thanks to her bombastic style and nonstop social media presence,
00:09:40.540
unloading a steady stream of insults and tirades at Republican foes from Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor
00:09:46.140
Greene to President Trump to Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Here, a sampling.
00:09:50.940
We are going to be in your face. We are going to be on your asses. We are going to make sure
00:09:56.940
you understand what democracy looks like. This ain't it.
00:10:01.100
Because we in these hot ass Texas streets, honey. Y'all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there.
00:10:06.780
Come on now. Donald Trump is a piece of shit. Okay, we know that. He is.
00:10:12.060
If someone on this committee then starts talking about somebody's bleach-blonde,
00:10:17.500
bad-built butch body, that would not be engaging in personalities, correct?
00:10:22.700
Not only are we going to punch back, but we about to beat you down.
00:10:26.300
Crockett, who went to the best private schools to be educated and came on the national scene
00:10:31.900
sounding closer to Eliza Doolittle than Cardi B, now, since becoming a congresswoman, is all about
00:10:38.540
the street. Crockett taking plenty of heat in return from those she's attacked in politics and
00:10:44.700
embracing it in her campaign launch video posted yesterday. And this is not a joke. It actually is
00:10:51.420
her launch ad. In it, the congresswoman stares off into the distance, blinking slowly behind long,
00:10:58.060
curly eyelashes, while the following audio plays.
00:11:01.580
How about this new one they have? Their new star, Crockett. How about her?
00:11:06.060
She's the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett. They're in big trouble.
00:11:11.180
But you have this woman, Crockett. She's a very low IQ person.
00:11:14.940
I watched her speak the other day. She's definitely a low IQ person.
00:11:18.700
Crockett. Oh, man. Oh, man. She's a very low IQ person.
00:11:24.860
Somebody said the other day, she's one of the leaders of the party. I said, you got to be kidding.
00:11:29.500
Now they're going to rely on Crockett. Crockett's going to bring them back.
00:11:33.100
Toward the end, Crockett turning dramatically to the camera, flashing a smile before the words
00:11:37.500
Crockett for U.S. Senate appear on screen. An October poll from the University of Houston
00:11:43.740
showing Crockett leading the pack in a four-way challenge, including Tallarico, former Congressman
00:11:49.020
Beto O'Rourke, and Colin Allred, the latter of whom keep running for office and losing every time
00:11:55.100
there's a race in Texas. Crockett with 31%, Tallarico at 25%, O'Rourke at 25%, and Allred then at 13%.
00:12:02.700
O'Rourke has said he is unlikely to run for office in 2026, or let's face it, ever again since he cannot
00:12:09.340
win a race. Dems have their eyes on the seat held by Republican Senator John Cornyn, who is running
00:12:15.980
again, but is facing his own set of primary challengers. Democrats have not won a statewide
00:12:21.420
race in Texas for more than 30 years, despite spending millions of outside dollars on challengers.
00:12:27.260
Again, Beto O'Rourke in 2018 and Colin Allred in 2024, each losing their bids by three and eight
00:12:34.920
points respectively to Senator Ted Cruz. Journalist Chris Saliza says if Crockett is the nominee,
00:12:41.480
she's not likely to draw quite as many outside donors.
00:12:45.320
If Jasmine Crockett winds up as a Democratic nominee, I will tell you that political wisdom
00:12:49.640
would suggest she's not going to win a general election. We may look back at this day and say,
00:12:54.180
this is the day where that opportunity in Texas got a little less appealing. And if Crockett is the
00:12:59.460
nominee, I don't know that national Democrats spend any money in Texas. Whereas I think if
00:13:04.940
Tal Rico is a nominee against say Paxton, then I think they would spend money. So this could be a
00:13:09.880
tough day for Senate Democrats chances of retaking that majority. I think she is probably a slightly
00:13:15.720
better than even odds chance at being the Democratic nominee. And I think she has a under 10% chance of
00:13:22.180
winning the general election. The primary is set for March 3rd. Coming up, Jimmy Kimmel's contract
00:13:29.920
getting a one-year extension. But is anyone watching? And New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani
00:13:37.220
preparing for a big move. I've been talking a lot about Riverbend Ranch because I love their steaks.
00:13:46.820
Well, this holiday season, express your love with a very special gift of premium steaks from Riverbend
00:13:52.940
Ranch. They have spectacular beef bundles that are wonderful gifts to friends and family.
00:13:57.940
Their prime rib roast and holiday bundles are only available while supplies last,
00:14:02.280
and they're going fast. For the last 35 years, Riverbend Ranch has been creating an elite Angus
00:14:07.800
herd by using ultrasound technology to identify genetically superior cattle with a focus on flavor
00:14:13.920
and tenderness. All Riverbend Ranch cattle are born and raised in the USA. They never use growth
00:14:20.000
hormones or antibiotics, and the beef is processed right at the ranch in their award-winning USDA-inspected
00:14:25.880
processing facility. Avoid the costly middlemen because the beef is sent directly from Riverbend
00:14:32.120
Ranch to your home. This is not your average black Angus beef. Order from riverbendranch.com,
00:14:38.220
use the promo code MEGAN for 20 bucks off your first order, and let me know what you think.
00:14:46.580
Jimmy Kimmel renewing his contract with ABC for one year, extending his contract through May of
00:14:53.020
2027, according to Bloomberg News. That is officially what we call in the news business
00:14:58.000
a fig leaf. The news coming just months after Kimmel was briefly yanked off the air following
00:15:03.460
vile remarks he made in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder, trying to blame the killing on MAGA.
