Madonna's Vile VMAs Performance, the Tom Brady Lesson, Plus How the GOP Can Avoid a Midterms "Nightmare," with Mark Halperin | Ep. 1407

26:02So I really feel for the people, you know, who are genuinely struggling right now, because it doesn't seem like relief is coming from either party. You know, like Trump, when they had that fake midterm convention thing, you know, he was like, we'll do this and we'll do that and we'll do the other thing. And it was like, if what? And the answer is, if you keep us in power. It's like, wait a minute, you're in power right now. You're giving the speech of somebody who's out of power. You control all three bodies, you know, the House, the Senate and the White House. So, like, what are you saying? Because there's zero chance the Republicans add to their majority in the Senate to the point where they get a filibuster proof majority.

26:43The whole question is, like, for either party, frankly, can you govern with something less than that? Because the other side is going to be obstreperous and stop things. And what we're seeing, at least under this government, is not really. Everything will be done by executive order. And now he's promising what? I guess more executive order. Like, I don't get it. Because the things he was like, keep us in power and we'll do all these things. He's like, wait, but you've been in power now two years. No, and voters get that, I think. And that's a problem for any incumbent president during their second midterm.

27:16He's got this new thing that I think is really one of the more outrageous things he's done, which is using our tax dollars to run political ads. The White House denies their political ads, but one of them is literally a political ad that he ran when he was running for re-election, which is a different ending. Let me show you that. I think we, is this number three, Steve? Is that the one that's the one he ran before? Saw three. Here it is. This is the final battle. With you at my side, we will demolish the deep state. We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists.

27:46We will cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media and we will liberate America from these villains once and for all. It reads paid for by the U.S. government, which means taxpayer paid for that. Taxpayers, Democrats included. And the claims, while they may have been palatable while he was campaigning, Now, he says we're going to demolish the deep state. I don't think anybody thinks he did that with the Epstein scandal, just as one example. We will expel the warmongers from our government.

28:28Oops. That didn't happen. They won the warmongers. We will drive out the globalists away. Maybe we've tried. I don't know. He came out with Elon. And like, I don't know, just like literally the red carpet for Xi Jinping. We'll cast out the communists, Marxists, and fascists. I mean, he was just cozying up to Zora Mamdani, which is like, truly, as I think I was saying to you last week on your show, who wanted to see that? Who on earth wanted to see Trump and Mamdani as BFFs? No one. Not the left, not the right, not me. I didn't want to see it at all. So it's just, it's an odd message for right now.

29:11So the rest of it's mostly OK, but but you highlighted the lines. It's just they cannot land with any any any, you know, clarity. And and again, our tax dollars shouldn't be paying for that. No, absolutely not. If Joe Biden did this, we would be ripping him a new one. And Trump shouldn't be doing it either. Nobody I know thinks he should. Speaking of Momdani, here's Trump with him. So seven. I certainly hope he will be a great mayor. You have to understand, I want what's good for New York. I want what's good for the country. So if I had a choice of having him be a bad mayor or horrible mayor, I don't want that.

29:50I want him to be a great mayor. And he's certainly got potential, got great potential. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.

30:01Okay, so Mark, I think the president is probably thinking, from a PR standpoint, Um, this could help him because he can get along with anybody. He can get along with the other side. He is not some extremist and he's telegraphing. Look at me like here's a Democrat, you know, a communist, and I can get along with him. The problem is that everybody in New York state and beyond in the Republican party is using Momdani as their poster boy for the evils of the DSA and what is likely to come our way if we go DSA in the midterms. So it's not great to have the arm around him, like patting him. This is my buddy and we're going to be friends because we truly pick up the New York Post on any day of the week and he's on the cover being attacked and for good reason.

30:55Yeah, I thought when you and I talked about it last week, I thought you explained it well. Like Trump's just attracted to New York things and he's attracted to, you know, other people who are good and popular because he is popular in New York. I think another factor, somebody mentioned to me yesterday. And he likes Trump. That's the other thing. He kisses Trump's butt. He does, but he also, he's also not afraid of Trump. And a lot of powerful people are surrounded all day by people who are afraid of them. And sometimes they find it refreshing when someone's not afraid of them. And I think that may be part of it, too.

31:30Boy, that's a tricky game with Trump. You can go just so far and then he wants you to he wants you to be afraid. Yeah. Yeah. Like have your own game. He likes winners. So if you are strong, like take an Elon, but don't kiss ass. You can you can make it in Trump's world. But if you get openly antagonistic, forget about it. You know, I mean, honestly, I can relate to this because I think Trump and I I have always, for the most part, gotten along. We've had our downs, as everybody knows. But, you know, then I started criticizing him over the Iran war, and he attacked me. And, you know, things haven't been the same since.

32:03And that's fine. That's the risk you run if you're going to be an honest political commentator. But I will say, in general, he's fair. If he thinks you're successful, he likes you. And if he thinks you don't have Trump derangement syndrome, he will give you another chance. So I think he doesn't think Mamdani has TDS. Here's the other thing. The Iran war. He keeps talking about it, like when he went to the UN, and he keeps making the same threats over and over and over. Here's the latest example of last Tuesday at the United Nations, SOT6. But I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?

32:48Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world? Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Okay, so here's my take on that. You tell me what you think. We've gone from him saying that and people being either like, yeah, do it, or being horrified at their casual rhetoric about annihilating a people, to him saying that and everybody being like, let's just talk. He like he's not doing it. So like the more neocon people have been frustrated that he doesn't live up to it. Just fucking do it. That's what they want.

33:30And then people like me who wish he wouldn't talk quite so casually have been like, he doesn't mean it. You know, this is Trump. You know, he's making empty threats toward a crazy regime that just is never going to give him what he wants to now where it's like. it doesn't it barely even makes news it's like crossed over to i think completely meaningless and almost a little sad because he just keeps saying it even though like no one's really paying even the iranians i don't think feel threatened by that now i couldn't agree more and and uh all the time like just now axios is reporting that a senior administration official say trump will make a deal and give iran sanctions relief and open the strait if uh if for progress on nuclear and I'll get 20 calls about this.

34:17Well, what does it mean? It means nothing. I've never, I never thought the words of a president in the context of a global conflict that affects every corner of the world where nuclear weapons are at issue. I never thought the words of a president could be so meaningless, but they truly are. They truly are. He can announce anything from annihilation to they're begging for a deal and we might make a deal or anything in between. It really doesn't mean anything. And it's - It's embarrassing, I think, for the presidency. And I think what they must think in Tehran. I mean, you could do a great comedy about what they must think watching this because it's just it's so undisciplined.

