Waltz Out Amid Security Counsel Shakeup, Bombshell HHS Report on Gender Treatments: AM Update 5⧸2
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Summary
Embattled National Security Advisor Mike Walsh ousted from his post, but secures nomination to UN Ambassador. In an exclusive interview with the Meghan Kelly Show, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard reveals the Trump administration may soon be able to prove exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic started. HHS drops a massive report highlighting the risks of medical interventions on children expressing gender dysphoria. And Kamala Harris returns to the national stage, much to the pleasure of the Trump Administration. All that and more coming up in your AM Update.
Transcript
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Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly. It's Friday, May 2nd, 2025, and this is your AM
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Update. The West Wing's unhappy, the State Department, the Treasury, unhappiness. And
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of course, this was around before Signal Gate. Embattled National Security Advisor Mike
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Walsh ousted from his post, but secures a nomination to UN Ambassador. We are working
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on that with Jay Bhattacharya and look forward to being able to share that, hopefully very
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soon. In an exclusive interview with The Megan Kelly Show, Director of National Intelligence
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Tulsi Gabbard reveals the Trump administration may soon be able to prove exactly how the COVID-19
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pandemic started. Did Anthony Fauci fund the experiment? HHS drops a massive report highlighting
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the risks of medical interventions on children expressing gender dysphoria. And Kamala Harris
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returns to the national stage, much to the pleasure of the Trump administration. All that
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and more coming up in just a moment on your AM Update.
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or just call 972 Patriot. National Security Advisor Mike Walls ousted from his role, though not ejected
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from the administration. President Trump posting to Truth Social on Thursday, quote, I am pleased to
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announce that I will be nominating Mike Walls to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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The president tapping Secretary of State Marco Rubio as acting NSA advisor, in addition to his day job,
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until a replacement is announced. Mark Halperin, host of Next Up on the MK Media platform,
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breaking the news ahead of all major media outlets.
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Three different people, the original source and two others, have confirmed that the plan now by
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the White House is to remove the National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz, who was on Fox News this
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morning, just not that long ago, and his deputy, Alex Wong, and much of the member current staff team
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at the National Security Council because of unhappiness throughout the national security
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establishment of how they're doing. The West Wing's unhappy, the State Department, the Treasury,
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unhappiness. And of course, this was around before Signalgate. It was widely reported that Signalgate
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ironically may have saved Waltz's job because the president didn't want to be seen as if he were
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giving in to Jeffrey Goldberg, his new best friend. But there's lots of levels of unhappiness. And it's
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less about Signalgate than it is about, as I understand it from my sources, a general belief
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that it's not being run efficiently in an organized way. Axios later reporting Mr.
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Walsh's troubles went beyond Signalgate, the March incident in which Mr. Walsh accidentally added
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the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, to a Signal group chat discussing
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attack plans against the Houthis. The outlet reporting Mr. Walsh got on the wrong side of
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everyone, from Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to MAGA influencer Laura Loomer. Mr. Walsh is known for
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his hawkish stance on Iran at a time when some in Trump's inner circle worry the administration
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is edging toward open conflict. On Thursday, Trump ally Charlie Kirk weighing in on the reports.
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Overall, this is a positive development for President Trump's administration. Mike Waltz
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knows that I don't see eye to eye with him on many things. I've said that to him in his face. It's
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nothing personal. I just don't think we should go to war with Iran. As for who may replace Mr.
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Walsh, Mark Halperin reporting the leading contender for the job is Special Envoy Steve Whitcoff.
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Political reporting other top contenders include Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller,
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NSC Senior Director for Counterterrorism Sebastian Gorka, and Trump's Special Envoy for Special
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Missions Richard Grinnell. In an exclusive interview this week, Director of National
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Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard joining The Megyn Kelly Show discussing a range of topics from national
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security leaks to the origins of COVID to what her own political future may hold. In mid-April,
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the New York Times reporting, citing unnamed officials, that Israel wanted U.S. help in
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striking Iranian nuclear sites as early as next month, but was waived off by President Trump,
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whose top aides convinced him to instead pursue a nuclear deal with Tehran. The report describing
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high-level internal deliberations among Trump's top deputies, including Vice President J.D. Vance,
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DNI Gabbard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
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Director Gabbard addressing the leak directly with us, blasting it as illegal and damaging.
