The Megyn Kelly Show - October 16, 2025


Trump Highlights National Crime Crackdown, SCOTUS Revisits Voting Rights Act： AM Update 10⧸16


Episode Stats


Length

17 minutes

Words per minute

150.02238

Word count

2,681

Sentence count

174

Harmful content

Misogyny

3

sentences flagged

Hate speech

4

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois. Trump administration officials highlight the widespread success of a summer FBI operation geared toward cracking down on violent crime while Mexican cartels target law enforcement in Chicago with bounties. The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that could reshape congressional districts nationwide. All that and more coming up in a moment on Your AM Update.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
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00:00:30.000 Good morning, everyone.
00:00:33.940 I'm Megan Kelly.
00:00:34.860 It's Thursday, October 16, 2025, and this is your AM Update.
00:00:39.540 We haven't really even gotten going yet.
00:00:41.820 Trump administration officials highlighting the widespread success of a summer FBI operation
00:00:46.920 geared toward cracking down on violent crime,
00:00:50.120 while Mexican cartels target law enforcement in Chicago with bounties.
00:00:54.600 That is not what the Voting Rights Act was intended
00:00:57.800 to do to help one political party or not.
00:01:01.660 The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that could reshape congressional districts nationwide.
00:01:07.560 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
00:01:10.640 As President Trump is settling into his new administration,
00:01:17.460 one of the top Democrats in Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda
00:01:20.760 is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
00:01:23.980 And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition,
00:01:27.780 Senator Durbin has a new plan, a government takeover of your credit card.
00:01:32.400 Today, Americans have thousands of choices in credit cards,
00:01:35.200 but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security,
00:01:40.180 which means more risk for your credit and your identity.
00:01:43.820 You can learn more for yourself at guardyourcard.com.
00:01:47.520 And you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government takeover of your credit card
00:01:52.840 before it's too late.
00:01:57.820 President Trump, FBI Director Kash Patel, Attorney General Pam Bondi,
00:02:01.920 and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday
00:02:04.820 highlighting the administration's success in Operation Summer Heat,
00:02:09.760 a crime crackdown by the FBI conducted from June through September across all 50 states.
00:02:16.240 The focus?
00:02:17.100 Violent criminals and gang members suspected of breaking federal laws.
00:02:21.320 In the three-month span, Director Patel reporting 8,700 arrests of violent criminals,
00:02:28.340 2,200 illegal firearms seized, 421 kilograms of fentanyl taken off the streets,
00:02:35.580 5,400 children located, and four of the FBI's top 10 most wanted fugitives arrested.
00:02:43.160 President Trump announcing a nearly 20% decline in crime nationwide compared to the same period last year.
00:02:49.460 Director Patel comparing the FBI's arrest rate under the Trump administration to that during the Biden years.
00:02:55.800 When you look at the year, for the entire seven-month period that we're talking about here,
00:03:00.360 if you look at the past four years of the Biden administration,
00:03:03.400 16,000, 17,000, 15,000, 15,000,
00:03:06.960 that's the number of arrests year over year of violent felons in this country for the Biden administration.
00:03:11.840 Mr. President, in seven months, you have 27, 28,600 arrests of violent feminists in just seven months alone. 0.99
00:03:20.460 Over the last several months, President Trump publicly battling with state and local leaders
00:03:25.520 over law enforcement efforts in Chicago,
00:03:27.940 once again calling out Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker for refusing to request federal assistance.
00:03:33.220 We haven't really even gotten going yet.
00:03:36.100 If we didn't have to fight all of these radical-left governors,
00:03:38.620 we could have had Chicago taken care of, as an example.
00:03:41.700 They had, in a short period of time, 4,000 murders in Chicago,
