SiriusXM podcaster Megyn Kelly tore into Rep. Alexander Ocasio-Cortez over the tenor of the New York democratic socialist’s speech at her party’s convention on Tuesday night, comparing it to that of a World War II dictator.
“When I saw people on the internet praising her last night, even some Republicans, like, ‘Oh, that was a great speech,’ I thought, have you never actually seen an effective female public speaker? Like, they mistake energy or like enthusiasm for effectiveness,” she said during a Wednesday show segment.
“I mean, anyone can get up there and shout at you! [Shouting] She can shout at you! It doesn’t make you a good public speaker. It was like an assault. Right? Don’t you feel assaulted by what I just did? That’s how I felt listening to her,” Kelly continued.
Kelly then played a clip of then-Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) speech at the DNC in 2004 before adding: “That’s what AOC was going for. That’s what they all go for. They fail. There’s only one Barack Obama. There will never be another Barack Obama. I’m sorry, find your own style. You’re not good at imitation.”
“She was a cross between Hilaria [Baldwin], who went to a fancy boarding school in either Boston or Rhode Island and isn’t Spanish at all, and also this guy,” she said before playing a short clip of dictator Benito Mussolini. “You may remember him from World War II as the leader of Italy.”
In June, Kelly engaged in tense exchanges with NewsNation host Dan Abrams in her defense of former President Donald Trump.
“What was it?” Kelly asked.
“What was the wrongdoing? Alright, number one, it’s $130,000 to a porn star to keep her quiet, to try to protect your campaign. Can we at least agree that’s wrong?” Abrams replied.
“How was it wrong?” Kelly pressed. “I don’t know what kind of weird marriage these two have. Same as I didn’t know what kind of weird marriage Bill and Hillary Clinton had. So I don’t know what their covenant is in terms of what he’s allowed to do on the outside of his marriage.”
But Abrams responded by saying that this was not about the alleged sexual encounter between Trump and adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
“I’m not talking about the sex. I’m talking about the $130,000 to keep [Stormy Daniels] quiet to protect his campaign,” Abrams said.
But again, Kelly insisted the payoff wasn’t illegal, as the Southern District of New York, District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s predecessor, and the Federal Elections Commission all previously found.
“It’s not immoral,” Kelly said. “There’s nothing wrong with that at all. Nothing.”
Abrams then shifted to the accusation that Trump falsified business records. “You don’t think he falsified business records either?” he asked.
“I don’t know what he did,” Kelly countered.
“What does that mean?! We just had a whole trial! We heard every detail of this! How can you not know?” Abrams blasted.
The former Fox News host then argued that any payoff could “easily” be considered “a legal expense.” She went on to say that there’s “nothing illegal about paying hush money for an NDA.”
“There’s not, but when you’re doing it to protect your campaign, it is. That’s the difference,” Abrams said.
“What law are you citing, Dan?” Kelly demanded to know, leading the host to respond: “Campaign finance laws!”
“Wrong! You don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re wrong!” Kelly shot back.
“Explain to me then. Tell me what I’m getting wrong,” Abrams said.
“It does not amount to a campaign contribution if it is the kind of payment that could ever be made outside of the campaign context,” she said.
“That’s not the standard. The standard is substantiality,” Abrams said.
“It’s not,” Kelly said.
“It is!” Abrams responded.