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If you were surprised by Megyn Kelly's support for Donald Trump in the 2024 election, you're not alone. After all, Trump has made no secret of his disdain for her in the past — just as Kelly made it clear that a major reason why she left Fox News was because of businessman-turned-president attacks on her.
On the off chance that you've forgotten about the animosity between Kelly and Trump, it began back in 2015. At the time, Trump was in the running for the Republican nominee, and Kelly served as a moderator for that year's first Republican debate. Kelly took the opportunity to question some of the ways Trump had referred to women he didn't like (including terms like "fat pigs" and "disgusting animals"). Unsurprisingly, Trump was less than thrilled. What ensued was a barrage of attacks against the journalist, and in one interview with CNN, he questioned her intelligence before making a comment that angered, well, just about everyone. The comment in question? "You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her ... wherever." Even Roger Ailes (that is, the late Fox founder accused by several women of sexual harassment) implored Trump to apologize.
The feuding two eventually patched things up in an interview, and he apologized for referring to her as a "bimbo." After initially seeming forgetful that he'd said it on a number of occasions, he conceded with a sheepish, "Excuse me." Makeup aside, though, Kelly later told "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that she no longer wanted to put herself in a position to go through any of that again and that the ordeal had played a role in her Fox exit. Fast-forward to 2024, and she shocked us all by singing the very same man's praises.
Megyn Kelly has warmed to Trump, but she's not a pushover
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As anyone who followed the 2024 election will know, the often shady Megyn Kelly was very much in Donald Trump's corner. In fact, she even ended up making an impassioned speech at his final Pennsylvania Rally before the election, greeting him with hugs both before and after her speech. What a difference eight years makes.
It bears mentioning that Kelly's stance on Trump isn't all moonlight and roses, though. Au contraire, a few months after she interviewed him for her podcast and asked questions about the criminal cases against him, she mused on "Eric Bolling the Balance" that he was definitely put out by it and went back to taunting her publicly once again. Even so, she said that there needed to be a mix of both their newfound friendliness and the serious questions, even if they made for uncomfortable interviews at times. Kelly also had a scathing take on the controversial Madison Square Garden rally. Though she shared on the "Megyn Kelly Show" that she was impressed by Trump's own speech, she didn't hide her disdain for the other speakers. "Maybe ... you clean up the bro-talk just a little, so you don't alienate women in the middle of America who are already on the fence about Republicans," she said.
MSG rally aside, Trump, of course, did win the election, and it's safe to say Kelly was thrilled. In fact, in one episode of the "Megyn Kelly Show," she gushed that she felt the sun was shining brighter because of it. Even so, we don't doubt she'll continue to call him out when she sees fit. TBH, we hardly think that's a sign of Kelly's shady side — just a more balanced perspective. Time will tell how Trump responds.
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