The Megyn Kelly Show - Tapper Pressed on Biden Coverage, DOJ Charges Dem Rep, Rubio's Fiery Senate Hearing： AM Update 5⧸21

00:00:00.000 Good morning, everyone. I'm Megyn Kelly. It's Wednesday, May 21st, 2025, and this is your

00:00:08.220 AM Update.

00:00:09.180 There should be a lot of soul-searching, not just among me, but among the legacy media

00:00:14.940 to begin with.

00:00:16.020 CNN's Jake Tapper admitting legacy media needs to do some soul-searching over their

00:00:21.200 coverage of the very obvious cognitive decline of President Joe Biden.

00:00:25.520 Alina Hopper wanted me to admit to doing something that I did not do.

00:00:29.140 And I was not going to do that.

00:00:31.520 A New Jersey House Democrat facing charges following an altercation at an ICE detention

00:00:35.920 center earlier this month.

00:00:37.740 New voices in the courtroom.

00:00:39.440 Witnesses take the stand in the criminal case against Sean Diddy Combs, shedding light on

00:00:44.220 what they say really happened.

00:00:46.220 And Marco Rubio battles with Democrat senators in a fiery hearing.

00:00:50.760 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

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00:02:14.080 CNN's Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson joining The Megyn Kelly Show on Tuesday

00:02:19.540 for their first extended interview, promoting their new book, Original Sin.

00:02:24.560 The book, citing interviews with more than 200 Democrat insiders and Biden White House staffers,

00:02:29.940 details the behind-the-scenes efforts to conceal the true state of President Joe Biden's cognitive

00:02:34.920 decline, including threatening or retaliating against reporters who dared to question Mr. Biden's

00:02:40.620 mental fitness. Many in the legacy media caving to that pressure or not needing any pressure at

00:02:46.900 all to protect Mr. Biden, ignoring what was apparent to this listening audience for years.

00:02:52.140 President Biden was undergoing significant cognitive decline.

00:02:55.720 Your humble reporter questioning Mr. Tapper on his role in the cover-up.

00:03:00.240 It could only ever work if you allowed it, if the press allowed it.

00:03:04.700 Some of us tried not to, and some of us were complicit.

00:03:07.180 The Biden White House did not like me, okay? This is, I do not have great connections with

00:03:13.820 the Biden White House. Well, clearly, you have a lot of sources. You say you talked to over 200

00:03:17.140 sources for this book. So you have some you could have called and worked.

00:03:21.360 I know. That's the point, is that they were not being honest. That's the point.

00:03:26.200 Well, how did the Wall Street Journal get it in June of 2024? And Jake Tapper and CNN couldn't

00:03:30.040 find sources for this story then before he dropped out?

00:03:32.900 What? Annie Linsky and Siobhan Hughes did an amazing job in their reporting. And they should

00:03:40.980 be heralded. And I heralded them. I had them on my show right after the debate to talk about their

00:03:45.280 great reporting. But Annie Linsky-

00:03:47.080 After the debate. But you did not put them on when they published that story,

00:03:50.140 which was before the debate.

00:03:51.700 Correct. If we're going to do this, let's just stick to the facts here, okay?

00:03:55.480 When there is a damaging report- Jake, that's what I've been doing

00:03:59.600 all along. One of us didn't miss the biggest story of the century when it comes to presidential

00:04:05.620 politics. And one of us did.

00:04:08.180 Mr. Tapper called the book reporting process humbling, admitting that he should have pushed

00:04:12.780 harder on the Biden White House and revealing he called Laura Trump to apologize for dismissing

00:04:17.960 her 2020 concerns about Mr. Biden's cognitive decline. He says it's now time for the corporate

00:04:23.940 press to reflect.

00:04:26.000 And Alex and I are here to say that conservative media was right and conservative media was correct

00:04:32.500 and that there should be a lot of soul searching, not just among me, but among the legacy media to

00:04:40.380 begin with, all of us, for how this was covered or not covered sufficiently. 100%. So, I mean, I'm not

00:04:49.980 here to defend coverage that I've already acknowledged I wish I could do differently.

00:04:53.940 Mr. Tapper, who moderated the disastrous June 2024 debate that forced many on the left to finally

00:05:00.120 admit President Biden was not up to the job, describing what that moment was like from the

00:05:05.500 front row.