34:58It's so unfocused. It's so meaningless. So I hope there's a way to end this. And and and I think I think it's true that all options are on the table. But this this just series of statements, you know, the war is over. The war is not over. We're going to annihilate them. We're going to make a deal with them. I find it so diminishes the power of the office and the meaning of the words of a president. I think you should just stop talking about it. Like we know he's negotiating. When they were here last week, there was a backroom negotiation. That's good. We actually are getting more than 10 million barrels a day through the Strait of Hormuz.

35:34It has to be done under the dark of night and so on. But that's progress. That's one of the reasons why it's not worse at the pump, especially when it comes to regular gasoline. um so like just stop talking about it because i just don't think people believe him anymore and it's undermining to him personally to the presidency to probably to the negotiations to just just there's no reason and like people are associating it with their gas prices so like it's just it's there's no upside there's no upside to talking about the war let other let other people let secretary rubio talk about it let scott batson talk about it but just just do other stuff because there's just it literally is is only negative as best anybody i know can tell and uh and and the stakes are so high it's not talking about like you know the ballroom it's talking about trying to end a conflict which has huge implications for american security and and economics it's a mess it's like between ukraine which you know vladimir putin has been a stubborn mofo and so has zelensky you know trump genuinely thought he could go in there and settle the thing in 10 days, I think he said.

36:41Of course, that turned out not to be true because they're just so dug in on their, well, we know why. And then Israel, you know, or Iran, same. So it's just, all of this is, I think what's driving down the numbers. Like on a gut level, as somebody who remains a Trump supporter, like I really do want Trump to succeed. I feel grateful that the pieces of the agenda that I was very vocal in supporting and the reasons I stood up there and endorsed him, he really has delivered on. and continues to deliver on, namely closing the border and attacking the trans mania, especially when it comes to our children.

37:17I mean, just last week, there was yet another news item about six more hospitals agreeing to stop performing these barbaric surgeries on children under threat by Trump that he would find a way to close them if they didn't. So God bless him for that. But like so much of the agenda has been muddied by these other things that are contrary in the minds of many of us, not everybody, to what he promised to do, that it's people don't feel enthusiastic anymore. So I don't know, Mark, what would you tell him if he calls up Mark Halpern after he gets mad at you for your columns and says, Mark, you're one of the most astute political observers in America today.

37:52What should I do between now and 35 days from now to help my party? How would you answer? I would say I don't give advice to politicians, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you for calling. Why can't I have an interview? What have you said? I look, he said you can say it on the MK show and I'll tune in. Look, I think the thing you said, stop talking about Iran. Stop talking about Ukraine unless you got something to say that's meaningful. Stop diminishing your words. And then, you know, I'll tell you what. But most Republicans I talk to say, they say, do stuff like he's doing today. Announce a big new deal for a multibillion dollar investment in a state like Iowa involving steel.

38:31Like that's that's what they want to see him doing. They want to see you want to see him talking about stuff that means something to the real lives of real people, not the ballroom, not Don Jr.'s wedding, not whether Iran's going to be annihilated or not. That's what every Republican I talk to say the same thing. Use your ability to persuade people by talking about things that they'll say, well, that's going to make my life better. Yeah. He told, when did he say, who did he tell this to when he said he's not going to be campaigning that hard for the midterms because he said he's kind of tired of politics and he worked hard enough just to get himself elected, which, frankly, I mean, honestly, yeah, he's not wrong.

39:11but I don't know how much he's going to be doing between now and the midterms, but I do think he's got skin in the game, even though Trump, you know, I don't think he really identifies with the Republican party, right? I think he, he's Trump and like he created MAGA, which isn't exactly synonymous with the Republican party. But I think hopefully he's been made to see that his fortunes will be hurt. If the Republicans lose his personal political fortunes, that is over the next two years, if Republicans lose both houses. He says, I'll be a blocker, but that's not exciting. Like the American people need help.

39:47You know, he's such a student of history, which people don't often credit. He knows the history. There were two extraordinary circumstances, the Clinton impeachment and 9-11 that allowed a president to not lose seats in the midterms. But he knows those are the exceptions in the modern era. So he kind of often will feel a slave to history or a prisoner of history. There's nearly nothing he can do. At the same time, people say he doesn't care about the midterms. He doesn't like to lose. You know, he just he just he just all. But I don't think he thinks that's him. Well, I genuinely believe Trump sees a big delta between the party and I agree that that's his general attitude.

40:22But I also believe that he knows that he will be tagged. You know, again, he knows what happened when Barack Obama, you know, talked about a shellacking. He knows what happened, you know, with with the Republican Revolution and Newt Gingrich. Like he he is he is aware that even though he might be detached emotionally and intellectually from it, he's aware that he will be blamed for it. And he'll be particularly blamed because because whether there's exit polls or not, no one's going to if there's a shellacking, no one's going to doubt the reasons for it. No one's going to doubt the reasons for it.

40:55As weak as the Democratic Party is, it's because of the war and gas prices and and ethics and health care. And those are all going to be laid at his feet. And he's not stupid. He knows that. So I agree with you 100 percent how detached he is from like the heart. Like he's not a party man. He didn't care about the Republican Party per se. But he doesn't want the next two years and the next few months after the election to be in the context of Trump's a loser. He just he doesn't want that. You know what he should be out there touting? He should be out there touting judges that always gets Republicans to the polls.

41:33And they've confirmed a ton of them. Exactly. So if the Republicans lose control of the Senate, there goes the judges. There go the judges because that's Republican appointed, but Senate confirmed. Like that, he should be hitting the things, you know, they used to always run on Roe versus Wade. They can't do that anymore. But judges is a real thing and a major part of legacy. And he should be hitting that, reminding people it's not just about this senator annoys me. But who are you going to get with a with a Mary Peltola? We talked about her the other day. Oh, my God, this is so funny. So this is the one the woman who's got the potty mouth and who allegedly was calling people retards and the F word for gays and was making her staff feed her crickets.

42:20I mean, her chameleon named Meatball live crickets. And she's doing OK. hey, she's actually doing all right. What state is she in again? Why am I blanking on her state? Alaska, thank you. Well, Pod Save America weighed in on the controversy. This was a New York Times piece taking aim at her, which is kind of interesting because she's a Democrat who's pulling ahead, is ahead in Alaska. Again, she's running against this guy, Dan Sullivan, who has the disadvantage of being, yes, he's a Republican, but he's got another guy on the ballot named Dan Sullivan, thanks to dirty tricks by the Dems. But anyway, here is Pod Save America's John Lovett, who is gay, responding to the controversy.

