President-Elect Donald Trump may have recently been named TIME Magazine’s “Person of The Year”, but there was one individual who was a staple of the never-ending media circus that got him to that (maybe not so) prestigious title: Megyn Kelly of Fox News.
A native of Syracuse, New York, Kelly is no stranger to the dog-eat-dog world of politics. After receiving her undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, she then went on to earn her Juris Doctor from Albany Law School in the mid ‘90s.
Fast forward past a stint as a local ABC reporter where she covered both national and political events and worked as a contributor on a myriad of other shows, and you’ll find her in her own nightly program that debuted in October of 2013, “The Kelly File.”
Though her show became a staple of FOX News and a consistent ratings darling – averaging about 2.5 million viewers at its peak – it wasn’t until last August at the first Republican presidential debate that Ms. Kelly found herself thrust into a national spotlight in a way no one saw coming.
In a question directed at then-candidate Trump, Kelly said, “You’ve called women you don’t like fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals,” but was cut off with Trump firing back, “Only Rosie O’Donnell.”
From there it went on for what seemed like eternity and then quickly became what some might call “must see TV.” Following that debate, President-Elect Trump took to his now infamous Twitter account saying Kelly “bombed” at the debate and that it was “funny to watch.”
Kelly’s response was simple. “I certainly won’t apologize for doing good journalism,” she said.
Trump then went on to call her a wide range of things including “overrated, “crazy,” and “a bimbo” to name a few. While she was adamant that she would never engage in a public feud with Trump, she was quick to respond via social media and went on to tell ABC News, “It was bizarre because I became the story. He was so very focused on me that I became the story, and you know, you never want to be the story when you’re a newsperson,” she said.
But now, almost eighteen months later, she takes control of the story by telling it her way with the New York Times bestseller, “Settle for More.”
The book covers it all. From her upbringing plagued with bullying to her impressive television career, and yes, there is a whole lot of Trump – who she says offered her gifts to shape her coverage.
She even talks about her former boss, now ousted FOX News CEO Roger Ailes, who Kelly writes she received “obviously inappropriate sexually charged comments” from.
After a rollercoaster of a year, Ms. Kelly will now make her way to the First Coast on January 30th as part of the 2016-2017 Florida Forum line up. Robin Albaneze, Chair of The Florida Forum – which featured Dr. Ben Carson this past Fall, and will host Tim Tebow in March – commented, “We selected her because of her increasing popularity in the media field. Listening to her talk about the past election craziness as well as the inauguration, I feel she will have some fascinating background stories.”
One thing is for sure, whether your love her or loathe her Megyn Kelly is captivating and will go down in history as a key character in the story we call the year of 2016.
Those interested in seeing Ms. Kelly when she is in Jacksonville can visit http://womensboardwolfsonchildrenshospital.com for more information, or to purchase tickets.