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The New York Times article was a result of an unfortunate, unauthorized, and illegal leak of
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a very private conversation between the president and his advisors. I won't get into the details,
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but it was a very robust discussion that really speaks to President Trump's care and thoughtfulness
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as he makes his decisions. Do you feel the push, Tulsi, the push of this like strong neocon strain
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that's still within the Republican Party and probably in these agencies, that's much more hawkish
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on an issue, including war in the Middle East, which we've just done for 20 years?
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Yeah, of course, the pressure's there. The leaks have to end. If the president can't have the
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confidence that he can sit in a room with his closest advisors without it leaking to the public,
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then that is something that really undermines his being best served with the best possible
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information, with debate, robust debate around the table, which you look at the team of people
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he's assembled, he likes that debate because he sees the value in hearing different perspectives
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so that he can make that best informed decision. On COVID, Director Gabbard confirming the Trump
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administration is actively studying the true origins of the pandemic and whether Anthony Fauci's
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funding for the group EcoHealth Alliance had anything to do with it.
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We are working with Jay Bhattacharya, the new NIH director on with, as well as Secretary Kennedy,
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is looking at the gain-of-function research that, in the case of the Wuhan lab, as well as
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many of these other bio labs around the world, was actually U.S. funded and leads to this dangerous
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kind of research that, in many examples, has resulted in either a pandemic or some other
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Well, let me ask you specifically, because we already know that EcoHealth Alliance was partnering
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with this Wuhan lab to create, to do gain-of-function research, we just have never been able to have
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somebody say, and it was that exact experiment that led to this COVID bug, but have we gotten
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there? What's the new thing that you're digging in on?
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I mean, that would be extraordinary because, just so the audience knows, if that's true,
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if it was Peter Daszak's research with the Wuhan so-called Bat Lady that caused this pandemic,
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then we did fund it, then Anthony Fauci helped fund the pandemic.
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The thing that he denied over and over and over to Senator Rand Paul's questioning.
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Under oath, exactly. So is it any wonder that he sought a preemptive pardon for anything
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during a certain period of time by President Biden before he left office?
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For years under the Biden administration, officials, including Dr. Fauci, publicly denied
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any responsibility for funding the research that may have sparked the pandemic.
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As far as what the future holds for D&I Gabbard, she did not rule out another run for the White
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I will never rule out any opportunity to serve my country.
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I would not have, if we had talked a year ago, the thought would not have crossed my mind that
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I would be here and that we would be having this conversation.
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My decisions in my life have always been made around how can I best be of service to God?
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I'm grateful for this opportunity, and I will continue to chase those opportunities where
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I can make the most positive impact and be of service.
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The full interview is available on The Megyn Kelly Show feed on YouTube and wherever you
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Coming up, HHS drops a massive report on the current treatment guidelines for the increasing
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number of children diagnosed with gender dysphoria, calling out the risks of so-called gender
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And Trump World celebrates the return of former Vice President Kamala Harris to the national
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The Health and Human Services Department on Thursday dropping a massive 409-page review
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of treatment guidelines for children with gender dysphoria, a condition where a person feels
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there may be a mismatch between his or her biological sex and how that person views their gender.
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From the report, quote, medical and surgical interventions for children and adolescents with
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gender dysphoria are widely promoted as essential and even life-saving, yet the evidence base does
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not support strong conclusions about their effectiveness in improving mental health or reducing dysphoria.
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The report strongly emphasizes prioritizing behavioral therapy over medical interventions like puberty
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blockers and surgeries, including the benign-sounding top surgery, where girls receive double mastectomies
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Diagnoses of gender dysphoria in children surging in recent years.
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LexisNexis Risk Solutions reporting in December.
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The number of insurance claims for gender identity care, critics call it self-mutilation,
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for people under the age of 18, spiking 133% from 2019 to 2023.
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Current guidelines recommend starting puberty blockers in children as young as 8 years old.
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Advocates of the approach argue intervention is temporary and reversible.
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A lot of politicians are out there shouting about irreversible damages, but blockers actually
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do the opposite. They prevent permanent changes. Their effects are also reversible.
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There's a lot of misinformation around gender-affirming care in minors.
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If it's to halt puberty, then there's no age at which the blocker is inappropriate.
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The scientific consensus is clear. The risks are small and, crucially, manageable when they're not.
