Trump Pushes for Peace, DNC Civil War Over Hogg, Michelle's Inauguration Excuse： AM Update 4⧸25
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Summary
A civil war bruise inside the DNC, as Vice Chair David Hogg launches an outside campaign to unseat fellow Democrats, and Michelle Obama opens up on skipping the Inauguration and the burdens of being her. All that and more coming up in just a moment on Your Morning Update with Megan Kelly ( )!
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, April 25th, 2025. And this is your
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AM update. We may have to conclude that they're so far apart that peace is impossible at this
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time. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing an increasing impatience with Russia-Ukraine
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peace negotiations as the Trump administration reaches its deadline to strike a deal.
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As I've said to him, if you want to challenge in comments, you're more than free to do that,
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but just not as an officer of the DNC. A Civil War bruise inside the DNC as Vice Chair David Hogg
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launches an outside campaign to unseat fellow Democrats. And Michelle Obama opens up on
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skipping the inauguration and the burdens of being her. All that and more coming up in just a moment
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The Trump administration expressing cautious optimism about reaching a Russia-Ukraine peace deal
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as Ukraine rejects the most recent proposal and Russia ramps up attacks on Ukrainian civilian
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infrastructure. On Thursday, President Trump addressing the ongoing talks while hosting the
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Norwegian prime minister at the White House. I don't like that it takes long at all,
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but I think they both want to make peace. I do believe so. There's a lot of hatred there.
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There's a lot of very bad blood, a lot of distrust, but I think we're going to,
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I hope we're going to get there for the sake of a lot of young people that are dying.
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I have my own deadline and we want it to be fast and the prime minister is helping us. He wants it
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to be fast too. And I think everybody in this, you know, at this time in NATO, they want to see
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this thing happen. The White House previously stating the desire to finish a deal by the 100-day
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mark of the second Trump administration. President Trump's tone remaining optimistic as other White
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House officials express an increasing impatience. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Wednesday
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And I remain hopeful that we can get something done because this is a terrible war and it needs to end
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because it has no military solution. There is no military solution to this war. We have to be
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frank. You know, Russia is not just going to roll over Ukraine and take the whole country and
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Ukraine is not going to push them all the way back to where they were before 2014. So what I
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would say we're involved in is understanding what is the Russian position. We have a better
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understanding of that now because we've actually spoken to them after three years of not speaking
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to them. What is the Ukrainian position? And figure out, are these guys even in the same
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neighborhood? Because if they're in completely different zip codes, then we may have to conclude
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that they're so far apart that peace is impossible at this time. We've done our best. We put a lot of time
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and energy at the highest levels of our government. We'll continue to be willing to do so as long as
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there's a realistic path forward. If at some point we determine that we're just too far apart and not
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enough movement is happening, we may need to move on to other priorities because there are a lot of
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important things happening in the world. But ultimately, it's not up to us. It's up to Russia
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and it's up to Ukraine. They have to make the decision that they're willing to move closer to one
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another. Vice President J.D. Vance conveying a similar sentiment earlier this week.
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We've issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians and it's time for
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them to either say yes or for the United States to walk away from this process. I feel pretty
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optimistic about it. I think everybody has been negotiating in good faith, but it's now time I
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think to take, if not the final step, one of the final steps, which is at a broad level, the party's
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saying we're going to stop the killing. We're going to freeze the territorial lines at some level close
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to where they are today and we're going to actually put in place the kind of long-term
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diplomatic settlement that hopefully will lead to long-term peace. Ukrainian President Volodymyr
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Zelensky rejecting the U.S.-backed peace proposal presented last week in Paris, calling it too biased
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toward Russia. Mr. Zelensky saying the plan offers clear concessions to Russia and only vague promises
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to Ukraine. According to Axios, the plan includes formal U.S. recognition of Crimea as Russian territory,
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a key demand from Russian President Vladimir Putin and a red line for President Zelensky.
