Millions Spent on Crucial Special Elections, New Columbia Tension, Trump Warns Putin: AM Update 3/31

Good morning, everyone. I'm Megan Kelly.
It's Monday, March 31st, 2025. And this is your AM update.
If you think you're going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, you've got another thing coming. Trump administration officials stand united against calls to fire National Security Advisor Mike Walsh for inadvertently adding a reporter to a private group chat.
We're on the third Columbia University president, and this one, let's be honest, Maria, is not going to last as well. Columbia University gets a new interim president, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, casting doubt on the latest's ability to crack down on illegal campus protesting.
President Trump warning Russian President Vladimir Putin if Russia is responsible for delaying a Ukraine peace agreement, there will be repercussions. The Iranian regime rejecting calls for direct nuclear negotiations as the Trump administration promises a wave of bombs, not to mention tariffs, if they don't come to the table.
The White House Correspondents Association canceling its featured entertainer for the planned annual dinner. What was the deal

breaker? All that and more coming up in just a moment on your AM update. You know how much my

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That's DeltaRescue.org. After a week of intense pressure from Democrats and the media, President Trump is standing by National Security Advisor Mike Walls, despite seemingly inadvertently adding a reporter to a private group chat outlining attack plans on Houthi rebels.
Axios reporting Trump insiders saying, quote, President Trump seriously considered firing National Security Advisor Mike Walls, but cooled down and talked himself out of it, partly to deny his critics the satisfaction. President Trump telling NBC News in an off-camera interview, quote, I don't fire people because of fake news and because of witch hunts.
Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday from Greenland also lending support to the team.
And now the same American media that covered for the Biden administration after the untimely death and the unnecessary death of 13 brave Americans is really, really interested in forcing the president of the United States to fire someone because of a signal chat, because of a signal chat. That is not honest behavior from the American media.
And if you think you're going to force the president of the United States to fire anybody, you've got another thing coming. President Trump has said it on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday, on Thursday.
And I'm the vice president saying it here on Friday. We are standing behind our entire national security team.

Mr. Walls vacated his congressional seat to take a job with the Trump administration.

The special election will be held tomorrow in Florida's 6th District.

The current balance of power in the House is 218 to 213, giving Republicans a very slight edge.

In tomorrow's election, Republican Randy Fine is facing off against Democrat Josh Wheel. the media portraying the race as a source of anxiety for the GOP.
Republicans are right now worried about a special election in the deep red Florida congressional district once held by Trump National Security Advisor Michael Waltz. Republican anxiety mounts over special elections for two deep red congressional seats in Florida, which are more competitive than they should be.
Republicans are sweating the margins in special elections in two Florida districts. Democrat fundraisers pouring millions into the race.
Mr. Fine raising just shy of one million compared to Mr.
Wheels, nine million dollars. President Trump in November winning this district by 30 points.
Despite a recent poll showing both candidates neck and neck, analysts say a Republican victory is likely. The New York Times reporting the 6th district is home to twice as many registered Republicans as Democrats.
NBC political correspondent Steve Kornacki previewing a likely Democrat talking point if this race is anywhere closer than President Trump's 30-point margin of victory.

Why would Republicans, you know, be a little concerned?

Is it about losing the district? That might be a stretch.

There's nobody in the House, there's no Democrat in the House who has won in a district like this recently.

But would they be embarrassed by a smaller, a significantly smaller margin?

That's certainly possible.

Another special election Tuesday in Florida's first district to replace former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz. Republican Jimmy Patronus is reporting that his opponent, Democrat Gay Valamont, is out raising him 7-1.
Mr. Gaetz beat Ms.
Valamont in November by 32 points before resigning his seat in hopes of securing the post of attorney general. Another big race on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Voters there will determine if the court will maintain a four to three liberal majority or flip to conservative. Liberal judge Susan Crawford is taking on conservative attorney Brad Schimmel.
At stake, control over congressional district mapping in a critical swing state.

Republicans currently hold six of Wisconsin's eight congressional seats, despite the state's

closely divided electorate. If liberals maintain their majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court,

the current GOP-drawn maps could be thrown out, shifting the balance of power in the House of

Representatives, potentially costing Republicans two congressional seats.

We will have more on this story in the days ahead.

On Friday night, Columbia University's embattled interim President Katrina Armstrong

resigning from her post.

Columbia already facing $400 million in frozen federal funding,

with the threat of more cuts to come.

