The Megyn Kelly Show - Maine Dems Pick Platner Replacement, Anti-ICE Attack in NYC, New UK Prime Minister： AM Update 7⧸21

00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Tuesday, July 21st, 2026, and this is your AM

00:00:08.440 Update. I'm a Mainer, a dad, a fifth-generation logger from Alligax. I'm a progressive. Far-left

00:00:15.760 candidate Troy Jackson effectively securing the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican

00:00:21.140 Senator Susan Collins in Maine. So who is he? Mr. Arbaca was looking to injure people and harm

00:00:28.880 people. He had two axes, a hammer, a machete, and three knives. An alleged anti-ice extremist

00:00:39.000 setting a fire outside a Manhattan federal building, then shooting a pellet gun before

00:00:43.640 agents taking him down. Britain getting its seventh prime minister in a decade as the Labor

00:00:49.280 Party replaces Keir Starmer with the so-called King of the North. And President Trump revealing

00:00:54.820 his new Air Force One plane will soon receive additional security upgrades.

00:01:00.600 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

00:01:07.620 We wouldn't be celebrating America 250 if it wasn't for a strong foundation set by the framers.

00:01:13.220 Hamilton built America's financial foundation on the principle of sound, stable money,

00:01:17.300 a principle later embodied by the gold standard. However, we abandoned that discipline in 1971

00:01:22.980 one and have seen inflation erode the dollar's value ever since. What's the foundation of your

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00:02:06.640 help build your foundation with gold. Text MK to the number 989898. Former Maine State Senate

00:02:15.480 President Troy Jackson effectively securing the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican

00:02:20.860 Senator Susan Collins after dominating the party's delegate selection process over the weekend.

00:02:27.380 More than two-thirds of the delegates expected to attend the party's statewide convention this

00:02:31.580 Saturday now committed to supporting Jackson, though they are not legally bound to support him.

00:02:37.800 Jackson's commanding lead prompting all four of his major opponents to withdraw from the primary

00:02:42.640 by Sunday evening, including Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows and former state public

00:02:48.620 health official Nirav Shah. Trans candidate Ashley Webb, also vying for the nomination

00:02:55.520 and formerly known as James, has not dropped out, however. He's busy telling constituents that he

00:03:01.360 would never lie to them as he deletes earlier Reddit posts claiming he menstruates out of his 0.98

00:03:06.880 backside. So there's that. The hastily organized convention set to formally replace progressive 0.73

00:03:12.620 Graham Plattner, who won the June primary but dropped out earlier this month after a former

00:03:17.380 girlfriend accused him of raping her. Plattner denies the allegations. Jackson entering the

00:03:23.320 race with strong support from the party's progressive wing and many former Plattner

00:03:27.680 supporters. The fifth-generation logger and former state Senate president, backed by California

00:03:33.260 Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna, and Our Revolution, the political group founded by

00:03:38.820 independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders and the main chapter of the

00:03:44.220 Democratic Socialists of America also endorsing Jackson during his unsuccessful campaign for

00:03:49.620 governor earlier this year. Jackson presenting himself as a candidate who can form a broad

00:03:54.820 enough coalition to unseat Senator Collins. Together, we can fix what's broken in Washington.

00:04:01.260 We can pass Medicare for all. We can take on corporate power and the politicians in their

00:04:06.000 pocket. We can take our country back. We can create the future Mainers and Americans deserve.

00:04:13.020 I've been fighting this fight for 30 years, and I'm sure as hell not backing down now.

00:04:17.980 I'm a Mainer, a dad, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash. I'm a progressive. I've been tested.

00:04:25.500 I've won time and time again in deep red Trump country by double digits. I've won in progressive

00:04:30.880 cities like Portland and Bangor. I know what a tough fight looks like, and I know how to win.

00:04:36.000 With the nomination effectively secured, Jackson now facing the far more difficult task of taking

00:04:41.020 on Senator Collins, who has repeatedly defeated well-funded Democrat challengers since first

00:04:46.400 winning her Senate seat in 1996. We spoke with Maine Wire editor-in-chief Stephen Robinson

00:04:53.180 about Jackson's record and the political vulnerabilities that could follow him into

00:04:57.800 the general election. The Maine Wire reporting earlier this month on an allegation circulated

00:05:02.800 by the progressive organization Progressive Victory, claiming Jackson once threw a water

00:05:07.980 bottle that struck a female colleague during a heated disagreement. People associated with

00:05:13.580 Jackson denying the accusation. Since Jackson began to look more viable, Progressive Victory