00:15:09.560
FCC Chair Brendan Carr at the time, reminding local station groups that they are empowered to
00:15:15.880
preempt programming not considered in the public good. Shortly thereafter, Nexstar, the largest owner
00:15:21.800
of local TV stations in America, with more than 200 stations, reaching 220 million people,
00:15:27.760
announcing it would preempt Kimmel. Sinclair, another large affiliate owner following suit.
00:15:33.320
ABC then deciding to temporarily pull the show.
00:15:36.360
Kimmel's allies from Hollywood to D.C. then launching a public outcry campaign,
00:15:42.040
calling the suspension an attack on free speech, despite the fact that while the feds were clearly
00:15:46.740
happy to see the preemptions, the decision came from private stakeholders and not the government.
00:15:52.600
Ultimately, Kimmel's suspension lasting six days, two of which were weekend days.
00:15:58.580
The host returning to the air in tearful remarks, saying, quote,
00:16:02.580
it was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man.
00:16:06.460
Absent from his comments, which largely focused on himself and blamed Donald Trump and others for
00:16:12.540
taking his words out of context, which they didn't, was any apology whatsoever.
00:16:19.000
Bloomberg reporting the deal was inked months ago, but went unannounced out of respect for Stephen
00:16:24.260
Colbert, who in July announced his CBS late night show is getting canceled in May.
00:16:33.240
Charlie Kirk, we can dump on his grave before he's practically been laid to rest.
00:16:39.000
Kimmel's ratings dropping like a stone in recent years.
00:16:42.260
In 2015, Jimmy Kimmel Live averaging 2.4 million viewers.
00:16:46.200
Prior to Kimmel's suspension, the show down to about 1.6 million.
00:16:50.680
Kimmel scoring an extremely temporary one-night ratings bump on his first night back on TV
00:16:56.480
after the brief suspension, which has since tapered back down into familiar territory,
00:17:01.280
averaging 1.98 million viewers the week of November 23rd.
00:17:05.480
In the coveted 25 to 54 demo, which is the most important number for advertisers and thus for
00:17:12.020
executives, Kimmel pulling a paltry average of 261,000 in 2025, compared to nearly four times
00:17:20.840
that number, about a million viewers 10 years ago. The week of November 23rd, his demo was down to
00:17:27.020
245,000. For a broadcast network like ABC with reach into virtually every single American household
00:17:34.040
where it costs the consumer nothing, those numbers are dismal.
00:17:38.000
Turns out not that many Americans want to be lectured to by a preening,
00:17:42.500
smug, elitist millionaire who can't stand half the country.
00:17:47.700
New York City Mayor-elect Zoram Mamdani, the Democrat socialist who rails against wealth,
00:17:53.160
privilege, and the elite, announcing he and his wife are moving into a mansion,
00:17:57.880
the New York City Mayor's residence, Gracie Mansion, when he takes office in January.
00:18:02.740
Mamdani, in a lengthy Instagram post justifying the move to his comrades, quote,
00:18:07.040
We will miss much about our home in Astoria, cooking dinner side by side in our kitchen,
00:18:12.820
sharing a sleepy elevator ride with our neighbors in the evening,
00:18:16.320
hearing music and laughter vibrate through the what we get it.
00:18:19.660
The decision came down to our family's safety and the importance of dedicating all of my focus
00:18:24.960
on enacting the affordability agenda New Yorkers voted for. It is not a requirement for the mayor to
00:18:30.960
live at Gracie Mansion, Michael Bloomberg most recently opting instead to live in his home while in office,
00:18:36.620
Gracie Mansion is an Upper East Side property spanning roughly 11,000 square feet and boasting five
00:18:42.460
bedrooms and a ballroom. It sits in a park along the East River.
00:18:46.940
It's a certain upgrade from the one-bedroom apartment Mamdani currently occupies with his wife in Astoria,
00:18:52.200
Queens. As a candidate, Mamdani often pointing to his modest $2,300-a-month rent-stabilized
00:18:58.360
apartment as a symbol of his everyday New Yorker persona.
00:19:01.800
Former governor and mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo using the apartment as an attack line,
00:19:07.280
referencing Mamdani's privilege as the son of a movie director mother and a Columbia professor
00:19:12.240
father, as well as his $142,000-a-year salary as a state assemblyman. One moment from an October
00:19:20.460
Mr. Mamdani, what is your monthly rent or mortgage?
00:19:25.500
He has a rent-stabilized apartment that a poor person is supposed to have.
00:19:28.740
Mamdani set to be sworn in on January 1st. A source telling the New York Post Mamdani intends
00:19:34.500
to keep the apartment while living in the mansion. That'll do it for your AM update. I'm
00:19:41.000
Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for the MK Show live on SiriusXM's The Megyn Kelly Channel,
00:19:45.260
111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly, and on all podcast platforms.
00:19:50.380
Ford was built on the belief that the world doesn't get to decide what you're capable of.
00:20:00.920
You do. So, ask yourself, can you or can't you? Can you load up a Ford F-150 and build your dream
00:20:08.600
with sweat and steel? Can you chase thrills and conquer curbs in a Mustang? Can you take a Bronco to
00:20:15.320
where the map ends and adventure begins? Whether you think you can or think you can't,