00:03:45.820 and we have to listen to this man stand up and say that we're bad people.
00:03:50.560 And the people of Chicago are walking around with MAGA hats.
00:03:53.300 You have women, beautiful black women, walking around with MAGA hats. 1.00
00:03:57.900 Please let the president in, and we don't care how he does it.
00:04:01.660 Chicago recently had one deal where they had 11 murders in one weekend,
00:04:06.180 and they said, well, yeah, but it was a holiday weekend.
00:04:08.200 They actually told me that was the reason.
00:04:09.960 Like it was okay, because it was a holiday.
00:04:11.760 It was Labor Day.
00:04:13.220 These people are the worst.
00:04:14.440 They really have to, they better, I tell you what,
00:04:18.160 the people in Chicago and the people in places like that, that could be fixed.
00:04:22.880 Mr. Trump announcing the next possible Democrat-run city targeted for federal intervention.
00:04:27.840 So I'm going to be strongly recommending, at the request of government officials,
00:04:33.160 which is always nice, that you start looking at San Francisco.
00:04:36.800 I think we can make San Francisco one of our great cities 10 years ago, 15 years ago,
00:04:41.780 and now it's a mess, and we have great support in San Francisco.
00:04:45.360 So I'd like to recommend that for inclusion, maybe in your next group.
00:04:49.940 You'll get great support.
00:04:51.380 Longtime Democratic donor, Salesforce founder and CEO Mark Benioff,
00:04:55.700 whose company is headquartered in San Francisco,
00:04:57.860 telling the New York Times last week he supports President Trump
00:05:01.340 and believes the National Guard should be deployed to his city.
00:05:05.580 Benioff since softening his stance following widespread backlash from Democrats,
00:05:10.960 now suddenly saying,
00:05:12.000 What I meant when I said we need the National Guard here was collaboration works.
00:05:18.440 After all, I bring in extra law enforcement when I have my big company conference in San Francisco.
00:05:24.160 That's all.
00:05:25.300 So by bring in the National Guard, he really meant don't bring in the National Guard,
00:05:30.960 but collaborate with private rent-a-cops?
00:05:34.900 Okay.
00:05:35.740 Turns out not everyone can take a beating from the left and not cave.
00:05:39.580 California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat,
00:05:42.560 is currently suing the Trump administration over deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles.
00:05:47.480 In September, a judge blocking the National Guard from engaging in domestic law enforcement activity.
00:05:52.820 That decision paused following an appeal by the Trump administration.
00:05:56.420 Those legal proceedings are ongoing.
00:06:00.840 Mexican cartels are reportedly coordinating with U.S. domestic extremist groups
00:06:05.680 targeting ICE and Customs and Border Protection, or CBP,
00:06:09.240 officials in Chicago with bounties, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
00:06:14.800 DHS announcing in a Tuesday bulletin,
00:06:16.860 quote,
00:06:17.220 These criminal networks have issued explicit instructions to U.S.-based sympathetics,
00:06:22.740 including street gangs in Chicago,
00:06:24.780 to monitor, harass, and assassinate federal agents.
00:06:29.000 DHS saying gang members affiliated with the Latin Kings gang
00:06:32.420 deploying spotters armed with radios and guns to rooftops,
00:06:36.760 tracking and relaying locations of ICE and CBP agents.
00:06:40.120 The memo stating this activity has led to, quote,
00:06:43.080 ambushes and disruptions during routine enforcement actions.
00:06:46.520 The cartels targeting agents with a bounty system,
00:06:49.520 $2,000 for gathering intel on agents or doxing them,
00:06:53.680 $5,000 to $10,000 for kidnapping or assaulting an agent,
00:06:58.940 and up to $50,000 for assassinating high-ranking officials.
00:07:04.080 The bulletin also stating Antifa groups in Chicago and Portland have, quote,
00:07:08.080 provided logistical support such as pre-staged protest supplies,
00:07:12.560 doxing of agent identities,
00:07:14.560 and on-the-ground interference to shield cartel-linked individuals from deportation.
00:07:19.920 DHS Secretary Kristi Noem posting on X, quote,
00:07:23.060 Their campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our homeland
00:07:26.900 will be crushed, and these cartel members will be brought to their knees.
00:07:31.260 President Trump and I have the backs of every member of law enforcement across our nation.