00:05:06.220 So, we have iPads, because you can't communicate, obviously, talking to your control room during a

00:05:12.880 debate. We have iPads. I wrote, holy smokes. Now, what I was thinking was, holy fuck. Dana writes to me on a

00:05:18.480 piece of paper. He just lost the election. And it was just, I mean, it is, I don't think this is

00:05:25.480 hyperbole at all, the worst debate in the history of presidential debates going back to 1960. I just

00:05:32.660 can't think of anything even remotely close to it.

00:05:35.160 And then you saw him immediately after, you write in the book, and he seemed, like, unaware that something...

00:05:42.480 Did I just see that? Was that... Did I just witness this 90-minute event?

00:05:47.660 For years, critics of the Biden administration have questioned who was really running the White

00:05:52.120 House. Original sin offering the clearest answer yet, reporting that four senior aides effectively

00:05:58.220 ran the country, with President Biden described as, at most, quote, a senior member of the board.

00:06:04.840 Reporter Alex Thompson with more.

00:06:06.500 The people that we're naming would be Mike Donilon, Steve Reschetti. Mike Donilon's his top

00:06:11.520 political advisor. Steve Reschetti's his top legislative advisor. Ron Klain, when he was

00:06:16.880 chief of staff. Bruce Reed, his basically longtime policy advisor. You can, those are sort of the four,

00:06:25.000 they were known as Apollo Burrow, Gray Hares, Poobahs, and they were with him the most of anybody.

00:06:30.860 Now, if you were to ask them, and I still think even if you put them on truth serum today,

00:06:34.700 they would say, he was fine. Then there's this other sort of group that aren't the Politburo,

00:06:40.260 but are just as powerful. And they were the ones that kept the schedule, affected personnel,

00:06:45.820 and really built the bubble. And that would be Annie Tomasini, who was deputy chief of staff

00:06:50.740 and previously Oval Office operations. And then Anthony Bernal, who was the top aide slash enforcer

00:06:57.820 for First Lady Jill Biden, and had incredible influence to the point that even people in the

00:07:04.120 Biden White House would refer to her as one of the most powerful First Ladies in history. 1.00

00:07:09.400 The book facing criticism, not just from the right, but from the left as well, including some Biden

00:07:14.180 allies, including former ambassador and Democratic fundraiser Rufus Gifford, who pushed back on its

00:07:20.260 account of a now infamous fundraiser hosted by George Clooney and Julia Roberts. According to

00:07:26.000 Original Sin, Mr. Clooney, a longtime friend of President Biden's, was reportedly stunned,

00:07:31.100 stunned when the president did not recognize him, George Clooney. That anecdote appearing to align

00:07:37.780 with Mr. Clooney's later op-ed following the June 2024 debate, where he acknowledged only after

00:07:44.220 the disastrous debate that he had earlier seen Mr. Biden's decline. But Gifford, who attended the

00:07:51.140 event, says the book got it wrong, insisting there was no moment where Mr. Biden failed to recognize

00:07:56.640 Clooney. Mr. Tapper responding to that pushback. We just went through, as a country, years and years

00:08:03.360 of the Biden people lying and denying. And I'm not particularly interested in pretending any of it is

00:08:11.840 credible. We are very sure of our story. It wasn't just in our book. It was thoroughly fact-checked in

00:08:18.300 The New Yorker, who did an excerpt of it, and we stand by it. And I don't really care what Rufus says.

00:08:26.100 The full interview with Tapper Ann Thompson, including many new details from the book,

00:08:30.740 is available on The Megyn Kelly Show feed on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts.

00:08:37.820 On Monday, interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, Alina Haba, announcing two actions tied to a recent clash

00:08:44.220 between Democratic lawmakers and law enforcement at an ICE detention facility. On May 9th,

00:08:50.300 Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman, Rob Menendez, and LaMonica McIver arrived at Delaney Hall in Newark

00:08:57.280 seeking a tour. Newark Mayor Raz Baraka, a vocal critic of the facility, also showed up. Tensions

00:09:03.920 escalated, leading to a scuffle. The Trump administration accusing the Democrats of storming

00:09:08.700 the facility. Mayor Baraka was arrested for misdemeanor trespassing, but released the same day.

00:09:14.220 Body cam footage shows Congresswoman McIver physically engaging with the officers.

00:09:20.000 On Monday, U.S. Attorney Haba dropped the charges against Baraka, quote,

00:09:23.740 for the sake of moving forward, offering to personally tour the facility with him.

00:09:28.280 Haba then announcing charges against Congresswoman McIver for allegedly assaulting and interfering with 1.00

00:09:33.940 law enforcement, saying she had, quote, given her every opportunity to come to a resolution.

