Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Megyn Kelly
| Megyn Kelly | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Organization: | Devil May Care Media |
| Location: | New York, New York |
| Expertise: | Journalism and Law |
| Education: | •Syracuse University (B.A., political science) •Albany Law School (J.D., 1995) |
Megyn Kelly is a journalist and political commentator who worked for Fox News and NBC News before founding the company Devil May Care Media and starting The Megyn Kelly Show podcast in 2020.[1]
She is a former litigator for the law firms Bickel and Brewer and Jones Day.[2]
Background
Megyn Kelly, a native of Delmar, a suburb of Albany, attended Syracuse University and earned her bachelor's degree in political science. She then went on to Albany Law School to get her J.D. in 1995. After college she worked as a corporate litigator with the law firm Bickel and Brewer in Chicago. Two years later she joined the law firm Jones Day.[2]
While in Washington, D.C., Kelly sent a tape to Kim Hume, Fox News' Washington bureau chief. Fox News hired her and, by 2006, she had been relocated to New York to act as the daytime co-anchor with Bill Hemmer.[3] Prior to her hire at Fox, in 2003, Kelly had worked as a general assignment reporter for the D.C. television station WJLA.[3]
Work and activities
Fox News
After being hired at Fox News, Kelly worked as a reporter before moving on to co-anchor America’s Newsroom in 2007.[4] In late 2013, Kelly got her own news show on Fox News, The Kelly File. According to The Washington Post, the show's debut garnered better ratings in the 25- to 54-year-old demographic than The O'Reilly Factor—Fox's highest rated show at the time—making The Kelly File their number two show overall in 2013.[3]
Kelly was named to Time's list of the 100 most influential people in 2014.[5]
In 2016, it was announced that Kelly would host an hour-long weekly segment on the Fox network.[6] At the time, The Kelly File was the second most watched program on cable news, Variety reported.[7]
NBC News
On January 3, 2017, NBC News announced that Kelly would leave Fox News and join their network to anchor one hour of daytime programming and host a Sunday night news magazine program.[8] The network said that Kelly would also "become an important contributor to NBC’s breaking news coverage as well as the network's political and special events coverage."[8] Kelly's news show, Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly, debuted on June 4, 2017 when she interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin.[9] She began hosting the third hour of NBC's national morning show Today in September.[10] The debut show of Sunday Night with Megyn Kelly had over 6 million viewers.[11]
In March of 2018, NBC said Kelly's news show would return "periodically" over the course of the spring and summer.[12]. Later that fall, NBC News ended Kelly's morning show.[13] In January of 2019, Kelly terminated her contract with NBC.[14]
Devil May Care Media
Kelly started her own media company, Devil May Care Media, and podcast, The Megyn Kelly Show, in September of 2020, with the show moving to SiriusXM radio in 2021.[15]
As of July 2025, the Devil May Care Media website described The Megyn Kelly Show as a forum for "open, honest and provocative conversations with the most interesting and important political, legal and cultural figures today."[16] Kelly's representatives told Semafor in 2024 that the program was one of the most listened to SiriusXM programs nationally and that its podcast version was one of the ten most downloaded in the country.[17] In July 2024, Kelly reported 116.8 million views on YouTube.[18]
Kelly was named to Time's list of the 100 most influential people for the second time in 2025.[19]
Notable endorsements
This section displays endorsements this individual made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope.
Editorial Positions
Presidential endorsements
2024 presidential endorsement of Donald Trump
Kelly co-moderated a Dec. 6, 2023 debate during the Republican Party presidential primary. [20] While Donald Trump (R) didn't participate in the debate, he did appear on Kelly's podcast during the primaries. In September, Kelly said said the past events between them were "under the bridge." [21]
During the 2024 general election, Kelly appeared with Trump at a rally in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During her speech, Kelly said, "He will be a protector of women. And it's why I'm voting for him."[22]
Noteworthy Events
Republican primary debate (January 28, 2016)
Fox News hosted the seventh Republican presidential primary debate on January 28, 2016, with Kelly co-moderating with Bret Baier and Chris Wallace. On January 26, 2016, Trump announced that he would not participate in the debate, citing prior interactions with Kelly as the reason.[23][24]
Republican primary debate (August 6, 2015)
Kelly moderated the first of the 2016 Republican presidential primary debates with colleagues Bret Baier and Chris Wallace on August 6, 2015.