Agreeing to implement measures allowing authorities to crack down on illegal protesting,

as well as some academic reforms. Colombia became the epicenter of nationwide anti-Israel and anti-Semitic protests in the wake of Israel's war on the Hamas terrorist organization.
Many Jewish students at Colombia reporting incidents of harassment on campus, which is unlawful under federal law, saying faculty and staff have done little to nothing to support them. Crimes like vandalism, trespassing, and others were also committed by the protesters.
Ms. Armstrong caught between mounting pressure from the Trump administration and intense pushback from her own faculty and staff.
Columbia professors in the weeks leading up to President Armstrong's resignation raging against her decision to cooperate with the Trump administration. We know that this has nothing to do with opposing anti-Semitism.
We know that this is about control. Making these changes would allow an overbearing government to bully our university.
Trump's cuts kill teaching and learning. They kill research.
They kill knowledge. They kill truth.
And they kill people. The Wall Street Journal reporting Ms.
Armstrong publicly insisted to the Trump administration that Colombia is cracking down on illegal protesting while privately downplaying the new measures to her staffers. The Department of Education releasing a statement in response to the resignation saying, quote, the action taken by Columbia's trustees today, especially in light of this week's concerning revelations, is an important step toward advancing negotiations between the university and the task force to combat anti-Semitism.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon on Sunday laying out the administration's expectations. Well, the president's made it incredibly clear that he expects that students who are going to universities can go to a safe campus without discrimination.
What we saw across Columbia and other universities was that the universities were not living up to that. I mean, when you see students barricaded in the library, people pounding on the glass saying death to USA, death to Israel.
And I've talked to students at Columbia, Jewish students who told me that they were afraid to go across campus. And a lot of the Jewish interaction on campus has been driven underground.
And that's just not the way our education should be. The new interim president announced Friday, Claire Shipman, is a former CNN White House correspondent who was once married to Obama administration press secretary Jay Carney.
An October House report on college campus antisemitism, revealing a 2023 text message from Ms. Shipman to then-Columbia president Manu Shafiq.
Ms. Shipman then referring to the House anti-Semitism on college campus hearings as, quote, Capitol Hill nonsense.
Republican Congresswoman from New York, Elise Stefanik, on Sunday responding to Ms. Shipman's new appointment.
We're on the third Columbia University president, and this one, let's be honest, Maria, is not going to last as well. It's already come out that she is criticized and belittled the House investigation and the accountability measures and has failed to protect Jewish students.
So, again, this is strong leadership from President Trump. And I think it is only going to be a matter of weeks before she is forced to step down as well.
They still don't get it. The faculty doesn't get it.
These radical far left students doesn't get it. Former President Shafiq resigned from her post in August 2024.
Six federal agencies are currently investigating Columbia University. Billions in federal funding are on the line.
Coming up, President Trump issuing a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin. If he finds Russia at fault for holding up a peace deal in Ukraine, there will be consequences.
And the White House Correspondents Association pulls the plug on its headliner, what the comedian said that led to the cancellation. Did you know scammers can literally steal your home right out from under you? The FBI calls it house stealing, and it's a growing real estate scam.
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Hometaddlelock.com promo code Megan 250. President Trump issuing a warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
If he finds Russia at fault for holding up a peace deal in Ukraine, tariffs are coming. President Trump telling NBC News, quote, I am going to put secondary tariffs on all oil coming out of Russia.
If you buy oil from Russia, you cannot do business in the United States. The president's comments spurred by recent televised remarks from President Putin.
Mr. Putin suggesting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lacks legitimacy to sign a peace deal.
President Zelensky last year suspending elections in Ukraine, citing martial law. The Russian leader going on to say the UN could set up a temporary government in Ukraine.
Any change in leadership will inevitably delay a lasting ceasefire agreement. Mr.
Trump setting a one-month deadline for getting a full ceasefire deal before punitive measures kick in. Last week, Russia and Ukraine agreeing to a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea and against energy infrastructure.
Prior to Mr. Putin's remarks on Friday, President Trump had indicated that negotiations were progressing well in a cabinet meeting.
Ukraine wants to see it settled. I think they have to have it settled.
And Russia wants to see it settled. Marko is doing a great job.
And Steve Whitcoff has been incredible. Michael Waltz.
We have a great group of people working on it. President Trump telling NBC his anger with Mr.
Putin will, quote, dissipate quickly if he does the right thing. The two leaders scheduled to speak again later this week.
On Sunday, the Iranian regime rejecting President Trump's offer to begin direct nuclear negotiations with the U.S. Iranian President Mazoud Pazeshkian leaving the possibility of indirect talks open, delivering the reply through Oman.
This response just days after President Trump addressed Iranian nuclear ambitions from the Oval. Iran is very high on my list of things to watch.
