The Megyn Kelly Show - Trump's Midterm Campaign Trail Push, Botched Pike Execution, Diddy Back in Solitary： AM Update 10⧸2

00:00:00.000 Hey, guys, Megyn Kelly here. Like millions of you, I love true crime content. So this summer,

00:00:07.220 we created the show I always wanted to listen to. We're calling it MK Confidential. One case

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00:00:26.120 Search for The Megyn Kelly Show wherever you listen to podcasts.

00:00:29.240 You'll find it there.

00:00:32.840 Good morning, everyone.

00:00:34.160 I'm Emily Jashinsky, host of After Party and The Megyn Kelly Wrap-Up Show on Sirius XM Channel 111.

00:00:39.180 It's Friday, October 2nd, 2026, and this is your AM update.

00:00:42.940 This has gotten really ugly in the last month or so for Republicans.

00:00:47.360 New warning signs for Republicans five weeks from Election Day as President Trump insists

00:00:52.120 he can personally pull GOP candidates across the finish line, even while some in his own party

00:00:57.780 reportedly want him nowhere near their races. I covered all the executions last year and most

00:01:04.960 of the ones this year. We haven't seen anything like it. It went really poorly. Tennessee trying

00:01:10.580 and failing to execute the only woman on the state's death row, leaving Krista Pike alive

00:01:16.180 after two doses of the lethal drug and triggering a halt to execution statewide.

00:01:21.440 Sean Diddy Combs reportedly back in solitary confinement after new allegations about the

00:01:26.420 booze, contraband phones, special meals, and paid help surrounding his life behind bars.

00:01:32.540 And a whale slamming into a yacht in the middle of the South Pacific,

00:01:36.620 leaving four sailors in an 18-hour fight to survive before their boat sinks beneath them.

00:01:42.160 All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.

00:01:46.180 We are just over a month out, but the midterms are fast approaching. And make no mistake,

00:01:54.260 if the House flips, it's a big deal for our economy. What if the House and the Senate flip?

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00:02:32.300 info kit and some solid info. The midterms are going to be here before you know it.

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00:02:42.260 Five weeks from Election Day, President Trump preparing to hit the campaign trail nearly every day through the midterms,

00:02:48.620 even as new polling shows growing dissatisfaction with his presidency, including among Republicans.

00:02:54.300 A new AP poll finding just 17% of Americans approve of the president's handling of the cost of living,

00:03:00.120 while just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall.

00:03:03.700 The number's particularly striking inside the president's own party.

00:03:08.100 About 6 in 10 Republicans now disapproving of Mr. Trump's handling of the cost of living.

00:03:13.340 Only half did in April.

00:03:15.320 More than half of Republicans, 52%, saying his handling of the issue has gone worse than they expected.

00:03:21.300 Only 36% of Republicans saying President Trump keeps his promises,

00:03:25.580 while another 48% says he tries to keep them, but has been unable.

00:03:30.380 The president rejecting the premise that Americans should blame him for the affordability crunch,

00:03:35.120 telling Time Magazine this week he inherited historically high inflation and has already

00:03:39.060 brought down prices in several areas. Mr. Trump saying gas remains the major problem,

00:03:44.340 insisting almost everything else is now coming down rapidly. Time then asking the president

00:03:49.760 whether he expects Democrats to take control of Congress in November. Mr. Trump saying no,

00:03:54.200 and arguing the difference could be him. The president telling Time, quote,

00:03:57.900 I think we'll do okay if I campaign, and I intend to, before adding, quote,

00:04:01.920 if I campaign for people, those people are going to win. That confidence coming as some Republicans

00:04:07.420 are reportedly much less enthusiastic about having the president standing beside them.

00:04:12.280 Politico reporting several Republicans in competitive races have privately urged the

00:04:16.480 White House to keep Mr. Trump away from districts where his approval numbers are underwater.

00:04:22.080 One GOP operative joking that if the president showed up in a battleground state, quote,

00:04:26.720 I suspect my candidates would come down with COVID.

00:04:30.640 The concern apparently less about the Republican voters Mr. Trump can turn out,

00:04:34.520 and more about the independents and swing voters those candidates still need.

00:04:38.700 The White House pushing back strongly, calling President Trump the Republican Party's

00:04:42.880 quote, unequivocal leader, best messenger, and unmatched motivator.

00:04:48.040 President Trump yesterday acknowledging to reporters there's at least one issue

00:04:51.740 that could work against Republicans at the ballot box.