00:05:18.580 saying it repeated the allegation, quote, in a panic without first verifying it and that it

00:05:24.760 would be more responsible in the future. It did not, however, say it's untrue. Robinson says the

00:05:30.880 story has circulated among Maine political insiders for years, but predicts the alleged

00:05:35.620 incident is unlikely to derail Jackson's campaign, given how many accusations it took

00:05:41.200 to force Plattner from the race. I mean, think about how much it took in order for actual

00:05:47.180 assault allegations to become credible. You know, it had to be like a third woman coming forward 0.94

00:05:53.220 doing an on-the-record televised interview with Jake Tapper. They were never going to stop

00:05:59.620 supporting him and he was never going to drop out until the claims reached that level uh of you

00:06:05.440 know overwhelming credibility i frankly don't even think that this will be the most um devastating or

00:06:11.320 the biggest story for troy for me uh the water bottle story is um you know it's kind of a funny

00:06:16.580 anecdote of his his time in augusta but it's uh he says she said thing where he claims that he

00:06:24.620 threw the water bottle at the floor in frustration, while the anonymous sources repeating the

00:06:31.360 perspective of an anonymous lawmaker say that it was thrown at a female lawmaker. 0.89

00:06:36.540 I don't think it'll be a big deal by the end of this week.

00:06:40.160 Robinson arguing Jackson's 2019 purchase of a home in Augusta, hundreds of miles outside

00:06:46.360 the northern Maine district he represented, could prove far more damaging.

00:06:51.100 I've spent a long time reporting on him.

00:06:52.860 He abused the FHA mortgage program to buy a house in Augusta, which is 230 miles away from his district in Allagash, Maine.

00:07:03.220 The FHA loan program has an occupancy clause in the mortgage.

00:07:07.160 So he swore that he was going to live in Augusta as his primary residence.

00:07:11.000 At the same time, he was swearing in campaign documents and filings with the Maine Ethics Commission that his primary residence was in Allagash.

00:07:19.980 So both of those things can't be true.

00:07:23.660 The Maine Wire first reporting on the documents in 2023 after Jackson became embroiled in a legal dispute involving the Augusta property.

00:07:32.080 Jackson later acknowledging that he did not satisfy the mortgage's primary residence provision while saying he had not fully read the agreement, according to the outlet.

00:07:41.140 The Maine Ethics Commission ultimately declining to investigate the allegations, with its staff concluding the commission lacked jurisdiction over some of the claims and had insufficient grounds to pursue the others, according to local outlet Maine Public.

00:07:56.140 Robinson arguing the discrepancies in Jackson's federal mortgage paperwork could still expose him to charges, depending on whether Maine's current U.S. attorney decides to pursue the case.

00:08:06.460 When he got the mortgage in the first place, there was a Biden appointee who has since gotten a judgeship from the Mills administration.

00:08:16.440 So kind of a loyal Democrat would be reluctant to file charges against the Senate president.

00:08:21.280 But now you have an appointee from President Trump.

00:08:26.200 So the U.S. attorney right now could bring fraud charges against Troy Jackson for mortgage fraud.

00:08:31.520 We asked Robinson whether Jackson can generate the same enthusiasm among

00:08:35.960 Maine Democrats that Graham Plattner brought to the race.

00:08:39.340 Not at all. They're two very different animals. I mean, they're both holding hands with Bernie 0.72

00:08:43.660 Sanders, but Jackson is not the natural performer that Graham Plattner is. I don't think he has the

00:08:49.880 same vigor and energy. He has his own way of being a talented politician, and he can connect with

00:08:56.540 people. He can play friendly enough. But there's no grassroots movement for Jackson.

00:09:03.320 Robinson says Jackson's delegate advantage reflects the party's insider-driven replacement

00:09:08.040 process more than broad voter enthusiasm. Robinson nevertheless arguing Jackson still

00:09:13.960 has a plausible path against Senator Collins. The demographics of the state have changed.

00:09:19.860 beginning with COVID. Something like 30,000 people have moved here, mostly wealthy boomers

00:09:27.340 trying to get out of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and they've brought

00:09:31.000 their politics with them. Based on the way the demographics have shifted, it's still just about

00:09:36.260 even in terms of party enrollment with a slight advantage to the Democrats. For that reason,

00:09:40.560 I would still put it at about a coin flip odds for Troy Jackson. But I think that Susan Collins, 1.00

00:09:46.380 She's the best at winning the elections in history. 0.95

00:09:49.980 She does it better than anybody else.

