The Megyn Kelly Show - Millions Spent on Crucial Special Elections, New Columbia Tension, Trump Warns Putin： AM Update 3⧸31

00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Monday, March 31st, 2025. And this is your

00:00:08.360 AM update. If you think you're going to force the president of the United States to fire

00:00:12.180 anybody, you've got another thing coming. Trump administration officials stand united

00:00:16.540 against calls to fire National Security Advisor Mike Walsh for inadvertently adding a reporter

00:00:22.620 to a private group chat. We're on the third Columbia University president. And this one,

00:00:27.400 let's be honest, Maria, is not going to last as well. Columbia University gets a new interim 0.97

00:00:32.360 president, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, casting doubt on the latest's ability to crack down on

00:00:38.100 illegal campus protesting. President Trump warning Russian President Vladimir Putin if Russia is

00:00:43.180 responsible for delaying a Ukraine peace agreement, there will be repercussions. The Iranian regime

00:00:49.200 rejecting calls for direct nuclear negotiations as the Trump administration promises a wave of bombs,

00:00:55.380 not to mention tariffs, if they don't come to the table. The White House Correspondents Association

00:01:00.380 canceling its featured entertainer for the planned annual dinner. What was the deal breaker? All that

00:01:07.760 and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. You know how much my family and I love our

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00:02:05.320 That's deltarescue.org.

00:02:10.300 After a week of intense pressure from Democrats and the media, President Trump is standing by

00:02:15.320 National Security Advisor Mike Walls, despite seemingly inadvertently adding a reporter to

00:02:21.360 a private group chat outlining attack plans on Houthi rebels. Axios reporting Trump insiders saying,

00:02:27.320 quote, President Trump seriously considered firing National Security Advisor Mike Walls,

00:02:31.860 but cooled down and talked himself out of it, partly to deny his critics the satisfaction.

00:02:36.900 President Trump telling NBC News in an off-camera interview, quote,

00:02:39.920 I don't fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts. Vice President J.D.

00:02:44.940 Vance on Friday from Greenland also lending support to the team.

00:02:48.840 And now the same American media that covered for the Biden administration after the untimely death

00:02:54.360 and the unnecessary death of 13 brave Americans is really, really interested in forcing the President

00:03:00.860 of the United States to fire someone because of a signal chat, because of a signal chat. That is

00:03:07.280 not honest behavior from the American media. And if you think you're going to force the President

00:03:11.960 of the United States to fire anybody, you've got another thing coming. President Trump has said it

00:03:16.480 on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday. And I'm the Vice President saying it here on Friday.

00:03:22.160 We are standing behind our entire national security team.

00:03:25.160 Mr. Walls vacated his congressional seat to take a job with the Trump administration.

00:03:29.620 The special election will be held tomorrow in Florida's 6th District. The current balance of power

00:03:34.960 in the House is 218 to 213, giving Republicans a very slight edge. In tomorrow's election,

00:03:42.300 Republican Randy Fine is facing off against Democrat Josh Weill, the media portraying the

00:03:47.760 race as a source of anxiety for the GOP.

00:03:50.300 Republicans are right now worried about a special election in the deep red Florida congressional

00:03:55.460 district once held by Trump national security advisor Michael Waltz.

00:03:58.920 Republican anxiety mounts over special elections for two deep red congressional seats in

00:04:04.880 Florida, which are more competitive than they should be.

00:04:08.100 Republicans are sweating the margins in special elections in two Florida districts.

00:04:13.440 Democrat fundraisers pouring millions into the race. Mr. Fine raising just shy of one million

00:04:18.660 compared to Mr. Weill's nine million dollars. President Trump in November winning this district

00:04:23.720 by 30 points. Despite a recent poll showing both candidates neck and neck, analysts say a Republican

00:04:29.660 victory is likely. The New York Times reporting the 6th District is home to twice as many registered

00:04:35.100 Republicans as Democrats. NBC political correspondent Steve Kornacki previewing a likely Democrat talking

00:04:41.280 point if this race is anywhere closer than President Trump's 30 point margin of victory.