00:04:54.520 Laura Trump said today that the Iran war may threaten the midterms for you.

00:04:59.420 She said that last night, that it could tank the midterms.

00:05:02.100 Do you agree with her or disagree with that?

00:05:03.900 Well, it's possible. It should help.

00:05:06.960 Because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

00:05:09.440 So when you say, is it okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,

00:05:13.920 I would say 100% of the people say no, including worldwide. 1.00

00:05:18.120 So when you say it that way, it would help.

00:05:21.740 If you don't say that, it could hurt.

00:05:23.580 The AP poll finding 71% of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of Iran,

00:05:29.480 while 69% say the war has not been worth fighting.

00:05:33.740 Only 60% of Republicans support the president's handling of Iran.

00:05:37.560 Mr. Trump defending the war in his Time interview,

00:05:40.220 arguing the U.S. has destroyed Iran's nuclear capability, Navy, Air Force, and radar.

00:05:46.020 Asked about his earlier prediction that the war would be shorter,

00:05:49.260 the president blaming the press for how Americans understood his remarks.

00:05:53.580 the political environment deteriorating quickly enough that veteran election analyst and Cook

00:05:58.000 political report founder Charlie Cook telling Bloomberg earlier this week, the picture has

00:06:02.620 changed dramatically just since this summer. This has gotten really ugly in the last month

00:06:07.820 or so for Republicans. I'm no meteorologist, but it seems like there are three weather fronts

00:06:12.880 colliding simultaneously. You know, Iran, the Strait of Hormuz with energy prices,

00:06:20.780 general affordability, tariffs, impact on farmers, and then just sort of miscellaneous.

00:06:27.260 They're all hitting right as independent voters focus. They don't really start focusing until

00:06:33.080 September. And it all seemed to come together. Things did not look that bad for Republicans

00:06:38.540 three months ago. CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten pointing to one potential bright spot for

00:06:44.360 Republicans. Let's just say that the GOP outperforms their Midwest polls like they did in

00:06:49.340 2018 and 2024. Well, what do you get? You get a red Michigan. You get a red Ohio. You get a red

00:06:55.380 Iowa. And all of a sudden, even if Democrats carry states like Texas, Georgia, North Carolina,

00:07:00.320 and Alaska, well, guess what you get? You get a 50-50 Senate with J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking

00:07:07.220 vote. So if history holds in terms of the GOP outperforming their September polls, well, there's

00:07:12.800 a very, very strong chance that Republicans hold on the United States Senate, even if Democrats

00:07:16.740 win in places they don't historically win in, like Texas.

00:07:19.760 The president showing no sign he accepts the broader warning signs in the polling.

00:07:23.760 Time putting it to him directly this week, telling Mr. Trump his poll numbers have never

00:07:27.620 been lower. The president responding, quote, they're fake numbers.

00:07:33.060 Tennessee now halting executions after officials tried and failed to put convicted killer Krista

00:07:38.620 Pike to death, despite giving her two doses of the drug intended to kill her.

00:07:43.340 The 50-year-old surviving what the Associated Press describes as Tennessee's second failed

00:07:47.460 execution attempt this year, eventually transporting her from the prison to a hospital Wednesday night.

00:07:53.480 Pike originally scheduled to die by lethal injection at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning.

00:07:58.100 The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issuing a last-minute stay roughly an hour beforehand,

00:08:02.060 allowing more time to consider Pike's attempt to reopen an earlier federal proceeding tied to her

00:08:07.280 claims of childhood sexual abuse. Tennessee appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

00:08:12.700 The state arguing the delay was inflicting additional trauma on the family of Pike's victim

00:08:17.040 and rewarding what the Attorney General's office called, quote, abusive delay tactics.

00:08:21.580 The Supreme Court lifting the stay later Wednesday, allowing Tennessee to move ahead with the execution.

00:08:27.340 Witnesses brought into the execution area shortly before 6.45 Wednesday evening,

00:08:31.820 the curtains opening at 7.27, revealing Pike strapped to the gurney.

00:08:36.220 Pike delivering what she apparently believed would be her final words,

00:08:39.020 saying she was at peace and intended to leave the world, quote, in love. Then things began going

00:08:45.420 wrong. Media witnesses saying Pike complained minutes later that her arm felt like it was

00:08:50.140 about to burst. Pike continuing to breathe, at different points reportedly talking, moving her

00:08:55.680 head, and loudly snoring, the curtains repeatedly closing and reopening during the process.