00:09:52.700 A former Army soldier accused of setting a fire and opening fire with a pellet gun

00:09:58.340 outside a federal building in Lower Manhattan in what the FBI is calling an anti-government attack.

00:10:04.960 Authorities say 43-year-old Andrew Arabaca arriving at the employee entrance of 26 Federal Plaza

00:10:11.880 shortly before nine o'clock yesterday morning, pouring gasoline onto the ground and igniting it

00:10:18.040 using a lighter and a large firework inside a canister. The flames climbing several feet into

00:10:23.840 the air before Ara Baca allegedly pulled out an airsoft rifle and fired between five and seven 0.84

00:10:30.400 pellets toward the building. Video from the scene showing the suspect retreating toward a cart

00:10:35.280 as a federal officer moved to confront him. The building housing federal immigration courts,

00:10:41.000 the local ICE field office, FBI offices, and several other government agencies.

00:10:46.180 FBI assistant director in charge, James Barnacle, at a press conference yesterday

00:10:50.500 describing what investigators have learned about the suspect.

00:10:54.300 He was enlisted for approximately four years, serving from 2001 to 2005. He was a repairman

00:11:00.880 or mechanic on Patriot missile systems. Mr. Arabaka was looking to injure people and harm 0.96

00:11:07.840 people. He had two axes, a hammer, a machete, and three knives, fixed blade knives. He had,

00:11:19.600 as I said earlier, six incendiary devices or fireworks, and he had some other destructive

00:11:25.040 items. On his cart, he had a cart. He had anti-ICE literature on it. When he was being arrested,

00:11:33.720 he yelled derogatory terms to ICE, used bad words, obviously. He is an anti-American,

00:11:41.540 anti-government extremist. We know that from what he said. We know that from what he has

00:11:47.640 said post-arrest. And we know that from what his actions that he tried to take today.

00:11:53.880 NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch saying the cart carried a sign reading, quote,

00:11:58.380 ice off our streets. Barnacle saying the suspect admitted after his arrest that he deliberately

00:12:04.700 targeted the building and did not care whether federal employees or civilians were injured or

00:12:09.800 killed. The FBI's New York Joint Terrorism Task Force now leading the investigation,

00:12:15.260 with assistance from the NYPD, the fire department, and city fire marshals.

00:12:20.180 Two government employees and one civilian suffering minor injuries in the incident yesterday.

00:12:25.840 New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani releasing a statement calling the incident, quote,

00:12:30.300 deeply disturbing and expressing relief that no one was seriously injured and the suspect was taken into custody.

00:12:36.740 Federal Plaza becoming the focus of anti-ICE demonstrations in New York since President Trump returned to office last year.

00:12:44.280 Protesters and Democrat elected officials arrested there in September while attempting to enter an area where ICE was holding migrants, according to The New York Times.

00:12:53.280 Ara Baca has not yet been charged.

00:12:55.560 Barnacle says investigators are still collecting evidence,

00:12:58.480 which will be presented to the U.S. Attorney's Office for prosecutors to determine the federal charges.

00:13:05.420 Coming up, the U.K. changing leaders yet again as Andy Burnham takes over from Keir Starmer.

00:13:12.900 And President Trump says his new Air Force One plane will soon undergo additional security upgrades.

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00:14:43.140 The UK has a new prime minister again.

00:14:48.820 Labour Party leader Andy Burnham taking office yesterday,

00:14:52.260 becoming the UK's seventh prime minister in just a decade.

00:14:56.680 Burnham replacing Keir Starmer,

00:14:58.300 who officially submitted his resignation to King Charles yesterday morning,

00:15:02.640 just two years after leading the Labour Party to a landslide election victory.

00:15:06.940 Starmer announcing last month that he would step down

00:15:09.640 following a string of controversies and heavy labor losses in Britain's local elections.

00:15:15.080 Burnham previously serving nearly a decade as mayor of Greater Manchester, earning the nickname

00:15:20.500 the King of the North due to his push to move political power and public investment beyond

00:15:25.040 London to the rest of the country. The 56-year-old previously serving 16 years in parliament

00:15:30.980 and holding cabinet positions under former Labour prime ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

00:15:37.500 The UK's parliamentary system allows Burnham to take office without a nationwide vote

00:15:42.500 because voters elect members of parliament,

00:15:45.580 and the leader of the party controlling the House of Commons ordinarily becomes the prime minister.

