Q&A with Megyn Kelly ahead of her NBC morning show debut

Kelly discusses transitioning from politics-heavy cable news

Monday is Megan Kelly's big debut on NBC's "Today" show. 

Kelly is taking over the 9 a.m. hour which will be taped in front of a live studio audience. It will include celebrity interviews, news reports and lifestyle segments. 

Kelly sat down with WDIV's Kimberly Gill at the New York studio to discuss her anticipation for the new show. She talked about transitioning from Fox News, what she hopes to achieve in her new show, and even Kid Rock comes up during the conversation. 

Watch Gill's full interview with Kelly above.

Gill: Are you excited?

Kelly: Very. I mean, look at this place. In just a few short hours basically this place is going to be filled with people. And what's really fun, in addition to the amazing guests I have, my family is going to be here. My husband will be here. So it will be a nice, supportive environment, too. 

Gill: Anything that you're scared or nervous about?

Kelly: Yes! In general, I don't really like public speaking. I'm one of those people who gets nervous and my heart is like (pumping) and then, you know, you're a couple minutes into it and you calm down and you're fine. But people think just because you can look into the camera and broadcast to millions of people you can do public speaking very easily. It is not the same! So I'm slightly worried I might have a heart attack and keel over, so please watch and if I make it through the first couple of minutes you'll know, she's good. She's good. Because they're going to be here. I can see the people. 

Gill: What can our viewers expect to see on Monday?

Kelly: Monday's going to be fun. You know, Monday's going to be a great show. I wouldn't say it's representative of what you're going to see on "Megyn Kelly Today" going forward, because it's the first day and there is a bunch of special stuff we're doing. The way, for example, we're normally going to open of the show, we're not going to open it up that way on Monday. But anyway, we do have the cast of "Will and Grace" live here, with the show creators. And, you know, that show is really groundbreaking in so many ways. And it's huge and it's coming back after this long hiatus. So this is the first time we'll have them all together with the show creators talking about their cultural impact and what they think they can do second time around. And (we'll have) a bunch of other stuff. The first week it's gangbusters. 

Gill: That's really different than what you did over at Fox News. How are you feeling about the transition to doing lighter (TV)?

Kelly: I feel happy. And I feel like I am about to spread joy for a living, instead of outrage, which is what you do on cable news. I mean, I really tried not to do that on "The Kelly File." In fact, we used to make a point that if you had two guests who you knew were going to go at it, putting them on sequentially instead of at the same time. So that we didn't gin up that anger. But part of it is just the nature of what you discuss on cable news, which is politics! Nothing but politics. 

Gill: Speaking of politics, will you be talking about some politics? Because you're going to be talking about a little bit of news on this show, too, in addition to fun stuff -- do you think you'll bring in politics?

Kelly: There will be some. But it's not going to be presented in the way that you would get it on cable news. I don't think I'm ever going to mention the name Mitch McConnell on my show -- never, ever. No offense, but no. And the bar for even Trump coverage I think will be rather high. I think at 9 in the morning it's not what people want. It's not what I want. You know, I think by the time they'll come to me they'll (already) know the news. And they're going to want to talk about what else is in the news. What else can we talk about? What am I going to be discussing with my girlfriends tonight when I see them after dinner? Or what are my husband and I going to discuss over dinner? So yes, if politics are topical and there is something big going on, we'll discuss it on the show. But ideally we're going to be getting into more interesting stuff, like what's happening in our lives. 

I'll give you an example: Just last week I was at this birthday party for my daughter's friend. They're all six. All the moms wound up in this other room. One mom started to talk about her anxiety, you know, like we all have. I said, you know, I actually don't have a lot of anxiety. And the other mom said, "Neither do I." And the other mom said, "I have it all the time." And then this discussion unfolded about anxiety and depression and fear, and on we went for two hours. A microcosm of that would absolutely be on this show. 

Gill: So what do you say to the people who might question your authenticity? After seeing you on Fox News, you're this aggressive, great cross examinator kind of interviewer. And then you come here and you're completely different. It seems in the promos you're doing you're very soft and you're hugging people, which was the opposite of Fox News. Do you worry about that?

Kelly: I think ... assumes facts not in evidence. I think the criticism you're raising in your question is based on a caricature of what I actually did on Fox News. If you actually watched me for 13 years there you would see my show was full of personality, and full of humor and full of warm moments. But if you didn't watch then you only saw snippets, and those snippets would generally be of someone like Newt Gingrich attacking me. And the fact that I was able to stand my ground when under attack does not mean that I am not a warm, soft person. It means I'm a strong woman who doesn't whither when someone comes at me. And I think -- most of the people who ask me that question are men -- but what I have to say to people who question that is I don't know a woman isn't both strong and warm, who doesn't have moments of tears and ferocity in the appropriate moment. And I think to assume that one comes at the expense of the other is to misunderstand any woman I know. I don't know a woman who is all one and none the other. So my authentic self is able to cross examine a politician who is lying to me with the best in the business. And my authentic self is also able to empower and uplift my viewers on matters that affect us all, in a way that can be warm, can be funny, can be inspiring, can be boughty, and can be fun. 

Gill: You were in Detroit, in March I believe, for one of the debates. Were you able to see the city?

Kelly: No ... but I have a good friend who lives right outside Detroit in Birmingham and I go and visit her sometimes. And you know my buddy Kid Rock is from there, and he's the best ambassador you could ask for from Detroit. So, you know, just from him I've grown to love it. 

Gill: Detroit's a heavily African-American city. Have you thought about how you will connect with African-American viewers?

Kelly: I don't think it's helpful to slice and dice your audience like that. I think if you put a great product on the air they will come, and I'll be judged on what I do on this program from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and if people enjoy that product and feel connected to me they'll watch, and if they don't they won't. And that's as it should be. You know, it's on me to do something that reaches out to everybody. And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to offer something that is unifying for everyone -- not just women, by the way, women and men. And certainly not for any particular race or ethnic group. For everyone. 

Watch Gill's full interview with Kelly above.


NOTES: 

  • "Megyn Kelly Today" is 9 a.m. weekdays
  • Kelly's "Sunday Night" program will return to NBC sometime next year