00:09:01.860 By about 8.26, witnesses told the Associated Press that the officials had administered a

00:09:06.940 second dose, a pentobarbital. Still, Pike did not die, witnesses continuing to hear her snoring

00:09:13.060 behind the closed curtain until officials caught the microphone shortly before 9 p.m. and ordered

00:09:18.280 them out of the area. WPLN reporter Catherine Sweeney among the journalists who witnessed the

00:09:23.960 attempted execution. When they told us to leave at 8.53, Krista Pike was still breathing. They did

00:09:31.040 two separate rounds of pentobarbital which i've never seen before basically all i have to say is

00:09:37.680 they went through two rounds and she was still breathing at the end was very ragged

00:09:42.400 she lifted her head up and was looking around at one point she said that um she said that there was

00:09:50.080 a spot that was burning and hurting and asked if that was normal um none of none of it was normal

00:09:56.480 I covered all the executions last year and most of the ones this year.

00:10:01.280 We haven't seen anything like it.

00:10:03.400 It went really poorly.

00:10:05.320 Pike's attorneys filing emergency motions while the execution was still unfolding,

00:10:09.820 asking state and federal courts to stop the process.

00:10:13.540 The lawyers arguing Pike was being subjected to, quote,

00:10:15.980 unnecessary agony in violation of the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

00:10:21.780 Pike ultimately transported by ambulance to an off-site hospital.

00:10:25.720 Her attorney, Randy Spivey, saying Thursday afternoon,

00:10:28.400 Pike is in critical condition and remains alive while receiving what he described as life-saving medical care.

00:10:34.600 Spivey saying her prognosis remains unclear, then calling the failed execution, quote,

00:10:39.120 cruel, torturous, and predictable.

00:10:41.680 The mother of Pike's victim, furious over how the night unfolded.

00:10:45.620 Mae Martinez telling NBC News officials eventually asked the victim's family to leave,

00:10:49.640 only later informing them the execution had failed and Pike was headed to the hospital.

00:10:55.040 Martinez calling the entire process, quote, a mess, then putting it more bluntly, quote,

00:10:59.780 they effed up. The Tennessee Department of Correction insisting officials followed every

00:11:04.620 step of the state's approved execution protocol. The department saying pentobarbital has, quote,

00:11:09.720 consistently been effective, but acknowledging the protocol provided no additional procedure

00:11:14.020 once the two doses had been administered. Pike's attorneys offering a very different account.

00:11:19.460 They claimed the failure involved difficult vein access, blown veins, and the absence of emergency

00:11:24.740 medical care inside the execution protocol. Those claims have not yet been independently

00:11:29.640 established, and exactly what went wrong remains under investigation. Governor Bill Lee now ordering

00:11:36.080 an outside review. I'm highly disappointed, along with Tennesseans, about what happened last night.

00:11:42.560 I immediately took action to call for a thorough and comprehensive and third-party

00:11:52.080 review an investigation into the protocol. That investigation will be thorough and it's going to

00:11:59.740 take time. Therefore, the last scheduled execution for this year will not take place.

00:12:06.920 Tennesseans deserve a justice system that's fair, that's consistent, that is

00:12:13.120 faithfully administered. My responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries

00:12:20.200 have handed down, even when it's difficult. And that is exactly what we intend to do.

00:12:27.980 The Associated Press reporting she remains under a death sentence, 0.84

00:12:31.820 setting up another legal battle over whether Tennessee can ever attempt to execute her again.

00:12:37.840 Coming up, Sean Diddy Combs, reportedly losing the cushy prison setup fellow inmates described,

00:12:42.880 now sent back to solitary confinement as officials investigate how he was living behind bars.

00:12:48.080 and four sailors stranded hundreds of miles from land

00:12:50.980 after a sperm whale badly damages their yacht,

00:12:54.000 forcing them into a life raft

00:12:55.400 as the boat disappears beneath the waves.

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00:14:00.160 Sean Diddy Combs reportedly back in solitary confinement one day after a report about the

00:14:05.980 lavish life he has been living behind bars.

00:14:08.760 TMZ reporting Combs was moved into the special housing unit or SHU at Fort Dix Federal Prison

00:14:13.440 in New Jersey.

00:14:14.800 Sources telling TMZ that moving an inmate into the shoe is reportedly standard procedure

00:14:19.020 while prison officials investigate allegations like these.