43:03Do I think it's great if a boss calls an employee a f**k? No, but I think the Senate's more important. But now we're like, no, the stakes are too high. And we've just been through too many rounds of this. And the fact that there are people that would be working for a Democratic member of Congress who may have been rude and mean at the darkest moment in her life, by the way, after experiencing incredible tragedy, and then six weeks before an election to leak that to the Times. It is a privilege to pretend you don't have to think about the stakes. Everybody has to think about the stakes. And whether or not Donald Trump can appoint right-wing anti-choice judges for two years, whether or not we have genuine investigations in the Senate, these are the stakes in the election.

43:47And there's not a gay guy from Austin to underneath the docks in Provincetown who wouldn't be happily called a c**nguzzling f**k to have a democratic setting. Just a mincing, butt-munching ass pirate. And if we have to get Mary Peltola, honestly, we could knight her. Go to find the gayest f**king person you can find in the state of Texas, in the state of Alaska. have her kneel and have a sword go to both sides and say you may call us wherever the fuck you want mary peltolla if you win this seat honestly that should be put on loop by the white house to help every republican good use of the word they remind us who they are that he used the c word and then guzzling after it casually in conversation and butt munching that's what that's what his party reminds us is totally fine and passes for normal talk.

44:46And then it's like, I'm fine. Trump can say whatever the hell he wants about the negotiations with Iran. And I'm back. That's how it goes. I've always liked the word guzzling, like guzzling a beer, guzzling some lemonade, but I'm not going to be using the word guzzling anytime soon. I mean, I don't consider myself a prude, but that was a lot to take it. That guy is a comedian. I mean, he's a political commentator, but he's also a comedian. So I think he partly meant it to be a little bit of an overstatement and a joke. But that is the attitude of the Democrats. You know, think of any of them stuck with Graham Plattner until it became just absolutely untenable.

45:24You know, Nazi tattoo, guzzling, doesn't matter. Anything to win. And that's an empowering thing for a party which has these big divides. You know, the woke wing of the party is going to swallow a lot here with some of these candidates in order to win. Don't say swallow. Oh, I know. I did it on purpose. It was innocent. You can bleep it out on a different version. And what did we hear him say? I mean, I hadn't actually heard the full soundbite until just now. What did he mention? He mentioned the two things that you and I have been discussing. He said anti-choice judges and investigations. That's what's important to him.

45:59That's why he thinks Democrats need to get to the polls. The Republicans should listen. Yes, run that as your ad. Show them how disgusting these people are, first and foremost, these far leftists who would talk so casually about something. By the way, it's not that Republicans are anti-gay. They're not at all. But I think they'd prefer not to hear it discussed in those terms so casually like it's funny. And secondly, they're promising that they're going to be appointing pro-choice, meaning pro-abortion judges, left and right if they gain power or at least stopping the pro-life judges. and investigation Rama.

46:36So like, it's not that hard. Why am I saying it? Like, honestly, Mark, they need to start doing it. We're a month out. Well, you're going to see more negative ads and maybe John Lovett will make us into some of them. You know, you asked what the Democrats did in 90 to 92 to help Bill Clinton. One thing was they highlighted ethical challenges to the Bush administration. I think if the Democrats have either chamber or both, there will be investigations. And I think from a 2028 point of view, how skillfully are they done? The Democrats have not been particularly skillful in doing hearings, although some people think that January 6 hearings were well produced.

47:13Mostly they haven't been when they've had when they've had the ability to do it. And I think that that could be the biggest issue for 2028 is how do they do investigations that the country says stop wasting our time or do they do investigations that put a real target on not just President Trump, but his would be successor? I just think January 6th, no one cared. We'd already had an impeachment. We'd had nonstop media coverage of it. By the time they got to their little pony show, it was like, we know what you're doing. Fuck off. but this other stuff like investigating how much have the pockets been lined and to what extent and how i do think people won't that might resonate like if they hit on some of the things you got you and i have been discussing it won't be great doing well for trump or the republicans they got to do them well though but wait two two final things one i wanted to say the greenland deal actually is very good that is very good and that's another thing no one cares about greenland exactly but we do care about north american security when it comes to the rest of the world And that should be, I think, touted.

48:18Unfortunately, the loss of Latinos is another big thing that's in the negative column that we haven't discussed. And it's one of the reasons why you've got this Maria Salazar, this House member down in Texas who's openly declared war basically on Trump. Why? Why? Like, is it that bad? Why are the Latinos so drastically against Republicans now? Well, mostly for the reasons that independents are and young people, including young men, are they they're not happy with the nature of the government. They're not happy with the war. Some aren't happy with the way Epstein was handled. And in the case of Hispanics, some of them have not liked the ICE and border border enforcement, you know, in Minnesota and elsewhere, where the president has waffled on.

49:06Is he only going after the worst, the worst only going after those who've committed additional crimes? Or is he going after everybody? So there's some specialty reasons. And that's what her thing was about. Her thing was about the border. But there's some specialty things that Hispanic voters are upset about. But I would say if you talk to Hispanic voters who voted Republican but now have drifted either to Democrat or undecided, it's just the same thing as for everybody else. They don't understand why we're in a war, why prices are so high. yeah that's what we learned when we went into 2024 is the the reason they were voting for trump is they hated the economy they hated the inflation and it was one of those oh latinos they're just just like us they have the same economic concerns they're going to vote based on the same issues but i do think it's interesting that you have like republicans running to the immigration thing and criticizing ice and saying like you know there should be more coordination with locals.

50:00Wasn't that the Kansas message that we just saw? Like, no, we need to coordinate more with the locals on this. It was like from Republican lawmakers. So they must be hearing something unless they're just misreading the Latino backlash, like, but they're like so many politicians often do and think that they're just all about immigration. I think there's some of that, but basically, and this is, we didn't talk about Florida. You mentioned it. This is the problem is the presence unpopular in Florida and Kansas. And so for a lot of these Republicans, They're just looking for an issue, whether it's the war, immigration, diesel, diesel fuel, export embargo.

50:34They just want to be on the record as saying, I don't agree with Trump on everything, even if they don't phrase it that way. Because the president's super unpopular. Florida would be in play, both Senate race and governor's race, except the Florida Republican Party has so much organization and money and voter registration advantage. But even Florida, which has been a citadel for the Republican Party, is a problem right now, primarily because of the president and the unpopularity of both him and his policies. Not just Florida, but Ohio, too. That's another thing that should have been red, established red by now.

51:07But there's been some problems there. Yeah, it's not good. Even Byron Donalds, who's running for governor down there, there was a news item last week about how tight that race is and how he had diminished the Trump endorsement on his website. So there's trouble afoot. There's trouble in River City, Mark Halperin. Thanks for keeping us up to date. Great to see you, Megan. Thank you. Check him out. Next up, Halperin.com. He's a truth teller. We'll be right back. Everyone's talking about weight loss injections because the results can be so dramatic. They work by lowering blood sugar and reducing appetite.

