The Megyn Kelly Show
The Megyn Kelly Show

The Key Midterm Issue, and Vance vs. Cruz, with Rich Lowry and Charles C.W. Cooke, Plus James Woods on His New Album and Our Culture | Ep. 1413

October 7, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

The episode opens with Megyn Kelly and her National Review guests, Rich Lowry and Charles C.W. Cooke, surveying a grim landscape for Republicans less than a month before the midterms. The dominant theme is that the economy—specifically high gas prices and lingering inflation—is the defining issue, and President Trump is a major liability for his party. The conversation then moves through a series of developments: the state of key Senate races, a controversy over a Trump quote, the emerging 2028 Republican primary fight, the return of Kamala Harris, and a deep dive into the Cornell fraternity case. The show closes with actor James Woods discussing his new album and his broader concerns about American culture.

The Economy is the Anchor, Trump is the Weight

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:32) **Midterm Preview: Trump's Red-State Push and the Maine Senate Debate** - Megyn Kelly opens the politics segment, noting Trump is campaigning in red states (Texas, Nebraska) because GOP Senate candidates are struggling even in safe territory.
  • 2 (07:53) **Paxton's Leaked Tape and the Drag of Gas Prices** - Axios releases a recording of Ken Paxton blaming the war in Iran and high gas prices for his struggling campaign.
  • 3 (13:02) **The Prices Election: Why the Economy Dominates** - The panel agrees that rising costs, not job numbers, are the defining issue, and Trump's tariffs are a self-inflicted wound.
  • 4 (15:12) **The Senate Map: Where Democrats Are Leading** - New YouGov polling shows Democrats ahead in five of seven key Senate races, including Texas, Ohio, Kansas, and Michigan.
  • 5 (24:54) **Trump's "Let Them Take Out L.A." Soundbite: A Manufactured Outrage** - The panel dissects the viral clip of Trump saying Iran could "take out Los Angeles" and "San Diego," arguing it is being deliberately misrepresented.
  • 6 (37:36) **Vance vs. Cruz: The GOP's 2028 Civil War Begins** - Ted Cruz and J.D. Vance trade barbs, signaling an early, bitter fight for the post-Trump Republican Party.
  • 7 (42:56) **Kamala Harris: "When You Feel Powerful, You Are Powerful"** - Kelly plays a clip of Harris offering platitudes on a Democrat get-out-the-vote livestream, prompting mockery from the panel.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Megyn Kelly

Show Notes

Megyn Kelly is joined by Rich Lowry and Charles C.W. Cooke of National Review to discuss the issues that matter most to voters in the 2026 midterms, why gas prices are so crucial, the issues with Ken Paxton in Texas, how the media and left are lying about Trump’s comment on Iran and Los Angeles, the truth about what he said and meant, how Gavin Newsom and others are trying to capitalize on this lie, Ted Cruz and JD Vance are taking shots at each other, whether this is a preview of the 2028 GOP primary, why Jon Ossoff might be the Democratic nominee in 2028, Kamala Harris' latest embarrassing moments and why she's unlikely to be the nominee, the notable racial make-up of the “Cornell 7," the numerous decisions Jane Doe acknowledges she made consciously, how one of the accused in the fraternity case implied it was Jane Doe who actually r*ped him, Sunny Hostin revealing actress Cynthia Erivo told her to “lead with empathy” instead of reality in the “Cornell 7” case, the insight this provides into the mind of a progressive, and more. Then James Woods, filmmaker and musician, "The Killer's Wife," joins to discuss the shocking new revelations in the “Cornell 7” story, how college and young people have changed for the worse, the need to be teaching our kids properly, the cultural and political moments in America that have led to the creation of his new album, whether he's optimistic or pessimistic about our society, and more.


 

Lowry- https://www.nationalreview.com

Cooke- https://x.com/charlescwcooke

Woods- https://www.jameswoods.com/

 

 

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