00:09:39.540 Congresswoman McIver firing back, calling the charges, quote, purely political,

00:09:43.440 saying she looks forward to clearing her name in court. On CNN, the Congresswoman implying she

00:09:48.720 rejected a plea deal. Well, the Justice Department and Alina Hoppe wanted me to admit to doing

00:09:54.880 something that I did not do, and I was not going to do that. Once again, I came there to do my job

00:10:00.500 and conduct an oversight visit, and they wanted me to say something differently.

00:10:05.120 House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other members of the House Democrat leadership

00:10:09.600 condemning the move in a joint written statement, quote, the criminal charge against Congresswoman

00:10:14.620 LaMonica McIver is extreme, morally bankrupt, and lacks any basis in law or fact. The statement

00:10:20.420 characterizing the charges as, quote, a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate

00:10:24.960 Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control

00:10:29.760 executive branch. President Trump asked about the charges on Tuesday.

00:10:34.180 Oh, give me a break. Did you see her? She was out of control. 1.00

00:10:37.220 Those days are over. The days of woke. The days of woke. No, I didn't. The days of woke are over.

00:10:43.480 That woman, I have no idea who she is. That woman was out of control. She was shoving federal 1.00

00:10:49.300 agents. She was out of control. The days of that crap are over in this country. We're going to have

00:10:54.580 law and order. Coming up, a participant in the infamous so-called freak-offs takes the stand in

00:11:01.900 the Sean Diddy Combs trial and Secretary of State Marco Rubio's fiery Senate hearing next.

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00:12:21.680 Testimony in the Sean Diddy Combs criminal trial continuing on Tuesday. Mr. Combs' former assistant,

00:12:27.620 David James, taking the stand for a second day of testimony. Mr. James worked for Mr. Combs from 2007

00:12:33.440 to 2009, telling prosecutors he often set up hotel rooms for Mr. Combs. The work involved prepping

00:12:39.900 clothing, a toiletry bag, a medicine bag, food, and drinks for Combs. The witness saying the medicine

00:12:45.520 bag typically contained 25 to 30 pill bottles, including ecstasy and Percocet. James testified

00:12:51.680 to frequently procuring drugs for Combs' friends, including cocaine. James would restock items for

00:12:57.720 Mr. Combs, including baby oil, lubricant, and condoms. James said he would ask Combs' security

00:13:03.660 for cash reimbursement for these items, held in a Louis Vuitton bag always carried by Combs' security.

00:13:10.520 On cross-examination, Mr. James testifying he was instructed not to submit those personal items

00:13:15.080 for reimbursement, accepting those cash repayments instead, because Combs did not want to have a

00:13:20.560 company record for those items. Prosecutors then calling mail stripper Sheree Hayes to the stand.

00:13:26.820 Mr. Hayes testifying that he met Mr. Combs and Ms. Ventura in 2012. According to Hayes,

00:13:32.640 Ms. Ventura hired him while she was using a fake name. When he arrived at the Trump International

00:13:37.400 Hotel in New York City, Ms. Ventura told Mr. Hayes she and her husband, quote,

00:13:41.620 liked to create a sexy scene involving baby oil. Ventura allegedly telling Hayes that her husband 1.00

00:13:47.460 would eventually enter the room, but Hayes was instructed not to look at him. Hayes telling

00:13:52.420 prosecutors he participated in about 8 to 12 of these sessions in total and that Combs never

00:13:57.740 appeared to be intoxicated. Hayes says the events were typically planned a few hours in advance

00:14:02.700 and he would be invited by Ventura. The defense clearly trying to show that Ms. Ventura freely 0.83

00:14:08.340 participated in these freak-offs, even handling the sex worker logistics. The witness telling

00:14:14.000 prosecutors, quote, my understanding was we were creating a scene, a sexy scene that was enjoyable

00:14:19.100 to her partner, going on later to say he never saw filming or violence in any of their encounters.

00:14:25.260 Special Agent Gerard Gannon, the agent in charge during the search of Mr. Combs' Miami home in March

00:14:31.020 2024, also taking the stand, telling prosecutors agents found platform high heels, sex toys, baby oil,

00:14:38.700 personal lubricant, and lingerie in Mr. Combs' closet, as well as parts to AR-15 rifles and loaded

00:14:45.880 magazines. Court will resume later today with more testimony from Special Agent Gannon.