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53:26We have got to talk about Madonna. Is anyone watching the VMAs anymore? They started in 1984, and as someone who was alive then, I can tell you that VMAs would have been relevant at the time because there was not a lot of TV to choose from, and MTV was very cool. It was still relatively new. It was kind of a neat place to see your music played and get to see your favorite singers and artists. We didn't have social media, so we didn't get a lot of, you know, time looking at them or seeing them in their natural environment short of a concert or their unnatural environment as the case may be. Anyway, there was a time.

54:08That time has come and gone. I mean, honestly, who is tuning in to the VMAs, like the video music awards, whatever. Nonetheless, we're going to discuss it because, look, Madonna is an American icon. She is. I would never take that away from her. She's accomplished a lot over her five decades in the public eye. And I don't know. I truly, for one, would love to see her be an example of being a badass bitch at age 68, who after all the years of nonstop sexual titillation or attempts at it, somehow finds the courage and inspiration to lean into a new way of exciting us. because let's be honest, I don't think most men out there are feeling really excited about the secret possibility of having sex with a post, post, post menopausal woman like Madonna.

55:17And I'm only saying that because her whole shtick seems to be have sex with me. Look how I might be while I'm having sex because she's on the ground writhing with her legs apart with hip thrusts. So clearly she wants you to have that image in your head. And I am here to tell her that there comes a time when you really should shift the message. It doesn't mean you can't be sexy at all. It doesn't mean you have to give up wanting action in your personal life. But this is the problem for aging sex symbols. Women who have decided to make that, their sexiness, their calling card, they've got a decision to make.

56:00You could go like fully the other way, like Pam Anderson, which has been, by the way, a smash success. She, I don't think has lost the affection of men. I think men who used to want to sleep with her are looking at her now as like, I like her. She's cool. They're probably not thinking I want to take her to bed the way they did back in the barbwire days. She doesn't wear any makeup now. She looks far less barbified and she's fine with that. She likes the face in the mirror matching the one she sees on Instagram or so she has said publicly. You don't have to go that far. Like I always wear makeup when I go out in my down days.

56:41I think it's in part because I'm just so used to seeing my face more heavily made up when I do the show. So like to go completely bare, even to me, it's like weird looking. It's almost like, oh wow, I'm almost not used to that person. But okay, then you could go with a full Pam Anderson. My point is simply to try so desperately to stay in the Sydney Sweeney lane looks just that, desperate. It doesn't look attractive. I don't think it's having the intended effect. And I do think there's an opportunity for her to do kind of what Pam Anderson did, which is still have men being like, Madonna's cool.

57:20Good for her. She found a way to redefine herself. That's what she was famous for back in the 80s and the 90s and the early aughts. Redefining herself. Like a brand new way of shocking us or exciting us or getting attention. It was always related, though, to something around sexual titillation. and wouldn't it be the ultimate hat trick? I guess that's not the right term, right? Because that's a hockey term that I think means something. In any event, wouldn't it be the ultimate trick to do it yet again without that shit? Because truly like, okay, she's 68 now. When she's 78, when she's 88, do we still play along?

58:00When she's 88, if she's able to like gyrate on a stage, do I need to look at that and say, I feel empowered as a woman? Because that does not make me feel empowered at all. at all. I would love, love for Madonna to find a new way of coming out and showing women. This is a lane that's available to you at 68. That is me leaning into my fully empowered badass self. I have fucking more money than God. I am internationally known first name only. I still have my talent such as it is. I mean, she was never known as like a great singer or even as a great dancer. She was always known as a great entertainer.

58:40Kind of like Paula Abdul, only a lot more famous and more successful. Paula Abdul, it was in the news back when she was at her peak as she wanted to be listed in her IRS tax returns as entertainer. I think that's what Madonna is. I just, whatever. This, what she's doing here is degrading. She's degrading herself. and I, look, I'm talking about her. I guess maybe she would consider that a win. I don't see this as a win. I really don't. I'm feeling kind of sorry for her. Like I feel like she looks a little sad to me. The whole situation is a little sad and I wish like her daughter, Lourdes, would step in and say, mom, like you're too cool for this shit.

59:30please be the too cool person that I know you can be. Like Tina Turner was. Tina is a great example. Now, Tina was never raunchy. She was always the picture of class. She had on the shake the tail feathers outfits and she could shake it like nobody's business while she was a great singing talent. But as she got older, what did she do? She still showed off those million mile legs and the buff arms and she had the hair, but she was appropriate. She wore like the leather number, but like she wasn't showing off her ass and her badge and the boobs with the nipples all the time. Like I don't, it's just, there's a line.

1:00:12And I think to have class is to know where it is. One other thing. I was saying to my team, like having, I'm not against facial work. I'm sure I will get a facelift someday. That's fine. But I think doing it nonstop, to the point where it's really obvious, which is what I think Madonna has done, I think she might be at least two facelifts in, is just weird. You look weird. You look old with a tight face, an oddly tight face. And clearly she's had enormous lip injections and filler all over her face. And what that does is make your face look heavy, not youthful. Look at this. Look at those lips.

1:01:01She had nice, normal lips. And that picture on the left is with liner for sure and lipstick. And so she had perfectly full lips. Honestly, those lips look literally perfect. And now over on Screen Right, we have gone the full Kim Kardashian. And look at how heavy her face looks. That's from filler, in my view. These claims have not been evaluated by a doctor. But I'm just saying it looks like it's weighed down the entire face with filler in the lips, filler in the cheeks. And she doesn't need that. She doesn't need all that. You know, whatever. It's just, it's not working. You don't look at her and say, no way, I can't believe she's 68.

1:01:46I think you say, she looks 68 and like she's had a ton of work done. The trick is to get to 68 and look great and not look like you've had a ton of work done, like a few ladies who we've pulled for an example. Michelle Pfeiffer, same age. Sharon Stone, same age. and Angela Bassett, speaking of Tina Turner, Angela Bassett played Tina in the movie What's Love Got to Do With It? And they look totally fabulous. Like they don't, they've got a couple of lines. They look pulled together. Now, I don't know. Maybe they've had, I don't think Sharon Stone has had a facelift. She's got like actual lines, but she looks great.

1:02:30And Sharon Stone had a very serious brain issue. She had seizures right after basic instinct. It was actually a shocking story where she had massive seizures and she had a serious brain injury. I think it's one of the reasons why she didn't make... Her career was on an incredible trajectory and it slowed a little. I think most people know who she is. But my point is simply, she's probably not worried so much about getting surgeries with general anesthesia that can be avoided and so on. Michelle Pfeiffer, she looks, I mean, stunning. Like literally most of us would do anything to look like Michelle Pfeiffer.

