Conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly delivered a fiery speech supporting during an event billed as his 鈥渃losing message鈥� on Monday night, a full-circle moment after the former president and the onetime Fox News star during Trump's 2016 campaign.
Invited to the stage in Pittsburgh, Kelly defended Trump against recent controversies, including his to be the 鈥減rotector鈥� of women, and pressed his case on border security and his participating in sports.
鈥淗e got mocked by the left by saying he would be a protector of women,鈥� Kelly said. 鈥淗e will be a protector of women and it鈥檚 why I鈥檓 voting for him. He will close the border and he will keep the boys out of women鈥檚 sports where they don鈥檛 belong.鈥�
Trump stood to the side, grinning and beaming, as he listened to the commentator he once called 鈥渘asty.鈥�
Afterward, she posted a selfie with the former president on X that was captioned in part: "God bless him. Go vote for him!"
Kelly was a popular Fox News host in 2016 when she questioned Trump during the first debate of the Republican primary about whether he had the temperament to be president.
Trump largely dismissed Kelly鈥檚 question at the debate, but later he went directly after her, first overnight on Twitter and later in interviews.
鈥淪he鈥檚 not very tough and not very sharp,鈥� Trump told CNN in a phone interview. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 respect her as a journalist.鈥�
Referring to Kelly鈥檚 questions during the debate, Trump said, 鈥淭here was blood coming out of her eyes, blood coming out of her wherever.鈥� The comment was widely viewed as a sexist reference to menstruation.
Trump later boycotted another debate on Fox because Kelly was one of the moderators.
Kelly left Fox for NBC News. She was taken off the air following an uproar when she suggested it was OK for white people to wear blackface on Halloween.
She now hosts a SiriusXM satellite radio show that she has built into one of the highest-ranked on Chartable鈥檚 list of news podcasts.
鈥淎ll that nonsense between us,鈥� Kelly , 鈥渋s under the bridge.鈥�
Kelly鈥檚 appearance with Trump comes as early voting suggests a gender gap that favors Democrat Kamala Harris.
Kelly was critical of some of the speakers who delivered crude and racist comments at Trump鈥檚 last month. One suggested that Harris, who is vying to become the first woman, Black woman and person of South Asian descent to be elected president, began her career as a prostitute.
The speakers, Kelly said, 鈥渢ook what was an amazing celebration of Trump, exciting and well-attended and hugely enthusiastic, and gave themselves a big black eye.鈥�
Jonathan J. Cooper, The Associated Press