00:04:46.880 Why would Republicans, you know, be a little concerned? Is it about losing the district? That might be a

00:04:51.500 stretch. There's nobody in the House. There's no Democrat in the House who has won in a district like this

00:04:56.200 recently. But would they be embarrassed by a smaller, a significantly smaller margin? That's certainly

00:05:02.540 possible. Another special election Tuesday in Florida's first district to replace former Republican

00:05:08.360 Congressman Matt Gaetz. Republican Jimmy Patronis is reporting that his opponent, Democrat Gay Valemont,

00:05:16.020 is out raising him seven to one. Mr. Gaetz beat Ms. Valemont in November by 32 points before resigning his

00:05:23.060 seat in hopes of securing the post of Attorney General. Another big race on Tuesday, the Wisconsin

00:05:28.400 Supreme Court. Voters there will determine if the court will maintain a four to three liberal majority

00:05:34.320 or flip to conservative. Liberal Judge Susan Crawford is taking on conservative attorney Brad Schimmel. 1.00

00:05:41.400 At stake, control over congressional district mapping in a critical swing state. Republicans currently hold

00:05:48.820 six of Wisconsin's eight congressional seats, despite the state's closely divided electorate.

00:05:54.660 If liberals maintain their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the current GOP-drawn maps could be

00:05:59.960 thrown out, shifting the balance of power in the House of Representatives, potentially costing

00:06:04.640 Republicans two congressional seats. We will have more on this story in the days ahead.

00:06:08.940 On Friday night, Columbia University's embattled interim President Katrina Armstrong, resigning from

00:06:18.220 her post. Columbia already facing $400 million in frozen federal funding, with the threat of more cuts

00:06:24.740 to come, agreeing to implement measures allowing authorities to crack down on illegal protesting,

00:06:29.860 as well as some academic reforms. Columbia became the epicenter of nationwide anti-Israel and anti-Semitic

00:06:36.620 protests in the wake of Israel's war on the Hamas terrorist organization. Many Jewish students at

00:06:42.480 Columbia reporting incidents of harassment on campus, which is unlawful under federal law,

00:06:48.320 saying faculty and staff have done little to nothing to support them. Crimes like vandalism,

00:06:54.700 trespassing, and others were also committed by the protesters. Ms. Armstrong caught between mounting

00:07:00.120 pressure from the Trump administration and intense pushback from her own faculty and staff.

00:07:05.460 Columbia professors, in the weeks leading up to President Armstrong's resignation,

00:07:09.540 raging against her decision to cooperate with the Trump administration.

00:07:13.680 We know that this has nothing to do with opposing anti-Semitism. We know that this is about control. 0.92

00:07:21.040 Making these changes would allow an overbearing government to bully our university.

00:07:25.960 Trump's cuts kill teaching and learning. They kill research. They kill knowledge. They kill truth.

00:07:32.700 And they kill people. The Wall Street Journal reporting Ms. Armstrong publicly insisted to the 0.99

00:07:38.300 Trump administration that Columbia is cracking down on illegal protesting while privately downplaying

00:07:44.780 the new measures to her staffers. The Department of Education releasing a statement in response to

00:07:49.580 the resignation, saying, quote,

00:07:50.740 The action taken by Columbia's trustees today, especially in light of this week's concerning

00:07:55.480 revelations, is an important step toward advancing negotiations between the university and the

00:08:01.320 task force to combat anti-Semitism. Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Sunday laying out the

00:08:06.900 administration's expectations.

00:08:08.840 Well, the president's made it incredibly clear that he expects that students who are going to

00:08:13.700 universities can go to a safe campus without discrimination. What we saw across Columbia and other

00:08:20.140 universities was that the universities were not living up to that. I mean, when you see students

00:08:25.160 barricaded in the library, people pounding on the glass saying, death to USA, death to Israel.

00:08:31.180 And I've talked to students at Columbia, Jewish students who told me that they were afraid to

00:08:37.040 go across campus. And a lot of the Jewish interaction on campus has been driven underground.

00:08:42.820 And that's just not the way our education should be.

00:08:45.760 The new interim president announced Friday, Claire Shipman, is a former CNN White House

00:08:52.020 correspondent who was once married to Obama administration press secretary Jay Carney.

00:08:57.080 An October House report on college campus anti-Semitism revealing a 2023 text message

00:09:02.740 from Ms. Shipman to then-Columbia president Manu Shafiq. Ms. Shipman then referring to the

00:09:08.780 House anti-Semitism on college campus hearings as, quote, Capitol Hill nonsense.

00:09:13.980 Republican Congresswoman from New York, Elise Stefanik, on Sunday responding to Ms. Shipman's

00:09:19.620 new appointment.