1:03:09These women are all 68. And look at this. Michelle Pfeiffer looks sexy. She's got a very low cut dress on here. It's like not quite down to the navel, but it's well below the breasts, but she looks amazing. She looks classy. She hasn't done anything weird to her lips or her ass. She just looks gorgeous. And I think this is, I don't think most, like 25-year-old men are not like, I want to have sex with Michelle Pfeiffer right now. They're probably looking at an old tape of her thinking that version. But I think men in general, when you say the word Michelle Pfeiffer, think beauty. Elegance, class, married to David E.

1:03:49Kelly, who is like one of the great writing talents of our time. And Sharon Stone, same exact analysis. And Angela Bassett, same too. So anyway, my point is this, is like, I just think this is, you know how like the feminists are constantly railing about, oh, that's that women back and poor women this and poor women that. That has never appealed to me. But I do think when it comes to female empowerment, the left continues to praise and celebrate the wrong things. And they are praising and celebrating this, you know, like, oh, Madonna does it again. She revents the wheel there. They love the inappropriate sexual behavior on the stage.

1:04:29I don't. I don't. I think it's sending the wrong message. There needs to be a point in life in 2026 America where women know that the sex appeal is not required to be valued. Now, I know for most of us, we enjoy sex appeal and love to see it in the eyes of our husbands and don't mind it even when a stranger appreciates the way we look or, you know, whatever. But how long must it be your identifying characteristic, truly? I mean, Madonna is basically telling us, well into your 60s and beyond. Like, I see that as my value, even though I probably have a billion dollars, worldwide fame, endless platinum albums, and, you know, talent that made it all.

1:05:23I just, I object. I wish she would choose something different in her messaging. So here we get to the problem. She shows up and, okay, I guess we'll just start with the lasers coming out of her and her dancers' asses. There's video of them gyrating on the stage, simulating sex acts, you know, with the hips lifting and dropping and lifting and dropping. And, I mean, it's really more of a butt exercise they're simulating, if I'm being honest, because I don't think most people have sex like that. Like, whoa, all over the place with the hips to keep them. Don't want a moving target. Someone could get her hurt.

1:06:05Maybe. And in the middle of said sex act, then you drop on your lover. I've missed your smile. Astute MK show. Viewers know the reference. And this is how the act went. OK, with the lasers out the ass. It's mother.

1:06:32Everything will be doing with consciousness.

1:06:40So it's all the dancers in dry ice dragging each other around, legs out. Yeah, I don't know if this is like simulated blowjobs or what. But there's lasers coming out of the vag or the ass. And then Madonna also had that. And she would later make remarks. And when she got to the microphone to like actually speak, pretending to like pull the laser out of her ass and drop it again, the picture of class, um, sad, but that's what she thinks is entertaining. Then she did. Oh, we have that. Okay. I sat 16. I'm short, but I'm not this short. Don't make me bow down. I've been doing that for too long. First of all, I just want to get this thing out of my ass.

1:07:31Just been in here all night. Pretending to pull something out of her ass. I can party in the park. Why are you guys so far away? I'm kind of unclear what this award is for. I guess it's for the short film. Wait, hold on. Confessions to the film. Okay. Well, I feel good surrounded by people who like to dance. I want to thank Torso for going on this adventure with me. You guys didn't get my joke, did you, about the laser up my ass? Did you get it? It was up here all night and I, yeah, and I took it out. Anyway.

1:08:15So she's bombing and she knows she's bombing. She has to say, you didn't get my joke, did you? I've been bowing down to people for too long. What the fuck? Who? You're Madonna. Who have you bowed down to? Give me a break. Stop trying to act like you're a victim. You're not a victim. Again, could you please try to find a more empowering narrative for age 68? Please, I'm begging you. Then, like, I don't think she was drunk. I think she was trying to sound drunk. Because if you listen to her, she's hitting her articulation. Like she doesn't in some of the other thoughts. I actually don't think she was wasted.

1:08:52I think she was trying to pretend like she was with the. You didn't get my joke. I don't even know what I'm getting the award for. As my dear, dear friend Maureen would say, not Callahan, Maureen Walsh from Fox, my makeup artist. She stinks the desperation. And she does. She stinks the desperation. OK, so then she comes out there to do her thing. and actually like sing a song, that didn't go so well either because there was no singing. There was only this. Saten.

1:09:40Okay. So for the listening audience, first we saw Sabrina Carpenter and then we saw Madonna come out and Madonna's lyrics kicked in and Madonna wasn't even moving her mouth. So can I say she was lip syncing? Not really. She wasn't even trying. It was just a fraud upon the audience. I mean, okay. I guess we're not, no one's shocked. Here's Sat 12. This is her performing with, I don't know, while Charlie XCX performs. All I know about Charlie XCX is this is the person who created Brat Summer around Kamala. Of course, Madonna talks about assassinating Trump. We know what we're getting here, but take a look.

1:10:20It's not 11. No, 12. It's not 12. 12, 12, 12.

1:10:37Donna's in a bathroom stall.

1:10:42Grinding aggressively against a guy. Okay, we get it. You really want us to picture you having postmenopausal sex. Got it? I guess you do you, but see earlier comments. Okay, there's this one, which has been making the rounds everywhere today. I believe Madonna had butt implants a couple of years ago. She used to have, honestly, like very tight, amazing hamstrings and quads into a very perky, muscular bottom. done. I know because I researched before this show. Then she did something. Now, would you look at this before and after? Look at that on the left. She looked great. Her ass looks muscular.

1:11:26So do her legs. She looks awesome. She looks fit and in shape. I don't know what year this was. Deb will tell me. Over here on the right, the legs have lost 2005. The legs have lost the muscle tone. I mean, I guess that will happen. Although I have to say her upper body still looks amazing. and she's done something to her ass. Now we saw what I believe were butt implants a couple of years ago at a different performance. And then last night, she seems to have added to the situation by putting actual padding in her, in her, her pants, her bloomers was the only word coming to mind, you know, cause they're not like normal underwear.

1:12:03It's like the, like briefs that you'd wear under a cheerleading skirt she was wearing. And she was prancing around the stage with this. Here it is in Sop 13.

1:12:26Okay. It doesn't look good. She just wants us talking about her, which I'm complying with, but I just, you know, again, how is this hot, attractive, sexy. It just telegraphs needy to me. Needy. I got to move on. I've spent enough time on her. We got to talk about Naomi Watts. Naomi Watts appeared at a fashion award thing over, well, it was actually a couple of weeks ago. I think it happened on September 11th. We were all dealing with other things. And she, oh, was it Milan Fashion Week? Okay. So she went and she brought her son. And her son is named Kai, and he is a gender-confused young man because he is masquerading as a girl.