And as you probably know, I sent them a letter just recently and I said, you're going to have to make a decision one way or the other. And we're going to either have to talk and talk it out or very bad things are going to happen to Iran.
And I don't want that to happen. My big preference is we work it out with Iran.
But if we don't work it out, bad, bad things are going to happen to Iran. President Trump now promising a wave of bombings and additional tariffs targeted at Iran if its leaders do not come to the negotiating table.
In 2018, President Trump withdrew from the JCPOA, a nuclear agreement with Iran negotiated under the Obama administration. President Trump calling the deal, quote, a horribly one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made.
Instead, President Trump opting for a campaign of, quote, maximum pressure to force Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions, imposing sanctions on key Iranian industries like banking and oil, designating their military as a foreign terrorist organization, issuing secondary sanctions against countries working with Iran and isolating the Iranians diplomatically. Iran, though economically weakened, did not return to the table under the first Trump administration or the Biden administration, which aggressively sought to revive the joint agreement.
A February UN Atomic Agency report revealing the Iranian regime has enriched enough uranium to manufacture six nuclear weapons and now just lacks a delivery system. In response to Trump administration warnings, Iranian leaders firing back with threats of their own.
Iran's parliament speaker saying, quote, if the Americans violate Iran's sovereignty, it will be like a spark in a gunpowder depot, setting the entire region ablaze. In such a scenario, their bases and their allies will not be safe.
In 2024, Tehran launching two direct missile attacks on Israel, firing hundreds of rockets in both instances. Israel's missile defense systems intercepting the vast majority, limiting the damage.
The White House Correspondents Association canceling comedian Amber Ruffin's remarks at its upcoming annual dinner, scheduled for April 26th. In a tradition dating back to 2003, the dinner features a comedian roasting the president and the press covering him.
Under the first Trump administration, the president declining to attend as the comedians turned what was supposed to be a light roast of the administration into scorched earth, nasty attacks. And I am truly honored to be here, even though all of Hollywood pulled out now that King Joffrey is president, it feels like the Red Wedding in here.
We got to address the elephant that's not in the room. Trump isn't here.
If you haven't noticed. He's not here.
And I know, I know I would drag him here myself, but it turns out the president of the United States is the one pussy you're not allowed to grab. Ms.
Ruffin promising late last week on the Daily Beast podcast that her approach would be no different. I'm not 100% interested in being like, ha, you're here, look at your stupid head.
You're burned. I care.
You're kind of a bunch of murderers. I mean, so they were like, you need to be equal and make sure that you give it to both sides and blah, blah, blah.
I was like, there's no way I'm going to be freaking doing that, dude. But it may want that false equivalency that the media does.
They want that. It feels great.
It makes them feel like human beings, but they shouldn't get to feel that way because they're not. The White House and many Trump supporters recoiling at the remarks.
Within 48 hours, the White House Correspondents Association announcing her appearance had been canceled. President Eugene Daniels writing in a statement, quote, at this consequential moment for journalism, I want to ensure the focus is not on the politics of division, but entirely on awarding our colleagues for their outstanding work and providing scholarship and mentorship to the next generation of journalists.
The tone marking a sharp departure from Daniels' enthusiasm during a MSNBC appearance in February with Ms. Ruffin, when he proudly announced her selection as the evening's entertainer.
And you say you have invited President Trump and the First Lady to attend. In his first term, he never did.
He didn't. He didn't.
He had four shots. Four shots.
He missed them all. Do you hope to see him there? No.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich responding on X, quote, It's an indictment on how broken and useless this organization has become. So sad that such a storied and consequential group has been so quickly driven into irrelevancy.
Oh, well, good riddance. Tensions rising between the White House Correspondents Association and the Trump White House in recent weeks, the conflict beginning when the Associated Press refused to use the newly renamed Gulf of America moniker, prompting the Trump administration to bar the outlet from participating in the White House press pool.
The Correspondents Association condemned the White House publicly in response. Shortly thereafter, Press Secretary Caroline Levitt announcing her office would be taking control of press pool assignments, a task historically managed by the White House Correspondents Association.
The pool is a smaller group of reporters granted access to more exclusive spaces like the Oval Office and Air Force One. Axios reporting on Sunday some members of the Correspondents Association want to de-escalate the conflict.
This, as Ms. Levitt says, she will be taking control of the briefing room's seating chart as well.
For decades, establishment media was in control of who sits where in the briefing room, ensuring the so-called mainstream outlets access and a seat in front of the cameras. A senior White House official telling Axios the new arrangement will provide more favorable access to online influencers and newer outlets.

And that'll do it for your AM update. I'm Megan Kelly.
Join me back here for The Megan Kelly Show,

live on Sirius XM Triumph Channel 111 at noon east, on youtube.com slash Megan Kelly,

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