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According to the HHS report, it is rare for children to start puberty blockers and then stop
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treatment entirely, and there is little data about the long-term effects of this intervention.
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Left alone, the vast majority of these children will outgrow their gender confusion.
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Most children who begin puberty blockers then graduate to cross-sex hormones,
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a course of action which can lead to sterility, loss of sexual function, and permanent physiological
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changes, results to which a minor cannot possibly give informed consent.
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As the number of children undergoing these treatments grows, so do the voices of those
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who say they were misled, like Chloe Cole. Diagnosed with gender dysphoria as a child,
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Ms. Cole began medical transition at 13, before later detransitioning.
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I started socially transitioning and identifying as transgender when I was 12 years old, and I
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was fast-tracked onto medicalization at 13, starting with puberty blockers and testosterone.
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Before, I went on to get a mastectomy at 15, and I stopped transitioning at 16, when I realized
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that I had regretted my transition. The team of the medical professionals that helped me to
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push me, really, to transition never presented any other options. They said that the rate of regret
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is less than one or two percent, and they even lied to my parents that I would be at risk of suicide
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were I not allowed to transition. At the age I was, I just wasn't capable of giving informed consent.
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It's seriously affected both my mental and physical health. I'm still recovering to this day. I don't
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know if I'll be able to conceive a child or safely carry a term, and I certainly won't be able to
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breastfeed. The report, commissioned by President Trump in January, is part of the administration's
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broader effort to root out what it calls woke ideology from taxpayer-funded health policy.
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The president has signed a series of executive orders aimed at eliminating federal support for
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gender transition procedures in minors, including bans on the use of public funds for puberty blockers,
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cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries. Deputy Press Secretary Stephen Miller on Thursday
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underscoring the administration's message to hospitals and providers.
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They cannot and will not be allowed to use taxpayer dollars to perform chemical castrations and sexual
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mutilations of children. Castration surgeries, castration drugs, sterilization treatments of
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children are barbaric. They violate all sound medical ethics. They are completely unwarranted.
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They harm children for life irreversibly. It is child torture. It is child abuse. It is medical
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malpractice. And so the Department of Health and Human Services, under the leadership of Bobby Kennedy,
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as well as the Department of Justice and other departments of this government, are making clear
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to our medical providers and our hospital systems that you cannot use taxpayer dollars to perform
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these barbaric procedures on America's children. Former Vice President Kamala Harris returning to the
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national stage on Wednesday, delivering a 15-minute speech at a gala for a progressive organization
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dedicated to electing more women to office. The former Veep painting the first 100 days of the
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Trump administration as an authoritarian nightmare, describing the administration's agenda as, quote,
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a narrow, self-serving vision of America, where they punish truth-tellers, favor loyalists,
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cash in on their power, and leave everyone else to fend for themselves.
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Ms. Harris then offering this vision on the path forward.
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Please allow me, friends, to digress for a moment. It's kind of dark in here, but I'm asking a show
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of hands. Who saw that video from a couple of weeks ago, the one of the elephants at the San Diego
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Zoo during the earthquake? So in the video, for those who haven't seen it, here those elephants were.
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And as soon as they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet, they got in a circle and stood next to
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each other to protect the most vulnerable. Think about it. What a powerful metaphor, because we know those
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who try to incite fear are most effective when they divide and conquer, when they separate the herd, when
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they try to make everyone think they are alone. But in the face of crisis, the lesson is don't
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don't scatter. Media responds to the remarks, not surprisingly, largely favorable. NBC News quoting
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a former Harris senior advisor granted anonymity to speak, quote, candidly, saying there is a
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clamoring for her voice right now. No one can better prosecute the case while inspiring a call to action
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than the former vice president. On Thursday, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller and Press Secretary
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Caroline Levitt responding to her remarks. It was a great reminder to the American people of just how
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blessed we all are that the leader sitting in the Oval Office today is President Donald Trump and not
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President Kamala Harris. It was a helpful reminder of just what a travesty and a tragedy that would have
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been. It would have been the end of America. I think I speak for everyone at the White House. We
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encourage Kamala Harris to continue going out and do speaking engagements. And that'll do it for
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your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly. Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show live on SiriusXM Triumph
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Channel 111 at noon east on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly and on all podcast platforms.
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