1:13:21And this is the picture that's been everywhere this weekend. What you see is a man pretending to be a woman. He's young. I think he's like maybe 18. He's got the long blonde hair. He has eyes that look like what you would put your child in if you wanted them to be a ghost for Halloween. You might put them in a white sheet and then make the eyes in big circles, like well below the eye and above it in like black makeup, navy or black makeup. And that's Kai's look. So this is a boy pretending to be a girl. And I have to tell you, I find this so sad. They had their son right around the same time we had ours.

1:14:09You know, my sweet Yates just turned 17 on Friday. And in New York, I was working at Fox at the time. I was very, very busy. And you can hire something called a baby nurse to help you with your baby when he's very young. And we had talked to and had a relationship with, for a short time, a baby nurse who knew the family. And honestly, I had nothing but excitement for them too. They had a baby boy right around the time when we had a baby boy. And I was thrilled for her and I thought they were an adorable couple. She's married to, or was, Liev Schreiber. And this is what happened with their boy.

1:14:49It's very sad. Like, it's very sad to me that they allowed their son to get caught up in the gender madness that is contagious in New York. The audience will recall we pulled our children from the New York City schools because they were trying to shove it down the throats of all of our children who had zero gender confusion, but not for lack of trying by the schools. And this is what can happen if you don't intervene and if when your child, you know, almost invariably persuaded by some forum on Reddit or a teacher gets swept up into this and you are told by the psychiatric community to affirm, affirm, affirm, affirm.

1:15:31And I'm just going to tell you, Kai Schreiber did not look so happy in those photos. And I don't think Kai Schreiber is likely to have a happy existence because none of them does. It's, you know, nine times out of ten, these folks wind up very angry, embittered, confrontational, entitled. Not everybody. Caitlyn Jenner seems absolutely lovely. So there are exceptions to the rule, but why would you gamble with your child's mental health? Now, it's possible that they just didn't understand because I've lived that same parenting arc where when our kids were very young, people weren't talking about this issue.

1:16:14And as you know from even my past coverage of the trans issue back in, you know, 17, 18, for most of that time, we were told, just be kind. You know, they're getting bullied. There's a very, very small percentage who are genuinely gender confused. They deserve our support. I was sucked in by that. I didn't have a gender confused child, but I'm just saying maybe they fell victim to a society that was starting to embrace this without question and now it's too late. But I feel terribly for them all, I do. Now they're divorced too, by the way, Naomi and Liev Schreiber. I think she remarried. Didn't she remarry another famous dude?

1:16:56Can't remember who, but she did. Okay, moving on. Speaking of the trans issue, Elliot Page, formerly known as Ellen Page, star of Juno, is gracing the cover of New York Magazine right now because it's celebrating men's health? Men's? Look at this, speaking of sad. I almost cannot look at this. I am, honestly, I'm not saying this to be mean. I'm just being honest. I'm repulsed by what I see there. I am genuinely repulsed by the body mutilation that this beautiful young woman has done to herself and the masquerading she's doing before the world and her own mirror. And the fact that New York Magazine wants us to celebrate this as an example of men's health is abhorrent.

1:17:55It's deeply offensive. This is the opposite of men's anything. This is an example of a woman's illness, mental illness, to be exact. That's why it was in the DSM-4, now we're in the 5, and so on. This is not to be celebrated. And New York Magazine, you are doing something very dangerous by putting this person on the cover in an effort to celebrate what she has done to her body and her breasts, which will never look male. And all you need to do is hear Elliot Page speak, and you will hear what is clearly a manipulated voice, a voice that's been so testosterone up. It will never sound female again, but it will never be male either.

1:18:47It's stuck in some in-between that's only deeply disturbing. They think they're being woke and tolerant. What they're actually being is dangerous, dangerous to you. Other young people who have been swept up or are considering getting swept up in this ideology who now see, oh, look, you get celebrated on the cover of New York magazine for this shit. You don't get shamed. You don't get ignored. You get celebrated as an example. I find this disgusting. I really, really wish that Elliot Page would get the help he obviously, she obviously so desperately deserves and needs. I think that ship has sailed.

1:19:32Okay, let's move on to, well, I think we should talk about Tom and Giselle next because Tom Brady and Giselle are in the news today because there's a book that's coming out about them. It's a book by Lars Anderson titled Brady, an American story and the price of greatness. Now, I don't know Lars Anderson, but I do find some of these excerpts very interesting and very telling as reprinted in the Daily Mail. Um, the picture he's painting in this excerpt is of a woman who desperately wanted more time with her husband and the father of her children and was repeatedly denied. And I will tell you based on my own sources, and I do have good ones, that's exactly right.

1:20:20I've reported this before on this show, that she wanted him to be a husband and a father. and this is where the reporting splits because Lars seems to be reporting that, well, yes, Tom was all football and I've said that too, but that, and he wouldn't give her the time with her that she wanted. My own reporting is that he was not all football. He was all football during the days, but Tom Brady, even when he was married to Giselle, liked to go out and party a lot. Maybe not while football season was going on or before a big game, but I mean, I know plenty of people and I know where he was going.

1:21:03And this was one of her objections, I have been told, by a reliable source. And that she did not want him hanging out in clubs and out late carousing with dudes in bars, et cetera. She wanted him to be home with her. She's a Brazilian. These tend to be very traditional women and wives. I know a lot of Brazilian women. They don't, and honestly, it's a Latina thing too. South American, they love their husbands and they want actual husbands. They want actual husbands. And my information is Tom Brady really wasn't interested even though Giselle was his wife. The reporting of Lars Anderson is interesting though.

1:21:50What Lars is reporting is that she went to him and begged him, begged him to spend more time with her. So this is what Lars reports. In 2017, minutes after Tom Brady had just masterminded the greatest comeback in NFL history to win his sixth Super Bowl, Giselle and their two children ran onto the field to celebrate. But the first words Giselle said to her husband of eight years had nothing to do with the game and everything to do with the future. Quote, would now be the perfect time to retire. Brady did not know what to say. He hugged his wife and acted as if he had not heard the question. Later that night in Houston, as the team celebrated, Giselle pressed her husband a second time.

1:22:31Brady was unresponsive. After a third attempt, he finally answered, Too bad, babe. I'm having too much fun right now. Giselle went for a more direct approach the following year in 2018. Days after Brady and the New England Patriots had suffered a gut-wrenching Super Bowl loss to the Eagles, Giselle wrote her husband a letter, serious, handwritten, I'm reading here. She explained that their marriage was not working. She needed more of him, more of his time, more of his attention, more of his heart. She needed him to be present when he was at home, not responding to text messages on his constantly buzzing cell phone or replaying a game in his mind.