00:09:20.560 We're on the third Columbia University president. And this one, let's be honest, Maria, is not going 0.93

00:09:25.060 to last as well. It's already come out that she has criticized and belittled the House investigation

00:09:30.940 and the accountability measures and has failed to protect Jewish students. So again, this is strong 1.00

00:09:36.560 leadership from President Trump. And I think it is only going to be a matter of weeks before she is

00:09:40.920 forced to step down as well. They still don't get it. The faculty doesn't get it. These radical far-left

00:09:46.560 students doesn't get it.

00:09:47.440 Former President Shafiq resigned from her post in August 2024. Six federal agencies are currently

00:09:53.720 investigating Columbia University. Billions in federal funding are on the line.

00:09:59.020 Coming up, President Trump issuing a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he finds Russia 0.57

00:10:04.760 at fault for holding up a peace deal in Ukraine, there will be consequences. And the White House

00:10:10.460 Correspondents Association pulls the plug on its headliner, what the comedian said that led to the

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00:11:33.280 President Trump issuing a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he finds Russia at fault for

00:11:38.300 holding up a peace deal in Ukraine, tariffs are coming. President Trump telling NBC News, quote,

00:11:43.720 I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia. If you buy oil from Russia,

00:11:49.640 you cannot do business in the United States. The president's comments spurred by recent televised

00:11:55.160 remarks from President Putin. Mr. Putin suggesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lacks

00:12:00.560 legitimacy to sign a peace deal. President Zelensky last year suspending elections in Ukraine,

00:12:06.880 citing martial law. The Russian leader going on to say the U.N. could set up a temporary government

00:12:12.340 in Ukraine. Any change in leadership will inevitably delay a lasting ceasefire agreement,

00:12:18.100 Mr. Trump setting a one-month deadline for getting a full ceasefire deal before punitive measures kick

00:12:23.500 in. Last week, Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea and against

00:12:29.160 energy infrastructure. Prior to Mr. Putin's remarks on Friday, President Trump had indicated that

00:12:35.100 negotiations were progressing well in a cabinet meeting. Ukraine wants to see it settled. I think

00:12:40.540 they have to have it settled. And Russia wants to see it settled. Marco's doing a great job. And

00:12:45.360 Steve Whitcoff has been incredible. Michael Waltz. We have a great group of people working on it.

00:12:51.300 President Trump telling NBC his anger with Mr. Putin will, quote,

00:12:54.880 dissipate quickly if he does the right thing. The two leaders scheduled to speak again later this week.

00:13:00.880 On Sunday, the Iranian regime rejecting President Trump's offer to begin direct nuclear negotiations

00:13:06.680 with the U.S. Iranian President Mazoud Pazeshkian, leaving the possibility of indirect talks open,

00:13:13.380 delivering the reply through Amman. This response just days after President Trump addressed Iranian

00:13:18.700 nuclear ambitions from the Oval. Iran is very high on my list of things to watch. And as you probably 0.95

00:13:26.460 know, I sent them a letter just recently. And I said, you're going to have to make a decision one way or the

00:13:33.120 other. And we're going to either have to talk and talk it out or very bad things are going to happen

00:13:39.280 to Iran. And I don't want that to happen. My big preference is we work it out with Iran. But if we 0.99

00:13:44.720 don't work it out, bad, bad things are going to happen to Iran. President Trump now promising a wave

00:13:50.260 of bombings and additional tariffs targeted at Iran if its leaders do not come to the negotiating table.

00:13:55.960 In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, a nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated under the

00:14:03.180 Obama administration. President Trump calling the deal, quote, a horribly one-sided deal that should

00:14:07.920 never, ever have been made. Instead, President Trump opting for a campaign of, quote, maximum pressure

00:14:13.160 to force Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, imposing sanctions on key Iranian industries like

00:14:19.300 banking and oil, designating their military as a foreign terrorist organization, issuing secondary

00:14:24.820 sanctions against countries working with Iran and isolating the Iranians diplomatically. Iran,

00:14:31.080 though economically weakened, did not return to the table under the first Trump administration

00:14:35.540 or the Biden administration, which aggressively sought to revive the joint agreement. A February

00:14:41.700 UN Atomic Agency report revealing the Iranian regime has enriched enough uranium to manufacture six

00:14:48.180 nuclear weapons and now just lacks a delivery system. In response to Trump administration warnings,

00:14:54.380 Iranian leaders firing back with threats of their own. Iran's parliament speaker saying, quote,

00:15:00.640 if the Americans violate Iran's sovereignty, it will be like a spark in a gunpowder depot, 0.61

00:15:05.460 setting the entire region ablaze. In such a scenario, their bases and their allies will not be safe.