00:14:54.040 Secretary of State Marco Rubio returning to Capitol Hill on Tuesday for testimony before the Senate

00:14:59.260 Foreign Relations Committee, his first appearance in securing unanimous Senate confirmation. The three-hour

00:15:05.320 hearing erupting in fireworks several times. Secretary Rubio clashing with Democrat lawmakers furious over

00:15:11.480 the Trump administration's America first foreign policy vision. Democrat Senator from Maryland,

00:15:16.900 Chris Van Hollen, using his entire allotted time to rip into Secretary Rubio without asking a single

00:15:23.140 question. You've made a mockery of our country's refugee process, turning it into a system of global 1.00

00:15:29.620 apartheid where political ideology and race, more than truth or need, matter. Like the McCarthy-era witch 0.66

00:15:37.460 hunts of the 1950s, your campaign of fear and repression is eating away at foundational values

00:15:43.440 of our democracy. Attorney Joseph Welch, to cut through the hysteria with a simple question,

00:15:48.320 he asked Senator McCarthy, have you no sense of decency? And I would ask you the same, Secretary Rubio.

00:15:55.020 You have shown through your words and your actions what the answer is. And I have to tell you directly

00:16:01.580 and personally that I regret voting for you for Secretary of State. I yield back.

00:16:07.060 Secretary Rubio defending the administration's foreign policy agenda, including cuts to foreign

00:16:12.040 aid, changes to immigration enforcement, and the overall restructuring of the State Department.

00:16:17.460 Well, first of all, your regret for voting for me confirms I'm doing a good job.

00:16:20.740 I can't respond to everything he said because much of these are untrue, but I'll go through a few.

00:16:24.300 First of all, I'm actually very proud of the work we've done with USAID. For example,

00:16:27.900 I don't regret cutting $10 million for male circumcisions in Mozambique. In the case of 0.99

00:16:34.460 El Salvador, absolutely. Absolutely. We deported gang members. Gang members, including the one you

00:16:40.420 had a margarita with. And that guy is a human trafficker, and that guy is a gangbanger. 0.88

00:16:46.220 Mr. Rubio referencing Senator Van Hollen's previous travel to El Salvador to visit the deported

00:16:51.960 Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a credibly accused MS-13 gang member in Salvadoran custody.

00:16:57.900 Secretary Rubio also clashing with Democratic Senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine, over the

00:17:03.360 Trump administration's recent acceptance of white refugees from South Africa. Those refugees 0.75

00:17:08.620 citing fears of racial persecution under a South African law allowing race-based land seizures

00:17:14.020 without compensation. Democrats condemning the policy, accusing the Trump administration of

00:17:18.980 racial bias. Here now some of that exchange.

00:17:22.540 So a well-justified fear of persecution.

00:17:24.780 Yeah, they thought that their farms were being burned down and they would be killed. I think

00:17:27.740 that's a pretty good justification for wanting to come. They're afraid for their lives.

00:17:30.740 And should it be applied in an even-handed way? That's an easy issue.

00:17:33.840 No, our foreign policy doesn't require even-handedness. It requires prioritizing the interest of the United

00:17:39.360 States.

00:17:39.440 The statutory phrase says you are entitled to entrance as a refugee if you demonstrate a well-justified

00:17:44.880 fear of persecution.

00:17:46.420 No, no, you're not entitled. You're allowed.

00:17:47.560 So can you have a different standard based upon the color of somebody's skin? Would that be

00:17:51.100 acceptable?

00:17:51.300 Well, I'm not the one arguing that. Apparently you are because you don't like the fact that

00:17:54.160 they're white and that's why they're coming. 1.00

00:17:55.040 No, I'm just asking you to say that that would be unacceptable. 0.82

00:17:56.480 Well, no, I would say that the United States-

00:17:58.020 That would seem to be a very easy thing to say.

00:17:59.220 The United States has a right to pick and choose who they allow into the United States. 0.86

00:18:02.140 Even based on the color of somebody's skin, you're saying?

00:18:04.140 You're the one that's talking about the color of their skin, not me.

00:18:06.300 The president of South Africa will visit the White House later today.

00:18:11.260 And that'll do it for your AM Update. I'm Megyn Kelly. Join me back here for The Megyn Kelly Show,

00:18:16.040 live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megyn Kelly,

00:18:21.160 and on all podcast platforms.

The Megyn Kelly Show - May 21, 2025

Tapper Pressed on Biden Coverage, DOJ Charges Dem Rep, Rubio's Fiery Senate Hearing： AM Update 5⧸21

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