00:07:35.140 Last week, DHS announcing the arrest of a Latin Kings gang member in the country illegally
00:07:40.820 for allegedly placing a $10,000 bounty on Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino.
00:07:47.100 Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both Democrats,
00:07:51.360 have yet to weigh in on the bounty system.
00:07:55.040 Coming up, the U.S. Supreme Court hearing arguments in a case that could have a major
00:07:59.420 effect on how congressional maps are drawn.
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00:09:05.380 The Supreme Court on Wednesday hearing arguments in a case that could have major ramifications
00:09:12.820 for congressional maps nationwide and potentially reshape the Voting Rights Act.
00:09:17.760 The case, Louisiana v. Calais, centering on a redrawn district in Louisiana
00:09:23.660 and a clash between competing court rulings over race-based boundaries.
00:09:29.080 In 2022, Louisiana adopting a congressional map with one majority Black district.
00:09:35.420 Louisiana's population is about one-third Black, and the state has six total seats.
00:09:40.660 A group of Black voters suing in federal court, arguing the map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,
00:09:47.640 which bars election rules or maps that, quote,
00:09:50.580 result in a denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the U.S.
00:09:55.160 to vote on account of race or color.
00:09:58.000 A federal district court agreed the map likely violated the Voting Rights Act,
00:10:01.840 directing the state to create a new map, including a second majority Black district, which it did.
00:10:08.620 In 2024, that new map facing a legal challenge from a group of non-Black voters, 0.99
00:10:15.140 who argued the map with two majority Black districts was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
00:10:21.620 A different U.S. district court agreed, ruling that the new map violated the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
00:10:28.320 The case was appealed up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard argument on that case in March,
00:10:34.220 but which then, in June, in a rare move, asked the parties to re-argue the case and to focus on a larger constitutional issue.
00:10:42.620 That led to Wednesday's argument.
00:10:45.280 Louisiana initially defended its new map, but has since switched sides,
00:10:49.820 joining the non-Black voters who say the new map is unconstitutional.
00:10:53.180 The Trump administration also backs the non-Black voters. 0.94
00:10:57.520 The state describing itself as, in, quote,
00:10:59.880 an endless game of ping-pong,
00:11:01.900 emphasizing to the court that this redistricting saga must end.
00:11:06.080 The Black voters agreeing with that latter point,
00:11:08.880 but arguing the non-Black voters cannot meet the
00:11:11.440 high bar of proving the new map is unconstitutional.
00:11:15.340 We spoke with senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation,
00:11:19.140 Hans von Spakovsky,
00:11:20.360 who says the Voting Rights Act has been misinterpreted and misapplied by federal courts.
00:11:26.140 The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965.
00:11:29.360 It was intended to stop the kind of outright discrimination that was going on throughout the South at that time.
00:11:36.740 That kind of discrimination has almost completely disappeared.
00:11:40.680 So what it's been now being used for and has for the last two decades is the NAACP and others come in making 0.93
00:11:49.680 not a claim that their voters have been denied the ability to vote,
00:11:53.740 but their vote has been diluted, diluted.
00:11:58.120 And as the Deputy Solicitor General for the U.S. Department of Justice argued before the Supreme Court,
00:12:06.200 he said, look, the problem is the judges haven't been actually figuring out whether there's an unfair effect based on race.
00:12:15.180 And that is not what the Voting Rights Act was intended to do to help one political party or not.
00:12:28.200 It was supposed to stop outright racial discrimination in the voting context.
00:12:33.200 Spakovsky says the group arguing for the creation of a second Black majority district does not have the law on their side.
00:12:41.200 Look, the basic argument of those who first sued was that because Black residents of Louisiana are about 30, 35 percent of the population,
