Megyn Kelly’s Ugly Fall

Nine years ago, NBC handed Megyn Kelly a reported $20 million a year and tried to turn her into one of the respectable faces of its news division. That decision looks more embarrassing with every passing year, because Kelly has not evolved into a serious broadcaster or independent thinker. She has become a professional grievance merchant, desperate to stay relevant by feeding the ugliest instincts of her audience.

The message aimed at Haitians who lost TPS is not political commentary, policy analysis, or tough immigration talk. It is cruelty for clicks. It is hate dressed up as strength, and it is exactly the kind of indecency that has dragged the country into the mess we are living through now. Kelly helped normalize Donald Trump, then built a second career pretending to be shocked by the ugliness she helped move into the mainstream.

She is far from alone. There are plenty of people in today’s media who sold their credibility for attention, influence, and access, but Kelly stands out because she knows better. She is not stupid. She understands exactly what she is doing, which makes it worse.

In the long debate over whether today’s Republican media figures are ignorant or malicious, Kelly belongs firmly in the malicious category. She knows the audience, she knows the language, she knows the damage, and she keeps choosing it anyway.