During the debate, Kelly asked Trump about previous remarks he had made about women. Trump responded, stating: "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct. ... And frankly, what I say, and oftentimes it’s fun, it’s kidding. We have a good time. What I say is what I say. And honestly Megyn, if you don’t like it, I’m sorry. I’ve been very nice to you, although I could probably maybe not be, based on the way you have treated me. But I wouldn’t do that."[25]
In an interview the next day, Trump told CNN anchor Don Lemon, "You could see there was blood coming out of her [Kelly's] eyes, blood coming out of her — wherever."[26] Other Republican presidential candidates criticized Trump's remarks as inappropriate.[27]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Megyn Kelly. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- What is an influencer?
- Presidential debates (2015-2016)
- Chris Wallace
- Donald Trump
- Fox News
- NBC News
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Variety , "Megyn Kelly Launches Independent Media Company, Will Start Podcast," September 10, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The New York Times Magazine, "The Megyn Kelly Moment," January 21, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Washington Post, "Megyn Kelly, Fox News’s (quickly) budding star," December 11, 2013
- ↑ The New York Times , "Megyn Kelly, a star on Fox News, will anchor 'America Live,' January 31, 2010
- ↑ Time , "The 2014 TIME 100: TV, the Influencer," April 24, 2014
- ↑ Variety , "Megyn Kelly to Host Primetime Special on Fox Broadcasting," March 15, 2016
- ↑ Variety , "Megyn Kelly to Host Primetime Special on Fox Broadcasting," March 15, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Comcast , "Megyn Kelly Joins NBC News," January 3, 2017
- ↑ NBC News , "Watch: Megyn Kelly's Extended Interview with Russia's Vladimir Putin," June 5, 2017
- ↑ Variety , "NBC Touts Megyn Kelly’s Softer Side in Bid to Launch New Morning Show," September 21, 2017
- ↑ Variety , "TV Ratings: ‘Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly’ Opens Decently, NBA Finals Game 2 Ticks Up," June 5, 2017
- ↑ Variety , "NBC News’ ‘Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly’ Returns for Spring and Summer Run," March 6, 2018
- ↑ Washington Post , "Megyn Kelly’s NBC morning show has ended," October 26, 2018
- ↑ CNN , "Megyn Kelly leaves NBC with all of her $69 million contract intact," January 12, 2019
- ↑ The Hill , "Megyn Kelly to host daily SiriusXM talk show," July 6, 2021
- ↑ Devil May Care Media, "The Megyn Kelly Show," accessed July 23, 2025
- ↑ Semafor, "Inside Megyn Kelly’s YouTube success," August 25, 2024
- ↑ MegynKelly.com, "‘You Can’t Shut Me Up’: Megyn Has a Message for Critics as ‘The Megyn Kelly Show’ Beats Out Legacy Media," August 28, 2024
- ↑ Time "Megyn Kelly," April 16, 2025
- ↑ The New York Times , "Megyn Kelly Will Moderate the Next G.O.P. Debate, on NewsNation," Nov. 9, 2023
- ↑ Associated Press , "Megyn Kelly welcomes Donald Trump for an interview 8 years after he erupted over her debate question," Sept. 14, 2023
- ↑ ABC News , "Megyn Kelly endorses Trump, calling him 'protector of women,'" November 5, 2024
- ↑ Politico, "Trump's showdown with Fox News escalates," January 27, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "The long, strange history of the Donald Trump-Megyn Kelly feud," January 27, 2016
- ↑ Time, "Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Primetime Republican Debate," August 6, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedPolitico - ↑ "CNN", "Donald Trump’s ‘blood’ comment about Megyn Kelly draws outrage," August 8, 2015
| |||||||