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The peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of the U.N. charter prohibiting member
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states from using force to change international borders. President Zelensky at a Tuesday presser
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saying, quote, Ukraine will not legally recognize the occupation of Crimea. There is nothing to talk
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about here. This is against our Constitution. President Trump responding on Truth Social, calling
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President Zelensky's stance, quote, very harmful, writing, quote, Crimea was lost years ago under
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Obama and is not even a point of discussion. It's inflammatory statements like Zelensky's that make
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it so difficult to settle this war. Multiple outlets, including Axios, The Washington Post,
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and Politico, reporting the deal also includes lifting Russian sanctions. Secretary Rubio responding to
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that reporting on X, writing, this is unequivocally false. Neither Steve Witkoff nor I have had any
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conversations about lifting sanctions against Russia as part of a deal with Ukraine. In response to
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President Zelensky's resistance, Russia ramping up attacks against Ukraine on Thursday, launching the
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deadliest barrage in nine months. CNN reporting 70 missiles and 145 drones striking targets, mostly in
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Kyiv. Ukraine emergency services stating at least 12 killed and more than 90 injured across 13 locations,
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including civilian areas, with the possibility of those numbers increasing as rescue crews search
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through the rubble. President Trump posting to Truth Social on Thursday, quote, I am not happy with the
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Russian strikes on Kyiv. Not necessary and very bad timing. Vladimir, stop. 5,000 soldiers a week are dying.
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Let's get the peace deal done. A civil war brewing within the Democratic National Committee sparked
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by newly elected Vice Chair David Hogg's plan to use his PAC, Leaders We Deserve, to target members of
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his own party. Last week, Mr. Hogg, who rose to national prominence as a gun control activist after the
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2018 Parkland school shooting, launching a $20 million campaign to unseat Democrats in safe blue
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districts. His goal to replace them with candidates he claims will revitalize the party. Mr. Hogg laid out
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the effort on Friday to Scripps News. The work that we're doing is twofold. One, we're looking to elect
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the most effective Democrats possible. Part of that looks like challenging Democrats that are failing to
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meet the moment right now. Our party has a 27 percent approval rating and specifically challenging
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Democrats that are in safer Democratic seats that in no way, shape or form risk us losing a majority
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in Congress by any means whatsoever. Our party is in a moment of crisis. Our country is a moment of
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crisis right now. And we have to show people how we are actively working, not to push out older people
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by any means, but push out ineffective people and bring in the most effective leaders that are ready
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to meet this moment. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Sunday responding to the announcement.
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I look forward to standing behind every single Democratic incumbent from the most progressive
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to the most centrist and all points in between. They're working hard in their communities, rising to
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the occasion this past week. We had, of course, a Medicaid Matters Day of Action, a safe Social Security
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Day of Action, and we have to continue to do all of the things. That's why we have elections every two
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years. Primaries are a fact of life. But here's the thing. I'm going to really focus on trying to
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defeat Republican incumbents so we can take back control of the House of Representatives and begin
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the process of ending this national nightmare that's being visited upon us by far-right extremism.
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DNC Chairman Ken Martin calling out Mr. Hogg Thursday on NewsNation.
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As I've said to him, if you want to challenge incumbents, you're more than free to do that,
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but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters.
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We can't be both the referee and also the player at the same time. You have to make a decision.
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The chairman pushing a proposal that would require officers to take a neutrality pledge.
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Such a pledge would force Mr. Hogg to either step back from his PAC or vacate his post within the DNC.
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Mr. Hogg publicly vowing to fight to keep his position, though political reports Mr. Hogg told
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two Democrats he is willing to lose the vice chair position. The push for reform comes amid mounting
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distrust from the party's progressive wing, long critical of the DNC's treatment of outsider
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candidates. In 2016, leaked DNC emails revealing internal bias against Bernie Sanders, prompting the
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resignation of then-chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz. In 2020, similar suspicions arose when Sanders led
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early only to see Joe Biden surge after a South Carolina win, boosted by what appeared to be a
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coordinated exit and endorsement by Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, and Beto O'Rourke just days before
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Super Tuesday. Chairman Martin's neutrality proposal is expected to be voted on at the DNC's August meeting.
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Coming up, a first-of-its-kind terrorism case, the DOJ targeting a top member of Venezuelan gang
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Trenda Aragua, and Michelle Obama opens up about skipping the Trump inauguration in January.