00:12:52.180 they deserve two of the six congressional seats.
00:12:55.360 They didn't really have any evidence of of current discrimination being practiced by the state legislature.
00:13:02.460 And that is a not only is that a wrong interpretation of Section 2, but Section 2 specifically has language saying
00:13:10.840 that it does not guarantee proportional representation based on the ratio of minorities in a particular population.
00:13:19.600 In a particularly striking moment during yesterday's arguments,
00:13:22.480 Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson drawing a comparison between Black voters and disabled Americans.
00:13:29.840 And my kind of paradigmatic example of this is something like the ADA.
00:13:36.320 Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act against the backdrop of a world that was generally not accessible to people with disabilities.
00:13:45.660 And so it was discriminatory in effect.
00:13:48.540 Congress said the facilities have to be made equally open to people with disabilities if readily possible.
00:13:56.460 I guess I don't understand why that's not what's happening here.
00:13:59.860 The idea in Section 2 is that we are responding to current day manifestations of past and present decisions
00:14:09.680 that disadvantage minorities and make it so that they don't have equal access to the voting system, right?
00:14:18.060 They're disabled. 1.00
00:14:19.040 In fact, we use the word disabled in Milligan.
00:14:21.900 We say that's a way in which you see that these processes are not equally open.
00:14:28.320 Spakovsky's reaction here.
00:14:29.760 That is an absurd claim that does not match reality.
00:14:37.080 All you have to do is look at the number of Black elected officials throughout the country,
00:14:44.000 and particularly in the South, the former Confederacy.
00:14:47.460 There are Black elected officials there at the state, local, and federal level.
00:14:53.240 That claim is a patronizingly racist attitude towards Black voters and Black elected officials.
00:15:02.420 The media, sensing that the high court appears likely to side with Louisiana and the Trump administration,
00:15:09.200 suggesting, quote, Black voting rights are under siege at the court.
00:15:13.800 USA Today, describing this challenge to the Voting Rights Act as perilous.
00:15:18.620 The New York Times, quote, it sure looks like the Voting Rights Act is doomed.
00:15:23.760 The New York Times reporting that the court could, quote, gut the remaining pillar of the act.
00:15:27.800 These predictions are overblown, says Spakovsky.
00:15:30.920 I don't think the Supreme Court's going to throw out Section 2.
00:15:34.720 I just think they're going to come out with much stronger rules saying you can't order this kind of race-based remedy
00:15:42.540 unless there was real discrimination going on.
00:15:45.100 More than a decade ago, the Supreme Court threw out as unconstitutional another provision of the Voting Rights Act, Section 5.
00:15:53.520 That was a provision that required a small handful of states, mostly those in the Old South,
00:16:00.040 to get pre-approval of any changes in their voting rights laws.
00:16:04.020 The same people who are claiming that the sky is going to fall in, in this case, were apoplectic when that happened
00:16:13.020 and claimed that all kinds of terrible racial discrimination would be reinstituted.
00:16:19.300 That did not happen.
00:16:21.660 And I predict exactly the same effect with the current case.
00:16:26.260 Spakovsky getting to the heart of the media's outcry if the court rules as he predicts it will.
00:16:30.800 It will stop what has been happening in many federal courts where federal judges have misapplied the Voting Rights Act
00:16:41.400 to not stop racial discrimination but to stop election losses by the Democratic Party
00:16:49.360 because they confuse politics with race.
00:16:53.220 It's unclear when the justices will release their decision,
00:16:56.600 but Louisiana Secretary of State Nancy Landry, urging the High Court to rule quickly, 0.70
00:17:01.660 the state's primary is set for April 18th.
00:17:06.660 And that'll do it for your AM Update.
00:17:08.600 I'm Megan Kelly.
00:17:09.540 Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show, live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east,
00:17:14.520 on youtube.com slash megankelly, and on all podcast platforms.
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