1:23:08She needed more help with the kids. She needed the chance to sleep in just a few days a week. Presumably this is when their kids were younger. She needed more time for her own career. And the couple went to marriage counseling, but Brady eventually filed the heartfelt letter in a drawer. In early 2020, the family relocated to Florida when Brady signed for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Think about being married to Tom, said one of his friends, a former NFL player. The guy gets up at the crack of dawn, thinks all day about a game that's foreign to his wife, comes home and is in bed each night by nine.

1:23:42Again, that's not true. Maybe before a game, but trust me, no. Okay, by nine, he can't really eat out or go out without causing a scene. Everything he puts in his mouth tastes like shit. That's also not true. I know one of their chefs. The whole lifestyle had to be getting tiresome for Giselle. Worried that enrolling their young children at a new school would be too much change, Giselle committed to homeschooling Benny and Vivian in Tampa. We were only going to stay for a year, she said. One turned to two. On February 1st, he announced the verdict. at the age of 44 and after 22 years in professional football, his NFL career was over.

1:24:22That decision lasted 40 days. On March 13th, Brady announced he would return for a 23rd season. He set his sights on an eighth Super Bowl win. Quote, I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come, but it's not now. At first, Giselle made the right noises, expressing public support for the decision. I don't think relationships just happen. It's never the fairy tale people want it to believe it is, she said that summer. when you love someone, you don't put them in a jail and say, you have to live this life. You set them free to be who they are. Then they said that July, when he showed up for training camp, he looked gaunt, cadaverous is the word.

1:25:00People worried he was ill. He had lost 20 pounds. That was a lot of weight to lose off of his frame. And people knew he was very stressed. He looked like a cancer patient, said one, seemed miserable. And they say they believe he was upset about his failing marriage. In truth, writes Lars, Giselle had been so upset at Brady's U-turn that she had flown off to Costa Rica. With just six months left in his football career, the bond he and Giselle had was flickering out like a match in a strong gust of wind, the fragile illusion of forever now fast fading. The frantic nearly two-week effort to rescue his marriage, which is another detail, had failed.

1:25:40Those close to Brady feared the countdown to divorce was on, but Brady remained utterly captivated by Giselle, still lost in the enchantment of her. Tom was an empty shell of who he was when he got back. There was no joy. Everything was hard work. Tom was FaceTiming with Giselle during the day between meetings, checking to see if she needed anything. These were normal conversations. She seemed happy. Then one day, Giselle, who was really into astrology, basically looked into the stars and told Tom, we are not compatible. And just like that, she was done. Brady and Giselle announced their divorce on October 28th, 2022, after 13 years of marriage.

1:26:19In February 25, she gave birth to her third child, her first with boyfriend Joaquin Valente, her former jujitsu instructor. According to one of Brady's friends, he was absolutely stung that she'd become pregnant just two years later after their divorce. Just over a month after the birth, he shared a photo of himself on Insta. In the color photograph, Brady's right arm is extended and a ball has spiraled out of his hand. He is silhouetted by the sunset's golden glow. Underneath, Brady wrote, true love. To those who knew him well, there was no ambiguity. As one friend described it, that was the softest middle finger.

1:26:54Presumably the true love being football and not his wife. I mean, you might mention your children there. I mean, unless they're actually not of football for you. And perhaps they're not. Because when Giselle was asking Tom to stay home with her and their children, and he was allegedly saying no, if football was too important to him, he was having too much fun, he was saying no to time with his kids too. He was saying no to helping raise them in a more active way. I've seen Tom with his kids, and I think he's a loving, good father. I do. I just think football has been his number one love, as that Instagram post seemed to suggest.

1:27:44And I think it's really sad that he met this amazing, dynamic woman who's, by the way, like in the beginning, I think her money dwarfed his. If you're a top supermodel in the world, you're making hundreds of millions of dollars. No question, Giselle was, she's been the number one supermodel in the world for a long time. I don't know if she is today, but she was for a very long time. And not until he got his deal with Fox, I think, did he start making hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Though, what do I know? Because he had endorsement deals and all that. And I'm sure the numbers were huge all along.

1:28:15The point is simply what might have been, you know, what might have been if they could have found a way between his enormous career and hers to actually raise the kids in a more active, present way. Maybe their marriage could have been saved. Maybe the kids would have had more access to this superstar that America loves. And then I'm sure more than his biggest, most diehard fans, they wanted access to. It's sad to me. Something to be considered before you get married and really before you have the children. And on that front, she's responsible as well. She knew what she was marrying. He was not projecting stay-at-home dad vibes.

1:28:56And, you know, it was an enormous request to basically ask him to give up his career because unlike Giselle's career, NFL football cannot be done part-time. Cannot. Modeling can. But NFL football cannot. I'm sure the children received many, many benefits as a result of their dad being Tom Brady and being one of the most celebrated athletes in the world. but all of this is very sad to me because I just think of a loving wife who was asking to actually share her life with a husband and could not get a yes. And on that front, my reporting has dovetailed with this reporting here, so it was not a surprise to me.

1:29:38Okay, when we come back, the moment of the weekend, this guy Verlander on the pitcher's mound for Detroit. right? Honestly, it was so uplifting. It's kind of the opposite messaging of what we've been talking about so far. Let's talk about something that is not always the most comfortable subject, but it is incredibly important, making sure the people you love have financial security if something were to happen to you. Life insurance, it can be easy to put off. We don't want to think about it, right? But just think about it for like a couple of minutes and you can get it taken care of. All right.

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1:33:31All right, before we get to the nice moment, I've got to spend one minute on those morons over at The View. So during Friday's show, Joy Behar was apparently discussing a clip from some podcast in which the host recommended giving your inner critic a man's name so you are less prone to listen to it. This is how liberals think. Men are the devil, and therefore you name your inner critic something that's male, and then you'll just disregard it. Because, you know, all liberal women disregard everything men say. I mean, I think most conservative women would say this. This won't work on me. I actually love and listen to my husband and he loves and listens to me.

1:34:14This is why liberal women are so unhappy. That's why they don't they don't get married when they do get married. They're unhappy. They're not having sex. It's like all the whole thing. You shouldn't take relationship advice from Joy Behar or the podcast that she follows. In any event, the table goes around and it comes around to Sonny Hostin. And would you listen to her answer? I don't have this sort of negative self-talk going on in my head. There's the world already told tries to tell me what I can and cannot say and what I can and cannot do. And as a black woman in the United States, I don't have that sort of thing going on in my mind because I'm criticized constantly.

1:34:53and I have to, my average has to be excellent. So I don't participate in that. Wow, even that audience could only manage a smattering. As a black woman in America, her average has to be excellent because of all the racists. Obviously that is what she's saying. This country that she thinks is so racist has made her a multimillionaire. She lives in one of the nicest homes in Westchester. Her son went to Harvard, and I think the daughter went to some hoity-toity school as well. She sent them to a high school, according to her, called Ethical Culture, which is$60 ,000 or$70 ,000 a year right now. It is, Doug and I toured that school when we were looking for, speaking of my children, when we were looking for our eldest.