00:15:51.040 That means the governing Labour Party was permitted to replace Starmer with its new leader

00:15:55.600 without holding another general election.

00:15:57.980 The UK's next election does not have to take place until 2029,

00:16:02.280 though Burnham could call one earlier.

00:16:04.160 In his first remarks outside 10 Downing Street, Burnham calling for a new period of stability and national unity.

00:16:10.940 I am acutely conscious that I am the sixth person in the last 10 years to walk up this street, the seventh prime minister since 2016, making this a moment for reflection and new resolution.

00:16:30.580 It requires my generation of politicians to raise our game and rise to the new challenge.

00:16:41.780 Britain needs to show the world that we can regain our stability once again.

00:16:50.240 And that is our challenge, to make politics work, to make it work better.

00:16:56.360 let's build a new national sense of unity of common purpose and positivity let us make this

00:17:07.280 the moment when britain starts to believe again the moment we bring back hope burnham's relationship

00:17:15.760 with president trump already appearing to get off to an uneven start asked last month by a

00:17:21.880 reporter about Burnham, President Trump responding. You mentioned that our prime minister has got one

00:17:27.580 foot out the door. The new guy's coming in, Andy Burnham. What do you know about him,

00:17:31.520 Mr. President? And what does he need to do to improve the relationship between our two countries?

00:17:35.560 The new incoming prime minister, Andy Burnham. I don't know anything. I see that he was, I guess,

00:17:39.520 the mayor of a town. I hear he's extremely liberal, extremely. So that means he probably

00:17:47.760 won't open up the North Sea. The oil-rich region currently closed to new exploration licenses under

00:17:54.420 the Labour government's climate policies, despite pressure from President Trump to dramatically

00:17:58.920 expand drilling. However, the president striking a far more enthusiastic tone over the weekend

00:18:05.080 after the BBC reported Burnham was preparing to announce new North Sea oil and gas drilling.

00:18:11.440 Mr. Trump writing on Truth Social that expanded drilling would, quote,

00:18:14.420 make the United Kingdom from a poverty-stricken disaster to one of the richest countries anywhere

00:18:19.980 in the world. Burnham speaking with President Trump shortly after taking office yesterday

00:18:24.320 afternoon and inviting him to visit Manchester in the future. President Trump announcing his

00:18:30.920 new Air Force One will undergo additional security upgrades following questions about

00:18:35.900 whether the Qatari-donated jet is equipped for higher-risk international travel. The president

00:18:41.780 making the switch to the new Air Force One at the start of this month. A reporter asking the

00:18:46.480 president about the plane's missile defense capabilities Sunday night after he returned

00:18:51.260 to Washington from the World Cup final in New Jersey. It has a lot and, you know, it has a lot

00:18:57.480 of capability, but as I understand it, in about a month or so, they're going to send it to have it

00:19:02.940 be maxed out. So they're going to be sending it and they'll have it be maxed out and think about

00:19:08.420 a month. White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt telling CBS News, quote, the new Air Force

00:19:13.880 One is perfectly safe for the president's travels, but will receive additional upgrades and

00:19:18.960 enhancements in the fall, which will take approximately one month to complete. Levitt

00:19:24.240 adding that during that time, the president will travel on the old Air Force One. The plane's

00:19:29.580 security capabilities drawing attention earlier this month, after President Trump unexpectedly

00:19:34.080 switched to the older Air Force One while leaving the NATO summit in Turkey, just days after making

00:19:39.960 the switch to the new plane. The president posting to Truth Social at the time that the change was

00:19:44.940 made so American service members at Mildenhall Air Force Base in the UK could tour what he called

00:19:51.720 the quote, brand new and truly spectacular aircraft. The New York Times reporting, however, that the

00:19:57.380 Secret Service urged the switch as a precaution after hostilities with Iran resumed. The Air

00:20:03.840 describing the Qatari-donated jet as a temporary bridge aircraft, intended for use until Boeing

00:20:10.140 delivers two long-overdue permanent replacements for the aging presidential fleet. President Trump

00:20:16.880 saying the plane will eventually be placed in his presidential library after he leaves office,

00:20:22.120 presumably after it is fully, quote, maxed out. And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megan

00:20:29.640 kelly join me back here for the mk show live on sirius xm's the megan kelly channel 111 at noon

00:20:34.860 east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and on all podcast platforms

The Megyn Kelly Show - July 21, 2026

Maine Dems Pick Platner Replacement, Anti-ICE Attack in NYC, New UK Prime Minister： AM Update 7⧸21

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