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As President Trump is settling into his new administration, one of the top Democrats in
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Congress aiming to undermine the Trump agenda is Democrat Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
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And according to our sponsor, the Electronic Payments Coalition, Senator Durbin has a new
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plan, a government takeover of your credit card. Today, Americans have thousands of choices in
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credit cards, but they say Senator Durbin's plan will result in less competition and less security,
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which means more risk for your credit and your identity. You can learn more for yourself at
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guardyourcard.org, and you could consider telling your senators to stop Dick Durbin's government
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takeover of your credit card before it's too late.
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The DOJ this week bringing its first-ever terrorism case against an alleged high-ranking
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member of the Trenda Aragua gang. President Trump designated the Venezuela-based group a foreign
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terrorist organization earlier this year. The designation allows the Justice Department to
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prosecute members under federal anti-terrorism laws to seize assets, to increase penalties, and
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coordinate more closely with international law enforcement. Federal prosecutors charging 24-year-old
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Jose Enrique Martinez-Flores with conspiring to provide and providing material support to a
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designated foreign terrorist organization, as well as conspiracy and distribution of cocaine in
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Colombia, intended for distribution in the U.S. Mr. Flores apprehended by Colombian officials in March
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at the request of the American government. He remains in custody there as prosecutors move
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forward with the charges filed in Texas. According to the indictment, Mr. Flores is a high-ranking leader
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within Trenda Aragua's operations in Bogota, Colombia, allegedly orchestrating the delivery of
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large quantities of cocaine with the proceeds funding the gang's activity. If convicted on all charges,
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Mr. Flores faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. Attorney General Pam
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Bondi saying the charges, quote, represent an inflection point in how this Department of Justice
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will prosecute and ultimately dismantle this evil organization, which has destroyed American families
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and poisoned our communities. How long till the ACLU says we're not allowed to prosecute this guy?
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Former First Lady Michelle Obama opening up on her podcast, IMO, to actress Taraji P. Henson about
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burnout, boundaries, and how hard it is to be her. Mrs. Obama addressing her controversial absence from
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President Trump's inauguration as a form of self-care. But then this is what makes it hard because,
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you know, my decision to skip the inauguration, you know, what people don't realize, or my
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decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and
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criticism. Like, people couldn't believe that I was saying no for any other reason, that they had to
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assume that my marriage was falling apart, you know. It's like, while I'm here really trying to own my life
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and intentionally practice making the choice that was right for me, and it took everything in my power
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to not do the thing that was right or that was perceived as right, but do the thing that was
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right for me, that was a hard thing for me to do. I had to basically trick myself out of it, and it
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started with not having anything to wear. I mean, I had affirmatively, because I'm always prepared for
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any funeral, anything. I walk around with the right dress. I travel with clothes just in case something
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pops off. So I was like, if I'm not going to do this thing, I got to tell my team, I don't even want
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to have a dress ready, right? Because it's so easy to just say, let me do the right thing.
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Ms. Henson lavishing praise on the former first lady, saying, quote,
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when do you ever get to live for you? Ms. Obama then complaining that as a Black woman,
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she is not allowed to give voice to her pain. We grew up with women who weren't voicing the pain
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and the burden. They made it look easy. And when you make stuff look easy, people assume that you
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must like this. It's okay with you, right? We don't articulate as Black women our pain,
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because it's almost like nobody ever gave us permission to do that.
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Well, if we knew, I think we would care. If we knew. If we knew.
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Or, you know, yeah. And we have to ask ourselves, the men in our lives is, you know, why wait to be
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asked? You know, it seems like what we go through is pretty obvious. I mean, maybe we're not
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complaining, but we're actually living life out loud.
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She went on to lament how hard she had it in the White House those eight years.
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So I'm at this stage in life where I have to define my life on my terms for the first time.
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So what are those terms? And going to therapy, just to work all that out. Like, what happened
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that eight years that we were in the White House? What did that do to me?
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Internally, my soul, we made it through. We got out alive. I hope we made the country proud.
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My girls, thank God, are whole. But what happened to me?
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The White House is 55,000 square feet with 18 acres and a full staff of people who wait on the
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first family hand and foot. Mrs. Obama now enjoys three luxury mansions, including a seven-bedroom,
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$20 million estate in Martha's Vineyard, a multimillion-dollar Netflix and book deal,
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as well as worldwide adulation and two healthy, elite university-educated daughters.
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And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show,
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live on SiriusXM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash megankelly,
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