1:35:43Because unlike Nicole Hannah-Jones, we actually wanted him to go to a great school. And in Manhattan, you're rolling the dice. So we didn't know anything about the schools, and we did tour Ethical Culture. And when we walked out, I said to Doug, this would be a great school for Rachel Maddow's children. It was so woke and over the top. There were about 10 ,000 posters, gut privilege, check it, on the walls. It is known for how woke and annoying it is. And this is the same school that she says she sent her her kids there and that they got treated by a bunch of racists like it was a racist school.

1:36:21Bullshit. Zero chance. That's true. But my point is simply her kids had the best educations, both at the undergraduate and K through 12 level and allegedly at the college level. I don't think Harvard's the best place you can go, but a lot of people do. Then she becomes a federal prosecutor. Absolutely no discrimination in that process. She becomes, you know, what she wanted to be. Goes to law school, of course. And then parlays that into a television career that makes her millions and gives her this amazing lifestyle. And she wants you to know that this is a fucking racist country that she has demanded she'd be perfect.

1:36:59Excellent. Because she's black. So she has to be, oh, this is so tiresome. And by the way, she's lamenting that the Internet says nasty things about her. She's criticized constantly. She says, hello, Sonny, it's called being a public figure in America. Grow up. Grow up. As I always point out, some of us have been on the cover of the National Enquirer as, and I quote, the country's most hated mom. Okay, that is one teeny tiny drip of the ocean of negativity you could get around my career. and my life is a public figure. But in a simple Google search, stop bitching about it all the time. Just stop.

1:37:41It's part of the job. Grow up and act like you've been there. Okay, moving on to the nice story. Justin Verlander. He is 43 years old. I gotta read the background because of course I know nothing about him. One of the most accomplished MLB pitchers of his generation. 2005, began his career with the Detroit Tigers. Three-time Cy Young Award winner. 2011 American League MVP. 10-time All-Star, two-time World Series champ with the Houston Astros, where he played for a while. Per MLB.com, he finished with 3 ,554 career strikeouts, the eighth most in MLB history. That's amazing. Played for the Tigers, Astros, and the Mets.

1:38:21How about the Mets and the San Francisco Giants and was finishing his career off with Detroit again. In 2012, he met model Kate Upton while filming a commercial connected to MLB. In 2014, they began dating. She showed up to a baseball game. He was playing for Detroit against the Yankees, and this moment was caught on cam. That is the lovely Kate Upton and Justin Verlander tossing her baseball. and oh, it's got to be love.

1:39:07And a big, big Tiger fan. She's adorable. She's very pretty. She was parlayed into international stardom thanks to Carl's Jr., which ran an ad with her, which we have.

1:39:22I got a fever. and inflammation, that's what I got. Eating the big burp. And she looks very turned on by it. And she has on fishnet stocking. And a very low cut little shirt. And a garter belt. And very large breasts, which appear kind of sweaty. Peppermos, pepper jack cheese, and spicy Santa Fe sauce. And now she's lying down, unhooking the garter belt and taking the stockings down with her burger. And now she's bending over. The classic just got a whole lot hotter. Okay.

1:40:09Now, that worked. That ad worked. Madonna. That's, you can get away with that when you're Kate Upton. Not 68 years old at the VMAs. But in any event, they got married. So this guy's got it all. He marries Kate Upton. He's MLB's MVP and winning World Series and 10-time All-Star. Incredible, incredible the number of things that this guy had on his resume. And then he added to that two children. Daughter Genevieve, born in November of 2018. And seven years later, they welcomed a second daughter, Bellamy, in June of 2025. Well, he decided this past July that he was going to retire, writing on X about how he was fully committed when he re-signed with Detroit, but things were starting to go south on his body, and he realized this season had to be his last.

1:41:05And wrote, it's fitting that I get to finish where it all started with the Detroit Tigers. So he goes out to Saturday's game and the moment came where he was basically, I think they were pulling him from the mound. And I forgive me this part I'm sketchy on, but I think they sent like his coach out or somebody out to sort of tell him, OK, you know, you're coming off the mound. And everybody knew this meant it would be his last time on the mound as a professional MLB player, which was storied and emotional for the obvious reasons. And as that coach walked out, his daughter, Genevieve, ran to the mound.

1:41:45Let's watch it. He's going to get Justin Verlander's daughter, Genevieve.

1:42:04He's holding her tightly and clearly frown. He's completely bent over her at the top of her head. He's shaking. He's clearly sobbing.

1:42:19Now he hugs the coach. His fans are going wild. All the other players come over. And Genevieve walks in off the mound, off the field. Of all the pitches he threw from 60 feet 6 inches, the speed at which she ran out to the mound might be the most important thing we've seen today.

1:42:54He's hugging his wife and their baby, too, and Genevieve Zinnman as well.

1:43:02Nailed it. Well done, sir. What a beautiful way to end your professional baseball career. Surrounded by your loved ones, your teammates, your fans who got you started, your coach, and your babe, your little girl, who actually will have her father around as she grows up the majority of her adolescence. whose baby will have her father around for her entire life, God willing, and your wife, who loves you and supported your career for all these years, and probably much like Giselle, will be thrilled to have more of him at home. That is a life well led, Justin. I tip my hat to you. Clearly, you have the love of your family.

1:43:54Let's watch quickly sought eight him, sought 22 after the game. Justin, just thinking about your daughter again, she's at a great age because she's going to remember all of the stuff that's happening. But as she gets older, what do you want her to understand about why all of this matters to you the way it does? I mean, you commit your life to something. I've been a baseball player since I was five years old. I gave everything for this. I left home. and she's in school, and I wasn't there.

1:44:35It's just a level of commitment it takes to be great at something, you know? And I hope she understands. She means the world to me. My family means the world to me. And I'm just so happy that it's... I mean, I'm happy that I get the opportunity now to make up for lost time. Good for him. His little girl's, I think she's seven, about to turn eight. And he hasn't missed it. He hasn't missed it. He can still be there in a very meaningful way. And she's still in their house. And I can feel his pain thinking about what he did miss those first seven years. But good for him for making a smart decision.

1:45:16Sounds like both for his team, but definitely for his family. There's no greater commitment than to the children you bring into this world. God bless them. Tomorrow, very excited to bring you Dr. Sean O'Meara, the man behind RFKJ's diet and J.D. Vance's. We'll see him tomorrow. Thanks for listening to The Megyn Kelly Show. No BS, no agenda, and no fear.

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