00:15:11.400 In 2024, Tehran launching two direct missile attacks on Israel, firing hundreds of rockets in both

00:15:17.140 instances. Israel's missile defense systems intercepting the vast majority, limiting the damage.

00:15:22.560 The White House Correspondents Association canceling comedian Amber Ruffin's remarks at its upcoming

00:15:31.620 annual dinner, scheduled for April 26th. In a tradition dating back to 2003, the dinner features

00:15:37.760 a comedian roasting the president and the press covering him. Under the first Trump administration,

00:15:43.280 the president declining to attend as the comedians turned what was supposed to be a light roast of the

00:15:48.140 administration into scorched earth, nasty attacks. And I am truly honored to be here, even though all

00:15:55.160 all of Hollywood pulled out now that King Joffrey is president. It feels like the red wedding in here.

00:15:59.700 We got to address the elephant that's not in the room. Trump isn't here. If you haven't noticed,

00:16:05.080 he's not here. And I know I know I would drag him here myself. But it turns out the president of the

00:16:11.400 United States is the one pussy you're not allowed to grab. Ms. Ruffin promising late last week on the 1.00

00:16:16.600 Daily Beast podcast that her approach would be no different. I'm not 100 percent interested in being

00:16:22.220 like, ha, you're here. Look at your stupid head. You're burned. I care. Like, you're kind of a bunch

00:16:27.900 of murderers. I mean, so like they were like, you need to be, you know, equal and make sure that the

00:16:37.560 that you give it to both sides and blah, blah, blah. I was like, there's no way I'm going to be

00:16:43.580 freaking doing that, dude. But it may want that false equivalency that the media does. They want

00:16:48.260 that. It feels great. It makes them feel like human beings. But they shouldn't get to feel that way

00:16:53.040 because they're not. The White House and many Trump supporters recoiling at the remarks. Within

00:16:58.380 48 hours, the White House Correspondents Association announcing her appearance had

00:17:02.680 been canceled. President Eugene Daniels writing in a statement, quote, at this consequential moment

00:17:07.620 for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on

00:17:13.400 awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the

00:17:19.220 next generation of journalists. The tone marking a sharp departure from Daniels' enthusiasm during a

00:17:25.300 joint MSNBC appearance in February with Ms. Ruffin, when he proudly announced her selection as the 0.95

00:17:31.200 evening's entertainer. And you say you have invited President Trump and the First Lady to attend. In his

00:17:36.360 first term, he never did. He didn't. He didn't. He had four shots. Four shots. He missed them all.

00:17:42.920 Do you hope to see him there? No. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich responding on X,

00:17:48.460 quote, It's an indictment on how broken and useless this organization has become. So sad that such a

00:17:55.000 storied and consequential group has been so quickly driven into irrelevancy. Oh, well, good riddance.

00:18:01.580 Tensions rising between the White House Correspondents Association and the Trump White House in recent

00:18:05.900 weeks. The conflict beginning when the Associated Press refused to use the newly renamed Gulf of America

00:18:12.260 moniker, prompting the Trump administration to bar the outlet from participating in the White House press

00:18:17.780 pool. The Correspondents Association condemned the White House publicly in response. Shortly

00:18:22.760 thereafter, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt announcing her office would be taking control of press pool

00:18:28.020 assignments, a task historically managed by the White House Correspondents Association. The pool is a

00:18:33.880 smaller group of reporters granted access to more exclusive spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One.

00:18:40.860 Axios reporting on Sunday, some members of the Correspondents Association want to

00:18:44.740 de-escalate the conflict. This, as Ms. Levitt says, she will be taking control of the briefing room's 1.00

00:18:51.120 seating chart as well. For decades, establishment media was in control of who sits where in the

00:18:57.080 briefing room, ensuring the so-called mainstream outlets access and a seat in front of the cameras.

00:19:02.980 A senior White House official telling Axios the new arrangement will provide more favorable access

00:19:07.640 to online influencers and newer outlets. And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me

00:19:14.020 back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com

00:19:20.040 slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.

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The Megyn Kelly Show - March 31, 2025

Millions Spent on Crucial Special Elections, New Columbia Tension, Trump Warns Putin： AM Update 3⧸31

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