00:14:22.300 NBC reporting earlier this week that Combs has allegedly been spending thousands of dollars a month

00:14:27.000 to make his 50-month prison sentence considerably more comfortable.

00:14:30.520 Four men who spent time in his unit claiming Combs has access to contraband, cell phones, and premium liquor.

00:14:35.480 Well, paying fellow inmates to cook special meals, clean his bathroom, make his bed, do his laundry,

00:14:40.880 and even give him massages.

00:14:43.280 One inmate claiming he prepared pizza, curry chicken, and empanadas for the music mogul,

00:14:47.600 while NBC also reviewed footage appearing to show Combs using a contraband cell phone.

00:14:52.800 Combs' representative pushing back on the allegations,

00:14:55.220 saying the media is turning ordinary details of prison life into news,

00:14:58.580 and maintaining Combs as serving his sentence within the rules.

00:15:01.640 This is reportedly not his first day in solitary at Fort Dix.

00:15:05.740 Combs was placed in the SHU over the summer after an alleged fight with another inmate,

00:15:09.700 The 56-year-old, serving 50 months after his 2025 conviction on two prostitution-related

00:15:15.400 transportation charges, he's currently scheduled for release in January of 2028.

00:15:21.740 Four sailors rescued from the remote South Pacific after spending nearly 18 hours fighting

00:15:27.060 to survive, their yacht badly damaged in a collision with a sperm whale, before eventually

00:15:31.680 sinking beneath them. CBS News reporting the four-person crew was sailing aboard the Taitam,

00:15:36.600 roughly 250 nautical miles north of Norfolk Island Saturday,

00:15:40.840 when the boat was suddenly struck hard enough

00:15:42.860 to knock one of the sailors away from the wheel.

00:15:45.600 Australian crew member Gemma Cooper telling AFP

00:15:48.080 she heard a loud impact before the yacht lurched sideways.

00:15:52.060 Cooper saying she initially could not tell what had happened,

00:15:54.920 then spotting a sperm whale in the water and several more nearby.

00:15:58.740 Her husband, Jeremy Cooper, telling AFP

00:16:00.840 he had been sleeping below deck,

00:16:02.660 waking to discover serious damage to the yacht

00:16:04.820 and water already rushing inside. CBS reporting the collision damaged the steering system

00:16:10.340 and left several brakes in the hull. The crew sending out an emergency distress signal roughly

00:16:15.320 half an hour later, then spending hours trying to keep the yacht afloat. According to AFP,

00:16:20.720 a French crew member attempting makeshift repairs using expansion foam and at one point going into

00:16:26.280 the water to inspect the underside of the damaged boat. The New Zealand Defense Force saying rescue

00:16:31.940 officials received the distress beacon around 1 p.m. Saturday, then dispatched a Royal New Zealand

00:16:37.700 Air Force P-8A Poseidon to locate the crew and help coordinate a rescue. CBS reporting the sailors

00:16:44.240 remained aboard for as long as they could, eventually abandoning the yacht late that night

00:16:48.260 and moving into a life raft. The sinking boat initially remained tied to the raft. AFP reporting

00:16:53.660 the crew finally cut the tether early Sunday morning, worried the yacht could pull them

00:16:58.020 underwater as it went down, the Taitam sinking shortly afterward. The sailors then wading in

00:17:04.000 the life raft until a 470-foot container ship reached them around 6 a.m. Sunday. Within about

00:17:10.480 half an hour, all four sailors had climbed aboard, Cooper saying they were met with coffee and a

00:17:15.700 chance to speak with the captain. All four sailors making it out safely, bringing an

00:17:20.680 unbelievable Pacific voyage to an end without a single reported injury.

00:17:24.460 that'll do it for your am update i'm emily joshinsky host of afterparty go and check out

00:17:31.500 more at afterpartyemily.com catch the megan kelly show later today live on sirius xm's

00:17:36.220 the megan kelly channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash megan kelly and all podcast

00:17:40.980 platforms ford has been lucky enough to spend more than a century with you

00:17:50.500 And if there's one thing we've witnessed, it's this.

00:17:54.600 There's no can't in Canada.

00:17:57.560 Ready, set, forward.

The Megyn Kelly Show - October 02, 2026

Trump's Midterm Campaign Trail Push, Botched Pike Execution, Diddy Back in Solitary： AM Update 10⧸2

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